Hello, there!
Last Saturday, KL Live hosted a number of acts, the headliner being alt-rock band Echosmith from Los Angeles, USA, opened by Sydney-based electronica band RÜFÜS.The venue bear witnessed an amazing mixture of dance music and rock music, blending together to create an adrenaline-infused crowd.
KL Live on Saturday
The show started at about 8.15PM, with local band Dash taking the stage.
The opening song was quite alright, albeit being filled with very strange sound board effects.
Admittedly, I did not know the band's sound nor have I heard of them before, and the sound board effects caught me off guard; and this was to continue throughout their whole set.
Dash performed a new song next, which in my opinion has the potential to be great but still needs some work.
One of the most obvious shortcomings of the band is a lack of backup vocals.
There were times were the front man would sing and then ad lib and then somehow seem to also need to sing background vocals, which disrupted the flow of the song.
It's almost like when you karaoke in the car and you want to sing every single part of the song, including the backup vocals and the high notes and stuff like that.
The Weeknd's Can't Feel My Face was performed next.
It was a nice way to draw the crowd back in with a slightly more familiar song.
The fourth song they performed showed a more sophisticated arrangement of music, starting off with a mild tempo during the verses then amping it up during the chorus.
However, despite an exceptional follow up, their next song totally derailed my focus towards their set.
The band was so detached from the audience, performing some psychedelic electronic track possibly titled Nowhere to Run.
During the whole song, the band was so immersed in themselves that I felt totally disconnected, which is an awful thing for a performer to do.
Their final song was better, though.
The underlying tracks and implementation of subtle beats/instruments were good and the ending instrumental was very interesting.
Dash showed incredible teamwork when one-by-one, they took a pair of drumsticks and started playing the drums until everyone was playing!
That part was truly unbelievable and I guess was a very spectacular ending to an okay set.
Sometimes I just felt like the main vocal was too soundboard happy?
Dash was overall a good opener.
Some songs were great.
Some choruses need work and some songs need some adjustments to the arrangement.
Even so, they are a band that you guys should definitely check out.
When Dash finished their set, there was quite a long intermission.
The whole stage needed to be cleared to make way for the instruments for the next act, which I thought was going to be Indiego & Co..
All the while, as I watched the technicians clear out the stage and assemble the new instruments, some sort of EDM started playing and then a spotlight was shone onto this one guy who was apparently playing the music.
I acknowledged the DJ's presence on the deck and had some fun dancing a little.
But then it went on for, I don't know, about half an hour or so before I started asking whether the now two dudes on the deck was in fact Indiego & Co..
Almost towards the end of the set, somebody from the stage suddenly yelled a half-hearted introduction of the DJs, who were actually Indiego & Co.!
Not sure if Indiego or Co
For real?
The dudes were super detached from the crowd.
I mean, they should have really introduced themselves first to at least give us the indication that they were now "performing".
Some of the audience were sitting down, some got drinks and others mostly fiddled with their phones.
I'm sure everyone would've appreciated the set more if more people were involved.
It doesn't matter if they were there just to be fillers during the transitions but for the love of God, they should have really respected themselves enough to announce their presence.
Nevertheless, they have pretty sweet beats, although very annoying arrangements for holding back the bass. The only instance where they connected with the fans was when RÜFÜS was about to come on.
Their remix of Rather Be was quite pleasant, though.
Next up: RÜFÜS
When RÜFÜS came on, they immediately started playing some pretty extra terrestrial beats.
It was yet another band that was deep into sound board hitting.
I couldn't enjoy RÜFÜS's whole set, though, since midway through the second song, some obnoxious and disrespectful people really threw my good vibes off.
Okay, I get that you want to enjoy yourself, dance and show that you're into the band or something, but don't make literally everyone around you uncomfortable!
This group of hooligans (as my friend Kelvin had put it) scrambled to the front and started twisting and rocking their way into people's already established positions.
They had no respect for the ladies, as well.
Some would just blatantly touch other people's girlfriends and when I gently asked one of them to keep his distance, he immediately responded in a hostile manner.
All I wanted was for him to not collide with everyone else and he responds by shooing me to the back of the crowd, like saying "If you didn't want to join the crowd, then go to the back!" or whatever.
Dude, you came to the front, started the whole mess and want me to go to the back of the crowd?
God, I'm still pissed.
Thankfully, my friends were there to tell me it was alright and to pay no attention to these people.
Ugh.
Ethics, man. Ethics!
Not-so-good vibes
Anyway, I felt a little at ease towards the end of the set.
What I can gather from RÜFÜS' set is that as much as their music does make me one want to step up, the beats are more soothing than they are electrifying.
Don't get me wrong, I love electronica and dancing, and this alternate take on dance music was a very fresh outlook.
Some songs infuse a lot of traditional Aussie instruments, which added more flavor and identity.
The live performance was an eye-opener to live electronica.
One song of note was Take Me, which reminded me of songs you'd hear playing in a Quiksilver/Billabong store.
The dreamy vocals of Tyrone was meant for their sound
Indiego & Co. came on again during the transition, this time with a warm welcome from the crowd, which should have been the case before.
Now that everyone knew who they were, the crowd was more engaged, especially with the anticipation of Echosmith coming on next.
By the time Echosmith came on, it was already 10PM.
But I had been preserving my energy and voice throughout the almost two hours solely for Echosmith, and I thank God I did.
Right from the get-go, vocalist Sydney immersed herself in the crowd
Echosmith started off with Let's Love, probably to solidify the absence of second vocalist Jamie who took a break from the tour because he just had a baby (Congrats, Jamie!).
The song was cut short as Jamie's verse was left out but it was a great opening to the band's set.
Just so you know, for all the previous acts, I took lots of notes throughout their sets, so I have a lot to write about them but for Echosmith, I kept my phone in my pocket the whole time to just enjoy myself and give my all to the band.
Sydney was amazing in connecting with the crowd, constantly conversing with everyone and making sure we were as much as involved with their performance as they were.
"One reason we love performing live is to hear YOU sing our songs!"
Sydney's ear piece was practically out the whole time Echosmith performed, which further strengthened her statement.
Echosmith performed songs like Talking Dreams, Come With Me, Come Together, Bright, Cool Kids and more; with the latter two garnering the most screams, squeals and screeches!
I cannot express how much I was in love with their performance that night and I wished it wouldn't end.
And because I'm reduced to speechelessness, I'll share with you guys more photos of them.
Boss shot
Sydney slaying the drum
Graham, Noah and Joshua Murty were instrumental (Get it? No?)
Shining bright
A totally draining gig but totally worth it in the end.
This was the first of many Good Vibes Presents that are set to be held in the future, and if this is any indication of what's to come, I for one am certainly excited.
Some things I found that could be improved was the audio and also lighting.
All the bands' vocalists' voices were drowned out by the sheer deafening sound of their instruments.
I'm not sure if it was meant to be that way but I guess a better balance between the two would be much better.
Also because Sydney's voice just barely escaped.
The lighting was also one thing I was always concerned with.
Even though I couldn't take any photos at the event, I kept worrying about how the absence of spotlights and the constant changing of the backlights would affect the photographs.
Not to mention the sheer blinding purple lights and blue lights that were on for the most part of the show.
My worries were to put to rest, though, as evidently the photographers did a great job in getting some excellent shots.
Surprisingly, none of them were in black & white, too!
In the end, I was just happy to have seen Echosmith live in KL.
Also because I actually met and talked to them in person that morning!
Check out my vlog here as I take you through my day meeting Echosmith and seeing them live.
There's also a lot of live footage of the gig in the vlog, and you don't want to miss it!
Many thanks to Good Vibes for providing me with tickets to the show.
Hope to attend more events by them in the future.
So tell me, did you guys go to the concert?
What was your favorite part of the cooncert?
Hit me up in the comments below!
All photos courtesy of the All Is Amazing Team & Good Vibes/Future Sound Asia.
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