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| photo courtesy of Gigshotz by Stephen Bloch |
If there was one word to summarize the night of music performed by Sylvan Esso and Collections of Colonies of Bees, it would be the word- "mesmerizing." Being a teacher by trade, I looked up the verb, "mesmerize" and found the following definition on Dictionary.com "to hold the attention of (someone) to the exclusion of all else or so as to transfix them." Those reading this who were in attendance at this performance will most likely agree that both acts had the audience glued in from the first note to the last cheers of the encore.
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| photo courtesy of Gigshotz by Stephen Bloch |
Sylvan Esso, an indie electronic pop duo hailing from Durham, North Carolina consisting of Wisconsin native/ electronic sampler Nicholas Sanborn and singer Amelia Meath, performed their first of two sold-out shows at the Pabst Theater this past Saturday. Fans were ravenous to experience Sylvan Esso in the gorgeous venue of the Pabst and lined-up well before doors opened for the best spots in the house. The venue was packed when opener Collections of Colonies of Bees went on, and fans stood and danced during Sylvan Esso's entire set.
In the three years since I last saw Sylvan Esso, they have released a stellar record What Now in 2017 and have grown from a buzz band to bonafide indie superstar status, selling out shows across the country, including the majority of their current summer tour which took the duo to places such as Red Rocks in Morrison, Colorado before making their two night stop in Milwaukee. Their performance, which has always been one of the highest energy acts touring today, has been turned up to eleven, and now includes a state-of-the-art light display and a new level of precision and tightness as a duo.
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| photo courtesy of Gigshotz by Stephen Bloc |
Never before have I been part of a show that started as a dance party from the first song and kept the high level of bouncing and grooving going throughout the whole show. Musical highlights included an early set placement of "Dreamy Bruises" (off of 2014's self-titled record) which fired up the already electric crowd with its Meath's flowing vocals and Sanborn's drum programming and beats. Newer material from What Now also translated well live including the poppy and upbeat "The Glow," which appeared mid-set. "Parad(w/m)e," the duo's latest single released this year was a great groover and featured many fans singing along with Meath's lyrics, which continued for the bumping series of tunes that closed the show including "Hey Mami," "H.S.K.T" (both off of Sylvan Esso) and "Radio" (from What Now). During the encore, Meath invited Chris Rosenau from opener, Collections of Colonies of Bees, to come on stage and play guitar with the duo for one of the rare slower numbers, "Slack Jaw." Sanborn and Rosenau have been long-time collaborators, with Sanborn being a one time member of Collections of Colonies of Bees before moving to North Carolina.
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| photo courtesy of Gigshotz by Stephen Bloch |
Speaking of Collections of Colonies of Bees, the eclectic Milwaukee-based ensemble has recently released Hawaii this month, an amazing record full of creative soundscapes, lush instrumentals and bright timbres, and have added vocalist Marielle Allschwang into the mix as well. Allschwang is no stranger to the Milwaukee scene, performing regularly with Americana act "Hello Death," among other projects. Allschwang's vocals have become another instrument to the Collections of Colonies of Bees' arsenal and when not singing, her dancing paired well with the large sound created by the band. Collections of Colonies of Bees' set featured numbers from Hawaii, all of which came off fresh and energetic. Band leader and guitarist Chris Rosenau had a big grin throughout the set as the band reinterpreted its album live. At one point on "Ruins," Milwaukee multi-instrumentalist and rapper, Klassik, came out and rhymed over the tune as the band jammed. This was a tremendously high energy performance, anchored together in great part by drummer Ben Derickson's work behind the kit, keeping the rhythms going and tying the whole performance together.
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| photo courtesy of Gigshotz by Stephen Bloch |
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| photo courtesy of Gigshotz by Stephen Bloch |
Collections of Colonies of Bees and Sylvan Esso proved to be a great musical pairing that created a purely mesmerizing evening of music that will be fondly remembered for years to come.
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