Image Courtesy of Louis the Child’s Facebook
This week has been particularly stressful for me, with it being the week before finals and all. I have had my nose in a chemistry book for five days, I had a short story to polish and turn in, I had club organization commitments, and I still have more studying to do, All of this left me feeling rather flustered and overwhelmed and I was seriously questioning my decision to go to Louis The Child on Friday the 1st. But man, am I glad I did. This is just what I needed, to get me out of my funk, to rejuvenate and energize me enough to get me through this last week.
The show was at The Showbox SoDo, a venue I had never been to before. This venue is a little bigger than The Showbox on 1st avenue, accommodating more guests and more room to dance. When my friends and I arrived at 9:00 PM, Ashe was already in full swing. The energy in the room was electric, and I couldn’t help but smile. My friends and I walked around the space and scoped it out. We saw friends laughing and dancing in circles, people hug and bounce and drink, and we saw concert goers in sparkly body suits and galactic makeup. With an energy and charisma that infected the crowd, Ashe was an incredible performer. Even those of us who were less familiar with her music were having a good time. At one point she said, “Man Seattle! I was pretty cold backstage but being up here dancing with you guys has definitely warmed me up; how do you feel?” and the crowd erupted in whoops and hollers.
Image Courtesy of Ashe’s Facebook
Next on stage was Louis Futon, a Los Angeles based producer who has steadily carved out his own lane in the electronic music scene over the past two years. Futon makes music outside of just the electronic scene though; his productions have reached into the worlds of hip-hop and R&B as well. Not only have his remixes of artists like Mos Def, Goldlink, G-Eazy, and Gallant found major success, but collaborations with R&B leaning artists like Opia, Ashe, and RKCB have resulted in some of his most dynamic work yet. His music was exciting and familiar but had a unique style to it that had the crowd singing and dancing in no time. He really set the stage on fire for Louis The Child with good music and by engaging in banter with the audience.
Image Courtesy of Louis Futon’s Facebook
Suddenly, the lights went off and the audience’s voices rose with anticipation as Robby Hauldren and Freddy Kennett came on stage. Lights flashed brightly, white and red, drowning out all my thoughts of finals and covalent bonds and neutralization reactions. Kennett and Hauldren danced around the stage, standing on podiums to engage with those of us in the audience. I was able to have fun with my fellow Louis The Child fans without fear of judgement as everyone danced, sang, smiled, and experienced the music in different ways but together we existed as one.
During the set I noticed a man in the front row held up a wooden duck for three straight hours, through the performance of Ashe, Louis Futon and Louis The Child. At one point, Hauldren took the duck from him and danced with it on stage which made me laugh (I’m very curious as to why the duck was there to begin with). As the show progressed, the venue got increasingly hotter and smelled of bodies and sweat and alcohol and many people took off their shirts, but I just went with it. One benefits to being sober in an environment where most people are not, is that there is some very entertaining people-watching to be done: man with duck, man dancing so hard he knocks himself over, couple singing so passionately to each other they don’t notice anyone else, etc. The joys of live music are endless. The music reverberated through my chest and hit me so hard I felt like I had the wind knocked out of me, but I loved every second. It was lovely, to not be able to think about anything except the moment I was in. Louis The Child gave me everything I needed in that moment.
Image Courtesy of Louis the Child’s Facebook
BRIDGET BENEVIDES | Who is the man with the wooden duck? | KXSU Music Reporter