Author: Bridget Benevides
As I have been to many concerts now, I have come to recognize the traits of (what I consider) a good performance and let me tell you, Marian Hill was great!! I went downtown on Wednesday, April 18thfor a night of bumpin’ music and was blown away with what I got.
Michl, the opener for Marian Hill, came on promptly at 8:00 PM and began his set. I had been acquainted with Michl’s music only two times prior to last night, as I had heard his songs “Die Trying” and “Kill Our Way To Heaven”. His live performance was unique in that he did not play his songs verbatim from the recorded version. He added new beats, sped them up and slowed them down and made the stage his own. He said goodbye too us too soon, ending with “Die Trying” which I was excited to hear live. Seeing him live reminded me of how much I like his music, and so I will be adding him to many of my playlists in the upcoming weeks.
After about a half hour of standing around in anticipation, the lights dimmed, and Jeremy and Sam came to stage. My goodness, Samantha Gongol is a beautiful and adorable lady. She wore casual black pants with a black bra and half up, half down hair. Her abs were clearly visible (yes, I’m jealous, we were all jealous) as she danced and swayed to each song. Sam sang and floated around the stage like an EDM nymph with effortless beauty but also with a smile.
Her and Jeremy were both so into their music, which was enjoyable to see. I get second hand excitement when I know artists love what they’re doing just as much as we love to watch them do it.
One of my favorite features of the night were the incredible lights that accompanied each new song and changed with the rhythm of the music (as seen above in my super high quality iPhone photography). The lights were very clearly visible due to dry ice that filled the stage. They created a kind of fish bowl look to the stage, but instead of glass it was bright lights, very mesmerizing.
Yes again, I found myself located coincidentally next to some very intoxicated, very vocal and dance-y individuals, but nothing could take away from the amazing performance going on in front of me. They played popular songs like “Are You Down?” which included a performance from a talented saxophonist who made many appearances during other songs throughout the night. They also played new songs, slower songs, and less well-known songs. Jeremy was rocking out on the keyboard all night, getting very into his music and putting unique twists where we least expected it, and Sam danced accordingly.
After their last song, the crowd clapped and stomped their feet, shaking the wooden floor of The Showbox until the duo came back on for an encore. I had heard that they were good live, but nothing had prepared me for THAT! Marian Hill does so much more than remixes and dance music, they are a couple of very talented individuals with an obvious passion for music.
You can connect with Marian Hill on their official website here. I would highly suggest taking a look at their music, you’re bound to like something out of their very eclectic selection of tracks.
BRIDGET BENEVIDES| Yes, I’m down | KXSU Music Reporter