The night started off with the funky mixings of Dark City Agent, made up of Robert DelPrete of pseudonym FlyLosophy and Michael McCarthy, the keyboardist from Wobblesauce. Together, this Boston dream team fuses futuristic sounds and live music that would satisfy even the toughest critics of EDM. Since Dark City Agent opened earlier in the night, the crowd wasn’t as dense as it was for the other performers, although the people who did come early came bouncing in doing the two-step. This ingenious duo dropped a serious set including a super funky remix of “Money For Nothing,” which kept the rhythm alive through their enjoyable ride of mixed music. However, what caught my attention the most was their enthusiasm for their music. These guys were grooving so hard that DelPrete, Dark City Agent’s producer/guitarist, actually broke a sting during one of their tracks. You’d think that would be a major setback for any live act, but fortunately for this talented twosome, it didn’t stop them from putting on a great show. They improvised for the rest of their set like no big and kept their tracks flowing and the crowd grooving. With a sound mirroring big named artists like STS9, PANTyRAiD, and Big Gigantic, the only way to go is up and that’s exactly what this group is doing. I have nothing but respect for these guys so peep their SoundCloud and follow them on Facebook to see where they’ll be laying down some serious tracks next.
Next up was gLAdiator, a DJ/production duo from Los Angeles that succeeded in gracing us with their presence of pure trap magic. Straight out of LA’s EDM scene, this duo has been an integral part of the music movement bringing underground to the mainstream. With insane mixes featuring a sick range of artists like A$AP Rocky, Kill The Noise, and Childish Gambino, it’s no wonder why gLAdiator was a perfect act to open for Big G, who has no qualms for dipping into a diverse array of genres. The duo brought a great energy to the crowd with their consistent switch up between the role of hype man and DJ. gLAdiator’s super crisp music, energy, and movement was a great addition to the night! They had no problem keeping the crowd engaged and moving all the way until Big G took the stage. It should be no surprise why they have remained a major part of the club and festival circuit nationwide.
Big Gigantic, consisting of saxophonist/producer Dominic Lalli and drummer Jeremy Salken, was last as the headlining artist. This dream team from Colorado is officially sitting pretty following the release of their 5th album The Night Is Young. From the moment Big Gigantic started, they didn’t let up and neither did the audience. I literally didn’t stop moving until they finished their set and then kept moving when they continued with their encore. The atmosphere of the House of Blues was infections – it was being filled with timeless bass infused electro-soul and funk music.
Big Gigantic slammed the sounds of the saxophone filled bass into the audience allowing the hype of the event to reach all expectations. They brought a crazy wave of funk that mellowed out most of their songs just enough that you weren’t completely raging, which was a nice change of pace after the intense trap mixings of gLAdiator. They played their infamous Aloe Blacc’s “I Need A Dollar” remix, which is when the expectation for the show broke through the ceiling and started to soar. With Jeremy crushing the drums and Dominic laying it down on the sax, they had people throwing their dollar bills left and right. People were even handing out money just so everyone could partake in the feeling of the song. The light show that they produced could not be ignored consisting of roosters with sharks and lasers streaming from their eyes as well as spinning bar symbols that made the stage look like a giant slot machine. From the lights, the sax, the drums, and the five encore songs played, I know without a doubt Big Gigantic is steadily becoming one of the best in the industry. You know you are doing something right when you take a sax, put it over a breakdown, and get the wide span approval of college EDM crazed fans to older jazz era lovers. I walked out of the House of Blues worn out and dripping in sweat yet completely refreshed. I had taken a cosmic trip to the outer limits of space on the wings of a saxophone that night, and I can’t wait to do it again.
Check out the rest of Big Gigantic’s tour here as well as their SoundCloud for some refreshing beats!
Photos by Gleb Budilovsky (Muffin Man Photography | Rageaholics)
