I’ve been a sucker for the Glitch Mob since one of my best friends showed me “Drink the Sea” last year. I fell in love with their strange, rather glitchy but eclectic sound. They are a revolutionary electronic act, whose sound is pretty incomparable to anyone else in the field. They remind me a lot of Ratatat, aesthetically, because they both do something that no one else really does. There is something really raw and primal to their music, giving them a really smooth tribal quality.
I was able to experience the danced out craze that is the Glitch Mob in concert last night, and all I can say is wow. The entire show was so well-orchestrated, and all of the members in Glitch Mob behaved so professionally, decked out in dress shirts and ties. They were so kind and thankful to be in New York, it was really adorable.
Honestly, I’m a little mind-blown right now. Phantogram and RJD2 opened for The Glitch Mob, and they were nothing short of incredible. I was surprised by how people didn’t really seem to know RJD2 though, because when we got there, there was a lot of talking going on and not much dancing. It was still really beautiful, but I’m just surprised more people weren’t dancing. I think this can only be attributed to the generally young crowd that seems to inhabit Terminal 5 on any given concert evening, but I actually thought this crowd, (for once) was a little older and a little more mature…Until I saw sixteen year olds screaming at the top of their lungs. Guess not.
Phantogram also blew me away, with their fly lead singer, Sarah Barthel. Rocking a Karen O. hairstyle, she headbanged, and played the hell out of the keyboard. It was really hard to not dance to.
All I can say is that the Glitch Mob was able to make me dance way more than I expected, and that’s all I’m ever trying to do. Their sound was perfect too, not too heavy on the bass. They also opened their set with Daft Punk, which was probably the wisest move they could’ve made because it was such a crowd pleaser.
They closed the show with their remix of the White Stripes, Seven Nation Army. Talk about a sexy swagged out song to begin with, when the Glitch Mob put their spin on it, it was just too much to handle, in all the best ways. Terminal 5 as a venue tends to be rather unreliable, because most of the shows are 16+ which means the crowd can get a little young, prematurely drugged out, and out of control. However, last night was a smashing success on all fronts. Bravo, Terminal 5.
I took a couple of photos on my really lousy little flip phone, but their visual set was really something else.
-Ashley
The White Stripes – Seven Nation Army – (The Glitch Mob Remix)