The Knocks w/ Cardiknox & Go Periscope
Neumos, Seattle, WA
02.04.16
Surfing the electronic landscape on the course of their Route Fifty-Five tour, New York based duo The Knocks stopped by Neumos in support of their latest album Fifty-Five, available everywhere March 4th. With them tonight are Cardiknox – who though originally from Seattle have since relocated to New York and now Los Angeles – and local synth-loving alt-poppers Go Periscope.
Neumos is crowded with an energetic mix of college kids and the after-work crowd, as Go Periscope opened the night with a solid short set. The inclusion of thundering live toms in the instrument mix drew a lot of attention on stage, while synths and electronic drum pads worked interactively with one another. Smooth transitions from one song to another eventually led to their remix of Eastside’s “Ellie,” itself a cover-mashup of Chris Brown’s “Loyal” and Ed Sheeran’s “Don’t”. Overall, Go Periscope brought a very chill, tropical atmosphere to the venue while still maintaining energy.
With their debut full-length Portrait pending release on March 11th, Cardiknox was ready to give their fans what they want. As they entered the stage, vocalist Lonnie Angle showered the crowd with high energy. Clad in a blazing red, furry coat, she radiated positivity. Multi-instrumentalist Thomas Dutton provided various roles throughout: playing the synths, guitar and backing vocals. Each song’s emotional connection was apparent through the band’s delivery. Angle’s gestures not only gave a clear message to the audience what the songs were about, but in a certain sense she brought forth something extra. Her performance was that extra push that evolved each song’s experience from a record to something more tangible and special live.
The Knocks took a while to prepare their live set. Even though a lot of the equipment was on stage and ready, their professionalism in making sure everything was calibrated as it should be really accentuated the suspense of their performance. When they were ready, all the stage lights were shut off and a sample of their intro was played. The lighting on stage all of a sudden started moving in unison. DJ B-Roc and JPatt entered the stage with their black jackets, emblazoned on the back were their stage name The Knocks.
B-Roc started playing on the drums and drum pads and JPatt jammed on his bass. There was a lot of soul coming from them, a great mixture of modern day electronic and bass heavy kicks with old school 80s funk vibes. These songs were made to dance, and their fans took full advantage of it. Jpatt played his bass on stage while dancing at the same time, reminding everyone that funk is still alive in their music. B-Roc sang through a synthesizer, emanating a Daft Punk feel. It was almost as if one was reliving the past and hearing the future at the same time. The lights were particularly cute, moving together like a group of little animatronix adding to the excitement of The Knock’s music. In the end, the lead singer of the Cardiknox joined The Knocks to perform one of their songs, “Classic”. Lonnie Angle once again danced on stage full of soul while Jpatt played his groovy bass.
With a lineup like this, the party never ends. Even when the night settles and people are on their way home towards their daily lives, the aftershock of tonight’s 80s groove still resonates in the soul.
Review by Kai-Yao Lan
Photos by Daniel Hager
Cardiknox
The Knocks
