Flume
Paramount Theatre, Seattle, WA
08.05.16
It was night two of young Australian producer/DJ Flume’s sold out 3-night stint in Seattle. The lobby of the majestic Paramount Theatre was full of festival apparel-clad – think booty-shorts and halter tops for the ladies and shorts and floral print button ups for the dudes – fans quickly inhaling their drinks as the lights dimmed, signaling Flume would soon take the stage.
The theatre was dark as the huge cinematic, soaring tones of “Helix” filled the room at the same rate as the incredible amount of fog and smoke. The crowd hushed as the score rose and fell, crescendoing upward with the stage still unlit. Suddenly the crowd erupted in cheers as Flume himself – née Harley Streten – appeared behind his command center and a line of bright blue lights illuminated behind him. Just as quickly as the show began, hundreds of cell phones lifted into the air to capture the entrance of one of the most acclaimed beatsmiths touring today.
Flume’s set started off with “Audien” and his collaboration with T-Shirt “On Top.” The crowd’s energy started building and soon they were yelling with the beat of “Lose it,” before Flume switched it up to his collab with KUCKA “Numb & Getting Colder.”
Images of silver mannequin rag doll-like bodies began moving behind him, floating in space right before switching to images of demons for the track “Wall Fuck.” His remix of Lorde’s “Tennis Courts” was on point, with the crowd singing along before jumping right into “Pika.” Up to this point the tracks were almost entirely solo pieces but here is where the remixes and collaborations really kicked off with incredible tracks using Rustie’s Slasherr and RL Grime’s “Core,” then collabs with artists ranging from Tove Lo to Vince Staples to MNDR, and even closing his encore with a track featuring the eccentric Beck.
As “Tiny Cities” came to an end the theatre lights came up and the exhausted crowd in their now sweaty halter tops and floral print button ups, milled toward the exit having danced and screamed everything out of themselves through one hell of a set.
Review and photos by David Endicott
Flume
