This past Thursday, Gramatik came to The Canopy Club, along with supporting acts Brasstracks and Artifakts. The resulting show was an EDM bender of epic proportions, and one that is perhaps too common in this town.
Photo by Tyler Courtney.
Milwaukee’s Artifakts were first to take the stage — with an interestingly haunting and eerie style, soaked in trip-hop ambience. Their precisely stated treble hits punctuated their slower, bass-driven synths with a certain sense of dreadfully delightful calm, and it’s easy to drift and float with the songs, even the more upbeat ones. Brooklyn duo Brasstracks came up next, as the venue was filling out- they brought an interesting twist to the night, mostly consisting of sample-driven electronics. The two members took the stage with a trumpet and a drumset. They kept the bass loud and the crowd happy, bringing the energy from a starting level to a party level. At one point, a rapper came up to perform with them — one of the highlights of their show, as this was a particularly talented rapper, although they didn’t mention who it was.
Photo by Tyler Courtney.
By the time Gramatik came to the stage, the crowd was ready. His particular brand of down-tempo, bass-heavy, sample-driven electronica was exactly what the audience had come for — and the audience had a field day. The hula-hoopers were there, and the bros in tank tops — the vapers of potpourri spice, and the people selling the various colorfully etched pins that adorned so many hats I lost count. For me, the music itself was intensely overshadowed by the spectacle of realizing what amounts to a typical EDM show. What the hell happened? Maybe, at my ripe old age of 24, I’ve grown out of touch with the youth — I’ve never felt particularly on the pulse, but it was jarring — being so instantly thrust into an environment of supposed individuality, and yet surrounded by a sea of what looked like the same 10 people. I was expecting more people to try and sell me drugs, but apparently there’s better money in the pins nowadays. Much like the tie-dye of old, these newer electro-hippies wear pins on their hats as a signal that they are members a subculture- but one that is either too ill-defined to exist, or too obscure for most to understand. Perhaps they want it that way.
Photo by Tyler Courtney.
Photo by Tyler Courtney.
I considered whether I should have taken the offer of drugs. All of my previous experiences with similar bands, such as Big Gigantic and The Floozies, I have been riding sober in a wave of people on substances I can only imagine — entitled with acronyms I cannot interpret or understand. In an EDM environment, this is the only way. I honestly feel bad for people who might enjoy this music without the drugs — the venues are so often crowded with people who are seemingly only there for the drugged-out spectacle of an EDM show.
Photo by Tyler Courtney.
I don’t want to seem like I don’t believe people should be allowed to enjoy this kind of spectacle — by all means, party and have fun. Experiment. There are much worse things you can do to yourself than getting high with people you trust in a semi-controlled dancing environment. This is a college town — perhaps growing up here has made me blind and jaded to the simple, carefree pleasures of youth. Maybe crowded dancehalls just aren’t my scene. But despite how critical I am of the typical EDM experience, I do enjoy many EDM groups and artists, and Gramatik is no exception — I loved the combination of reggae, old-school rock, blues, and old movie samples, pumped up bass and drum tracks, the lights, the energy. But when it comes down to it, it gets tiring to see the same people every time you go to a show.
Gramatik. Photo by Tyler Courtney.
[gallery gramatik_with_artifakts_and_basstracks_at_canopy_club]