Concert Review - 8 Bit Weapon at The Whisky A Go-Go
8 Bit Weapon, Southern California's king and queen of the chiptune scene, gave a performance last night in a venue steeped in music history. 8 Bit Weapon chip-rocked The Whisky A Go-Go, the legendary Sunset Strip club where The Doors, Led Zeppelin and Van Halen have played. But were the club goer's of the Strip ready and receptive for retro-futuristic electronica generated by game consoles?
I've seen several 8 Bit Weapon live sets, always held in unconventional performance spaces such as arcade gatherings, game stores and at the E3 Video Games Expo. 8 Bit Weapon played the final set of the evening, following several rock bands. It was an unusual collision of styles, but that is half the fun of mixed genre nights at So Cal clubs, where one can be head banging one minute and grooving to 21st century funk the next. It would be interesting to see who among the audience would stick around, instead of heading up the Strip to the Rainbow Bar and Grill for post-concert food and beverages.
Going on just before midnight, 8 Bit Weapon's Seth quickly and admirably walked the sound desk operator through a sound check, instructing him the strange signals he was receiving were generated by the group's unique instruments dating back to 1983.
The club wasn't at capacity for the band playing prior to 8 Bit Weapon going on, and despite the fact that the evening closer didn't load-in an outsized drum kit or amps too big for the venue, there were several dozen curious club denizens who stuck around to see what the duo who were setting up computers and customized Nintendo Game Boy's were going to sound like.
8 Bit Weapon played a great set, including material from their just-released new album, Bits With Byte, along with an uptempo live version of "One Last Mission", featuring its vocaloid-esque lyric delivery which now outshines the original recording. As the set progressed with more danceable numbers, a good sized group of the curious who stuck around did indeed get into the spirit by dancing right in front of the stage.
One of the most impressive things about this particular live set from 8 Bit Weapon though was the volume. It was the loudest performance I've seen them give, having never had to insert ear pro when seeing them previously. Major kudos to the Whisky's sound guy for bringing the loud without blowing out the group's complex sounds.
By the end of 8 Bit Weapon's set, 99% of the audience there for the start of it were still there for its finish, including a young, stereotypical long-haired rocker kid who was posted up in front of me at the edge of the stage who got more into the show with each successive song. The group of people who bought CD's from Seth and Michelle while they were still wrapping their gear on stage shows they won over a few new fans that night.
If you haven't yet opened your synapses to the sounds of 8 Bit Weapon, don't wait for their next live set (but by all means go see them when you can!) and check out their new album, Bits With Byte, available now via Bandcamp, iTunes and CD Baby.
Comments
Post a Comment