During their visit to the Majestic Theatre last Thursday night, Sleigh Bells and AraabMuzik transformed a room full of seemingly civilized show-goers into a frenzied riot by the night’s end.
Getting the show started, AraabMuzik and his hype man entered the stage, drawing the crowd’s attention with some MPC effects over simple prerecorded tracks. As AraabMuzik got warmed up, he started flexing his skill, punching out increasingly rapid and intricate beats on two four-by-four MPC boards. Soon his fingers were a blur and the crowd gaped while trying to comprehend what they were seeing. The man on stage was assaulting his equipment; with urgency and undivided focus, he tapped out multifaceted beats faster than I had ever thought possible. During the show he looked up from his work once and once only, to grin, give a salute, and walk off stage. The crowd was primed and as Sleigh Bells crept onstage in darkness, they seized the energy created by the opening act and ran with it.
What do you get when you cross a former hardcore all-male band guitarist with a singer in an all-girl pop band? The answer: an unprecedented sound which balances power, pain, and pop. Listening to Sleigh Bells’ studio music before the show, I was hopefully curious to see how this two-person group would be able bring the intensity of their records to a live performance. To say they delivered would be a gross understatement. Adding an additional guitarist to the mix, Sleigh Bells duo Derek Miller and Alexis Krauss exploded mere seconds after Miller’s guitar ripped through the cheers of the crowd with their opening track “Demons.” The band proceeded with a rollercoaster of tracks, hitting their hard and gritty with “True Shred Guitar” and “Infinity Guitars,” and their light and poppy with “Rill Rill” and “Comeback Kid.” After a shout-out to those dealing with Hurricane Sandy on their homefront out east, Miller and Krauss promptly walked off. This lasted only a few moments as the crowd cheered and called out, hungry for an encore. Sleigh Bells capped their performance with a three-track encore, including my personal favorite “Riot Rhythms” which, true to its name, incited nothing short of a blissful insanity throughout the audience. Sleigh Bells absolutely brought it, sending the audience home teeming with adrenaline.
Whether you made Thursday’s show or not, keep an eye on these rising musicians and don’t miss a chance to see them live. These folks will entertain.