Long before his most recent Madison stop, Bonobo had already achieved the status of a flawless dance party host. The addition of new electronic visuals to his current tour gave an extra boost of energy to an already youthful crowd, and the combination was more than enough to fuel the ensuing groove fest and create a quality show.
Considered a master of his industry for over a decade, Simon Green’s wide-ranging musical knowledge was on full display at the Majestic Theatre last Thursday night. Also on display were nearly a dozen 10-foot tall screens the British producer and DJ presented as his new backdrop. The sold-out crowd was treated to quite the laser show as house lights spun around the venue in unison with the ever-changing scenery. As the night gave way to the early morning hours of Friday, Green’s moniker flashed, scrolled and gyrated across the series of connected screens as a friendly reminder of where you were and who was in charge of such a superb set list. Bonobo was at the helm, and his global musical tour was perfectly blended to engage even a casual listener.
With a fifth studio album released in 2013, Bonobo has developed a sizable catalog to pull from. That did not deter Green from drawing heavily upon outside influences to entertain a bouncing Majestic Theatre. While Green has joined the movement of producers and DJs touring with partial or full bands, Thursday’s show was billed as a “DJ Set,” meaning that if it weren’t for the massive screens lining the stage, Green may have seemed more alone than he looked. I am of the opinion that live music is best live, while DJs are best suited for performances on a smaller scale. Armed with an impressive arsenal of little-known musical gems—at least unknown to me—and a supporting cast of video screens, this DJ was worth the price of admission and worthy of the capacity crowd waiting to greet him. Bonobo was able to blur the lines of the event, maintaining position as the focal point of a crowded dance party while pushing the energy to a higher level fit for a concert hall. One impressive visual gracing the screens resembled an altimeter and nicely summed up the balancing act as it seemingly tracked the rise and subsequent free-fall of the audience throughout a song.
Between constant attempts to keep his hair pinned cleanly beneath bobbing headphones, a fantastic set list was spun. In “Ten Tigers” and “Know You,” there were nice additions of recent standouts from 2013 album, The North Borders. Fan-favorites “Kiara,” “Kong,” and “Eyesdown” from breakthrough 2010 album Black Sands were also present. Bonobo even mixed in sneak peeks of two upcoming releases. During an extended intro to one such single, Green announced that we could expect the song in about four weeks. Perhaps there will be some new music released in unison with October’s anticipated The North Borders Tour DVD and live album. The vast majority of the night, however, was devoted to Green showing off his unique and wonderful iTunes library. Songs from Kidkanevil, Pedestrian, Peter Van Garay, Lone, Dark Sky, and Givor Paradis all were enjoyed in varying lengths. Remixes of songs from Jimpster, Daniel Avery, and Mondkrater also wove their way into our ringing ears. Sandwiched between Floating Points’ “For You” and “Nyiduonge Drums” from Owiny Sigoma Band was “Sol Clap.” The horns in this tune from Quantic were a delight; like a siren call for all to dance. Leventina, Throwing Snow, Lorca and Bakradze all made appearances as the night drew on.
Jim-E Stack, originally from New York, woke up the gathering fans in preparation for Bonobo by pecking away at his board during elaborate song transitions. From opener “Somewheres” to closing number “Wake,” you could tell by his posture that he was quite into the music and enjoying the eager crowd. Playing in front of a relatively dark stage already prepped for Bonobo’s light show, Jim-E Stack stuck mostly to his own material and let his creativity do the talking. It was not long after that our eyes were subjected to a barrage of color accompanying Simon Green’s whirlwind tour of electronic music.