Tag Archives: Mezzanine

[Festival Preview] Noise Pop Festival 2016–SF, 2/19-2/28

np2016-admat_fullNoise Pop 2016 is quickly approaching, beginning this week, February 19th, and ending nine days later on February 28th. Following San Francisco’s anointment as Super Bowl City on January 30th, the city was the center of the American sports world for nearly 2 weeks. Now, as those ceremonies are winding down, excitement regarding a more local-grown type of entertainment will be ratcheting up. Noise Pop has outdone itself in 2016, bringing one of the boldest and most impressive lineups in its prestigious history.

We were lucky enough to chat with Chad Heimann, the sole talent buyer for Noise Pop, so you’ll find some of what he had to say sprinkled through out this preview. Badges are still available for purchase here.

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[Event Review] GRiZ and The Floozies Tear the Roof off Mezzanine with Future Funk, SF 5/2

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Article by Ash, Photos by Dom Powell

’GRiZ – The Anthem (ft. Mike Avery)’

Since Funk’s inception in the mid-60s, it’s been reborn countless times particularly in hip-hop and, most recently, electronic music. Although it certainly possesses distinct composition elements, funk’s cross-genre transcendence also stems largely from its showmanship, quirkiness and the underlying attitude which it catalyzed. In some genres, this sort of evolution, or appropriation, is looked down upon, but funk is quite the opposite. George Clinton’s Parliament/Funkadelic, for example, was constantly changing adding young members to keep its sound fresh. Even now, Clinton, widely considered one of funk’s founding fathers, continues supporting and working with a diverse set of artists who keep funk alive and well. 

In the realm of electronic music, few artists have done a better job of carrying on the funk tradition than the sax-wielding GRiZ, whose “future funk” combines the enormity of electronic bass music with big-band funk of the 60s and 70s. The Detroit producer is in the midst of his most ambitious year yet releasing a stellar album with Say it Loud and launching All Good Records to give like-minded artists an opportunity to expand on the movement. We were lucky to catch GRiZ along with label mates The Floozies at their jam-packed show at Mezzanine in San Francisco over the weekend and it was a perfect reflection of an exciting moment in their respective careers. Continue reading

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Ahead of the Curve: Kill Paris and Louis Futon Shine at Mezzanine, SF 4/25 [Event Review]

KillParisWritten and photographed by Dominic Powell

Boulder-based Kill Paris‘ self described “future funk” sound has evolved as a result of his ability to adapt and remain at the cutting edge of the future electronic landscape over a 4+ year career under the moniker. His most recent album, Galaxies Between Us, truly captures his progression combining an atmospheric, other-worldly aesthetic with intricate, often playful, elements of electronic dance music. Over the weekend, Eye Heart SF brought both Kill Paris and Louis Futon, another ninja favorite, to Mezzanine in San Francisco for a night full of forward-thinking music that rattled the dance floor. LF

’G Eazy – Lets Get Lost Ft. Devon Baldwin (Louis Futon Remix)’
’Louis Futon – Sir Rock’

Since he first began putting out original productions in late 2013, Louis Futon has been growing his musically inclined fan base one smooth track at a time. His remixes of G-Eazy, Logic, and Future have served as a blue print for other artists who have jumped on board with the lyric-heavy future genre in recent months. Additionally, the Philadelphian’s original productions such as “Sir Rock” (featured prominently in Ta-Ku’s popular mixtape) and “Drnuk” have put to rest any doubt about Louis Futon’s artistic talents.  His set perfectly brought that sound to life captivating the audience with a unique fusion of future electronic, hip-hop and funk. Louis Futon’s remix of G-Eazy’s “Lets Get Lost” had the whole crowd singing along and his originals pushed the boundaries of club anthems.

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’Kill Paris – Baby Come Back’
’Kill Paris – Operate ft Royal’

In a testament to his instrumental abilities, Kill Paris took the stage wielding an impressive array of devices: a Livid CNTRL:R MIDI controller, Pioneer CDJ’s, and a Roland AX-Synth 49-Key Keytar Synthesizer. He jumped right into his set, getting the crowd going with his own unique outer space blend of electronic music. His new material from Galaxies Between Us was well received by the crowd. At one point, he stepped out from behind his CDJ’s and began playing his Keytar while high fiving the frenzied crowd. He managed to play a healthy dose of his newer music while allowing the crowd to get involved and jump around to his older tunes, such as “Baby Come Back“. KP also mixed in some songs by his favorite artists – Cashmere Cat and Porter Robinson – before ending with his hit Royal-featuring single, “Operate.”

The combination of Louis Futon and Kill Paris made for a truly dynamic and inspiring night with a diverse representation of the future of electronic music. If either are coming through your city, we’d highly recommend checking them out–you can find upcoming dates for KP here and LF here. In the meantime, check out some more photos from the show below. Continue reading

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[Event Review] ODESZA Back-to-Back at Mezzanine, SF 9/18-19

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Memories That You Call (feat. Monsoonsiren)

Ninja-favorites ODESZA are in the midst of a meteoric rise with their album, In Return, debuting at the top of the Billboard Top 100 dance/electronic charts last week. So, when they kicked off their supporting tour at Mezzanine in San Francisco, it came as no surprise that a second night was added by popular demand. Being the fans that we are, we were in attendance both nights and their performances were absolutely brilliant.

Well before ODESZA took the stage, a palpable excitement among the sold-out crowd had developed evidencing the brimming fan-base of artists on the cusp of super-stardom. As they emerged, their symmetrical setup included mirroring MPCs and two-piece electric drum sets over the backdrop of kaleidoscopic visuals. Harrison Mills and Clayton Knight, the talents behind ODESZA, have a clear on-stage chemistry playing almost perfectly synchronized at times making it clear how they work so well together as musicians. At the same time, they have a sort of casualness on stage, perhaps as a result of their west coast roots, that allows them to connect with the audience in a very personal way. Their electric drum sets were particularly powerful in adding to the live performance as they covered the majority of their library somehow managing to further amplify their stadium-worthy sound.

While it was pretty difficult to establish our favorite songs from the shows, “Memories That You Call,” “Sun Models,” “Keep Her Close,” “Without You” and their remix of Zhu‘s “Faded,” which came out during the encore, stood out as memorable points in their sets. Watch a couple brief clips from the show below and make sure to check out their upcoming tour dates here. Seeing ODESZA at this point in their careers is truly witnessing history in the making. Continue reading

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