Have you ever misread the start time on an event page and shown up exceedingly early? That's what I did last Saturday when attending a show at Terminal 5. I breezed through security and walked down the entrance hallway thoroughly confused because the venue was so quiet. It was then I realized the error of my ways.
Having arrived before the first opener, I was able to order drinks without any wait at the bar, and get a spot along the railing upstairs, situated nearly centerstage. This was by far the best view of the room I have ever had at Terminal 5, and was excited to have an elevated perspective of the stage.
Generally, I get to a venue for the tail end of the opener or just in time for the headliner (because in my "old age" i'm not a big fan of crowds), but I'm so glad I got there early that night. Dena Amy, an Australian producer and DJ whom I was previously unaware of, opened the night with a 30 minute DJ set. She seamlessly blended hard hitting house tracks with Top 40s and her own original work. I was exhausted from a long weekend, but she had me moving and throughly enjoying the vibes she was curating.
Next to take the stage was The Kite String Tangle, the solo project of Danny Harley, another Australian electronic artist. He stood on stage surrounded by synths and sample pads, triggering the entirety of every arrangement on his own (which is no easy feat to coordinate). His songs swung back and forth between whimsical indie pop and bordering on trap, and only some of the performance really stuck for me. What he nailed he absolutely nailed, but many tracks fell flat.
Finally, three hours after I arrived at the venue, Rüfüs du Sol stormed the stage. The lighting design drastically shifted, and was so precisely produced that I felt as though I was watching a headlining set a t a festival. The bright colors swirled through the space, and definitely blinded me a few times. They opened with a song I did not recognize, but it shook the room and rang out anthemically. The crowd erupted and danced - hard.
The band's sound was incredibly tight knit, and frankly, I enjoyed it even more than their recorded sound. The three piece moved through uptempo and mid tempo tunes and kept the energy high. I was impressed that they pulled our their highly produced sound without a laptop or turntable, but solely with instruments.
If you have a chance to catch them on this tour, don't pass on it.