Wow. Ears ringing, shirt drenched in sweat – it must have been another EDM show at Boston/Cambridge’s Middle East Night Club basement. Two nights ago Australia’s Pendulum arrived for a DJ set full of fast-paced electronic dance music, staying within the lines of Dubstep and Drum and Bass. With Paul Harding (aka El Hornet) on the decks (using CDJs and the DJ software Serato) and Ben Mount (aka MC Verse) on the mic, this show had less focus on the DJing and more focus on vocal work and stage presence. This was not your normal Pendulum show with all six members on stage playing their respective instruments (partly because Rob Swire and Gareth McGrillen are on tour with their [awesome] side project Knife Party) – but it had more of a feel of what I’d imagine a UK underground Drum and Bass party to be like.
Embrace Boston, promoters of this show (shout out to Caitie Sullivan!), did a fantastic job of spreading word about the event as it was sold out, although I wasn’t surprised given Pendulum’s huge name and Boston’s strange love for Dubstep/Drum and Bass. There were definitely some creatures out at this one (see our PICTURES for more), but the bottom line is that everyone was dancing their pants off and sweating through their shirts while doing so (again, see pictures). El Hornet kept the beats going, smoothly transitioning between songs, and MC Verse was killin it on stage, interacting with the crowd like a true front man should (handing out high fives, pouring water in people’s mouths). It’s beyond me how Verse managed to wear a beanie throughout the show but I can say with confidence he probably threw it in the wash after.
Although I wasn’t surprised (but definitely disappointed), Pendulum refrained from playing any Knife Party songs. It had been mentioned by Rob Swire that the two groups would remain separate entities, but I definitely was hoping to at least hear some “Internet Friends” or something along those lines. We received mostly Pendulum tunes, although I am not an expert in Drum and Bass and can’t say for sure that 100% of the songs were their own. We got to hear a small portion of “The Island” which is always a crowd favorite, but you could tell the group threw it in just to please its audience. All in all the show was a lot of fun and it was great to see Boston coming out to support Electronic Dance Music.
Embrace Boston has more awesome shows planned… keep your eyes locked:
Embrace Presents Website
Embrace Boston Facebook
Embrace Boston Twitter