Show: The Glitch Mob
Date: May 10, 2014
Venue: Club Nokia
City: Los Angeles, CA
The Glitch Mob
Photo by Nicolas Bates
Written by Dan Sinclair
Droves of downtrodden Los Angeles Kings fans walked away from LA Live as I bravely fought past them en route to Club Nokia. Don’t know why there were so upset. Guess they weren’t aware The Glitch Mob is about to pump downtown full of bass? That’s right, Club Nokia is sold out and packed from wall to wall with fans of (surprisingly) all ages twitching and sweating in untamable anticipation of LA’s hottest electronic act. Well, it’s hot as fuck in Club Nokia, so that may explain at least the sweating part. On stage, there is a giant tarp covering up the mysterious and special equipment that Glitch Mob will be using to perform this evening. Oh, shit. Okay, I’m twitching now, too. Come on, just pull up the tarp… I want to see what’s under there! Come on, Glitch Mob!
Our wish is granted as several dudes come out and kneel before the magnificent tarp and then soon lift it to the rafters revealing the three mixing stations and the giant drum-like pods behind them. Shortly thereafter, the Mob themselves — Edward Ma aka ediT, Justin Boreta aka Boreta and Josh Mayer aka OOah — take their places as Club Nokia erupts in screams and other loud expressions of joy and, dare I say it, ecstasy.
And boom! Lights start flashing, crazy images shooting out from the big television screen behind the Mob and the fucking music starts. It’s a cornucopia of sounds that, by themselves, you may not necessarily think they’d ever go together, but somehow and someway The Glitch Mob blends them up and puts them to a beat with a shit load of bass masterfully.
There is an engine of some sorts burning on the screen on stage and there are a lot of fists pumping from the fans on the floor below. Among those fans are they young gentlemen who I’d like to imagine got a ride from the ‘rents all the way from somewhere deep in the O.C. to come see their favorite mob of the glitching type. One is the older brother there with his friend and the littlest member of the group is the little brother, the tagalong. At first I felt bad for the little tagalong with big glasses who big brother and friend of big brother seem to have to babysit. I mean, poor kid just wants to see some live music and feel like one of the cool kids, just happy to be hanging out with his big brother whom he looks up to. But then when the show starts, I see this little kid is annoying as fuck, and hope the big brother would just kick him in the throat. He won’t sit still, and it’s not because he’s just so into the music he needs to dance.
But as for the rest of the crowd, they are treated to quite a show with The Glitch Mob looking more like an unpainted version of the Blue Man Group than your typical DJ. They play a very large selection from Love, Death & Immortality, and definitely do not forget many of their fan faves, mixing in a healthy dose of tunes from Drink the Sea as well. They move, they dance, they mix, they bang the drums, the bring the fucking bass, and they get Club Nokia on their feet, jumping up and down and moving back and forth. Every time you think that the place just couldn’t get any crazier, The Glitch Mob drops and even bigger bass break down and the dance floor turns into an all-out rave.
The show is non-stop energy, and the Glitchies (yes, I just coined a new term for The Glitch Mob faithful) seem to have gotten everything they came looking for. The Glitch Mob is big and not just in Los Angeles. They have been touring the entire world for two years straight. Their latest album Love, Death & Immortalitycontinues to climb the charts, and the Glitchies hope that rise continues. I’m fine with that, but my greater wish is that one of them punches that little kid in his face. But that’s mostly because I’m an awful person. Mostly.