By Danielle Smith
Staff Writer
Snakehips performed at the intimate Novo theater in LA Live on April 21. The British electronic music duo consisting of Oliver Lee and James Carter followed three talented opening bands, causing eager concertgoers to have to wait for over 3 hours to hear their overall disappointing music.
Snakehips engaged the crowd with flashing lights and steady electronic beats. Although the techno music itself was exciting and lively, the live performance was underwhelming and did not enhance the experience in the slightest.
Lee and Carter remix multiple popular techno songs from other artists, as well as create their own original tracks. Their most successful songs include, “All My Friends”, “Gold” and “Dímelo”. The latter of the three was not featured at their LA concert, disappointing many enthusiastic fans.
The small venue was excellent in creating a more personal connection between the performers and crowd. General admission tickets gave viewers the option of standing on the floor, or sitting in the upper balcony for a wider view. The entire crowd danced throughout Snakehips’s whole performance and the energy in the intimate theater was electric.
Snakehips successfully engaged the crowd, projecting unique backdrop graphics to enhance certain songs. One background was what seemed to be arabic text flashing in florescent colors. The meaning of these symbols were unknown, but they added a dynamic element that intrigued viewers and emphasized the traditional Middle Eastern sounds used in certain songs.
Flashing lights varied in color and speed to match each individual song, adding a more visual and stimulating aspect to the performance while synchronizing with the beat. Unfortunately, after waiting 3 hours for the main band, they also became dull and repetitive.
The three opening artists featured electronic music as well and each took advantage of stage time to engage viewers with a variety of vocals and unique beats. Although Jay Prince, Louie Lastic and Wave Racer, featured very little original songs, they engaged the concert goers by remixing well known, crowd-pleasing songs from other artists.
The last opener, Wave Racer, played remixes of popular songs including Flume’s “Never Be Like You”, bringing new life to the overplayed original. Wave Racer was the final opening band before Snakehips came on, and he did a wonderful job of rejuvenating the crowd and exciting them for the main band’s long awaited entrance.
There were many times throughout the concert in which the songs become monotonous with the same beat repeated steadily throughout multiple songs. Despite these rough patches, many extremely exhilarating moments with intense bass drops excited the crowd and caused everyone to jump to the music.
The simple stage design with the artists standing behind a large podium was appealing at first, but became boring to look at by the time Snakehips came on stage. The performing group’s name continuously flashed across the front of the podium, bringing a small amount of charm to the uninteresting design.
Overall, the Snakehips concert featured unique, undiscovered artists and a great variety of new and known songs, but fell short in making the live performance worth paying for. The underwhelming stage design and extended wait time made this concert fall short of expectations in most aspects.
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