Zack Gill
Arts Editor
Anthony Gonzales named his band M83 after the Messier 83 spiral galaxy. His live show features a backdrop of lit-up stars and dreampop with cosmic machinations to match Gonzales’ astral inspirations.
Electronic musicians often struggle in the live forum. Fortunately, for Gonzales’ shoegaze-inspired brain-child, this was not the case. M83’s sold-out performance at Club Nokia on January 13 was a testament to showmanship and hard work: Anthony Gonzales appears to be among the most hardworking musicians in rock music right now. With a dazzling light display and comparable musical ability, M83 put on a show of epic proportion.
Formed in 2001, M83 has essentially been a solo project of Gonzales since his bandmate Nicolas Fromageau left the band after their second and arguably best record, “Dead Cities, Red Seas, & Lost Ghosts.” Gonzales followed that album up with “Before the Dawn Heals Us,” a searing, more cinematic album.
After taking a detour to pure pop land with “Saturdays=Youth,” last year M83 released double album “Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming,” which merges some of M83’s poppier inclinations with their earlier, more cinematic sound.
Thankfully, the grandeur of the album transferred well to the live setting. M83 opened with “Intro,” the first track of “Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming.” The song started with the stage in pure blackness, and as the song built from whispered speech to piercing vocalizations, with building accompanying synth lines and dramatic stage lighting..
M83’s encore consisted of perhaps their best performance of the night with the epic “Couleurs.” At over eight minutes in length, the song became an extended, electronic jam. The audience was eagerly receptive, and for more than eight minutes, the inhabitants of Club Nokia, as well as members of M83, were in harmonious and blissful pandemonium.
Gonzales doesn’t tour alone, but definitely does the most work of his band. Gonzales repeatedly switches between guitar, various electronic equipments for loops, and synthesizers, all the while singing lead vocals. Gonzales is exuberant up on stage, with roughly the amount of energy as an ecstatic puppy.
Gonzales began as a Kevin Shields-inspired mumbler, with his voice taking on a metallic sheen in his music, but now, he has emerged as a full on pop star with the pipes needed to deliver in a live setting. Not the hint of strain could be found in Gonzales’ voice. Gonzales is fully able to keep up with his music vocally, shining on songs like “Midnight City,” where his voice is front and center.
Although Gonzales is the driving songwriting force behind M83, the band is also a touring entity with many additional musicians. Electronic music in a live setting is always aided by live drums, and the M83’s drummer is no exception to this rule. Live drums make the music more vital and powerful, and separate sleepier, boring dance acts from musicians trying to actually put on a show.
Vocalist and Keyboardist Morgan Kibby is a key to the M83 live equation, as well. Providing textural assistance on the keyboard while lending her powerful pipes to the music (many M83 songs both feature female and male vocals), Kibby works nearly as hard as Gonzales.
M83 also backs itself up with a dazzling visual display. During “Intro,” the starlit backdrop suddenly turned on, to the crowd’s great pleasure. Songs consistently featured shifting colored lights and strobe, creating a hypnotic, dance-friendly atmosphere.
M83 is a live band that everyone should see. They put on a loud, hypnotic, immediate show that is immensely pleasurable to behold. M83 played two sold out shows at Club Nokia on January 12 and 13 and will be performing at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.
Leave a Reply