Show Review: Electro-pop duo ASTR rock Sayers Club

Nov 3: Day 3 of Red Bull Sound Select’s 30 Days in LA brought me to the small and intimate Sayers Club in Hollywood. For those of you who haven’t been in the mix, 30 Days in LA is Red Bull’s month-long curated live music series featuring 60 emerging artists in 30 venues — that’s right, live music every day of the month of November.

Monday night featured Night Drive, ASTR and The Preatures. The artist I was most fascinated with, and ultimately there to see, was electronic pop/hip-hop duo ASTR. I first came across ASTR beginning of the year when I was given a mix CD featuring the duo’s cover of “Hold On, We’re Going Home.” I’ve heard a lot of covers of the song and most didn’t stand out, but this cover had me mesmerized. And yet despite my love for this cover, for some odd reason I never ventured past it to explore the other songs ASTR had to offer. So with that, let’s consider this performance my first true introduction to ASTR.

ASTR took the stage a little past 10pm, just after Night Drive’s performance. I guess I shouldn’t say stage. It was more like a platform, probably not much more than a foot above the ground. Surrounding the platform were couches and small candle-lit tables, adding to the intimacy of the performance. 

Adam and Zoe (the members of ASTR) walked on stage, introduced themselves as ASTR then went straight into their set. Much of their set consisted of songs off their 2014 release, Varsity EP. As I’m not too familiar with their music (yet), the first song I recognized was “Part of Me,” which is now a personal favorite. I looked around and noticed the entire room was into the performance. One couple was dancing, others were nodding their heads, there really wasn’t one person who seemed disinterested in what the performance had to offer. 

To my enjoyment, they actually did perform their Drake cover. If you haven’t heard ASTR’s take on this song, stop what you’re doing and go listen to it. Right now. I’m serious.

The cover is beautiful (even moreso live), and does well at showcasing Zoe’s vocals and ASTR’s gorgeous use of synth.

Other songs in the set included “R U With Me” and set closer, “Operate.” Their stage presence matched the excitement of their music, with Zoe dancing around the stage and Adam occasionally jumping up and down and smiling at the crowd.

Overall, I’d say I witnessed an insanely good performance in a very cool and intimate setting. ASTR was fun to watch (which is always good), and sounded incredible.

If you get the chance, make sure to check out an upcoming 30 Days in LA date near you to see some amazing upcoming artists in some pretty cool venues. I don’t think I could have seen ASTR in such close proximity, otherwise!

WEBSITE: http://astr.tv/
TWITTER: https://twitter.com/astrtv
TUMBLR: http://astr-tv.tumblr.com/
SOUNDCLOUD: http://www.soundcloud.com/astr_music
YOUTUBE: http://www.youtube.com/user/ASTRtube