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On Thursday evening of last week, we were fortunate enough to attend the SBTRKT show during his two-night stint at The Belasco Theater in Downtown LA. As part of his Wonder Where We Land tour in support of the recently released album of the same name, he made an extended stop in LA and we’re not mad about that. Having already performed across Bristol, Manchester, Nottingham, London, and few gigs here in the Southern part of the states, we were certainly expecting a stellar show and we definitely got it.
From the stage lighting and stage setup, to the pristine sound and clarity of the live mix, there was a sense of professionalism and consistency that is sometimes missing at shows. The moment that SBTRKT came onto the stage and the lights dimmed, the energy in the venue was insane. Beginning with a really laid beat he managed to transition perfectly into both new songs and old classic. Shifting from popular new tunes like “New Dorp, New York” and “Temporary View,” to classics like “Wildfire” and “Never Never,” we were left floating in the highest of highs. That was until he took to whole other level by bringing out emerging rapper Raury onto the stage to perform the track “Higher.” That was so smooth and unexpected and while that was a dope surprise, I found myself asking “Where the f*** is Sampha?!” I mean he’s ONLY been on over 10 singles with SBTRKT! I’m a little disappointed that he didn’t come out, but at the end of the day, it was still an interesting, captivating show.
To properly define who and what SBTRKT is and how incredible of a force he actually is in the music industry, the only way I can describe that is to refer to the Wizard of Oz. For some reason, that is precisely what popped into my head while I was grooving out to his songs during the show and getting lost in the lazers and visuals. As I was observing this dark, mysterious figure with a tribal mask covering the majority of his face, I got the strange sense that I was witnessing a wizard. Maybe it had something to do with the emerald lighting at the moment or maybe it was the new and experimental sounds that I was hearing, but it felt magical. The setting of being in a old theater turned into a club, mixed with his entire show production, was something special and truly unique. To get a better feel of that, check out the pictures below!
