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Excision At The Shrine: Review

Marc Sessa |
February 11, 2014 | 11:03 a.m. PST

Staff Reporter

On Saturday, February 8, Excision took the stage at the Shrine Expo Hall to give the residents of Los Angeles a taste of the heavier, harder hitting side of EDM using “150,000 watts of sound,” and he did not disappoint.  

After receiving support from such acts as Dirtyphonics, EPTIC, CRNKN, ILL Gates, and Definitive, Excision used his video and lighting installation called The Executioner in conjunction with his bass heavy performance to fill the venue. Quite honestly, I was surprised to see the Shrine still in one piece after the 7-hour show.

This writer must admit that Excision is not exactly his favorite type of EDM, and when one listens to his top tracks on Spotify they might not rush to buy a ticket. However, the live performance was thoroughly surprising, in the best way.

Excision, and the rest of his crew, had a little bit of everything for the crowd, including dubstep, drum ‘n’ bass, trap, and a little bit of house even thrown in there. He would speed the music up, accumulating tension and finally would drop the music into a slow, bass thumping rhythm that would cause the crowd to rock back and forth together.

The Executioner, which claims to be “mind blowing,” is really just that. It is a one-of-a-kind installation that is on the forefront of changing how concerts might take place.

The installation is a giant amorphic, white structure so that different images and settings may be projected onto it so that it changes with the music. The middle has a door that can open and close to show Excision and really make one feel like the structure is a car, part of a space rocket, or other similar objects. Of course, the rest of the stage setup allows for lights and lasers as well to help amplify the experience.

The entire night was great except for some technical difficulties that the Shrine kept experiencing. The music kept cutting out to the crowd’s dismay. Finally, when Excision got his setup back and running he announced, “Someone’s getting fired tonight,” to which the crowd cheered before he started playing again.

At the end, concerned about the concertgoers’ experience, he apologized multiple times and thanked everyone for their patience. Finally, he said he would just have to come back and give the crowd a better show. I know that I’ll be there!

This was only the 13th show of his 52 stop US tour so if he is coming to a city near you I highly encourage you to get your ticket now. Trust me, you will not be sorry! But if you are expecting The Executioner in your town make sure to check that the venue does not have constraints or it will not be there.

Read more of NT's show reviews here.
Reach Staff Reporter Marc Sessa here.


 

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