By: Henry Benerman

When the first band walked on; I saw a drummer, a bassist, an enthusiastic DJ, and a guy who looked like a cross between a biohazard sign and Assassins Creed. They began to play kind of psychedelic dubstep that took a lot of mood suppressants, and I couldn’t help but think “wow, Infected Mushroom really let themselves go.” This wasn’t Infected Mushroom luckily, but DJ Moon Frog and his band. These guys were just the first act of a three-act concert, and I can see why they were set to warm up. I remember their music being pleasant and their musicianship very technical, but not much else. Their psychedelic funk wasn’t bad, it just ran together. All their songs in their set sounded the same. Their street performer consort twirled his neon curves around to keep things interesting, but I doubt they will ever headline a show by themselves, at least not with their current act. With all that considered though, they were just the start to more worthwhile things to come.

Next to the stage was Dynohunter. They were also a two-piece-with-DJ band, but they knew how to rock. Their DJ is a competent saxophonist and managed to elevate their music beyond being just psychedelic dub. Overall their sound was like a Jazzier, self-respecting Timmy Trumpet. They seemed to add to DJ Moon Frog in a way that make everything much more fun to experience live. They do a lot with their style and I look forward to seeing where they go next. Though as likable as they were, Infected Mushroom they were not, and it showed in the mood of the crowd. The couple sitting next to me was growing both more drunk and more upset with their relationship by the minute. A man with glow-ball finger gloves looked particularly forlorn. I expected to get some rave-like vibes from a big trance act like Infected Mushroom, but I was seeing more country smashed than Coachella stoned. Though to be fair, they weren’t here for Dynohunter, and neither really was I. They did do a good warm-up though.

Finally, it came to the third act of the night. The screen went up revealing Infected Mushroom’s Erez Eisen and Amit “Duvdev” Duvdevani, their guitarist Thomas Cunningham, and their drummer Rogerio Jardim. The stage was decked out in sperm-like funguses and lasers; and honestly, it was awesome. Duvdev acted as a kind of hybrid hype-man/vocalist which was a decision that I didn’t understand at first. Though, as the show progressed I realized that he was what separated the wheat from the chaff of live electronic shows. They could have played it like daft punk or deadmau5 and sat behind some turntables and laptops for two hours, but they wanted to make it interactive like a rock show. Duvdev’s stylings made it worth coming out to see a digital music crew live. That wasn’t to say though that the rest of them weren’t awesome. Erez killed the keyboards. I have never seen anyone finger keys as fast as that man. He single handedly made all Infected Mushrooms’ signature distorted glitchy-ness. Their drummer Rogerio played all the tight beats of hardcore psytrance like a virtuoso. Thomas’s hard rock guitar blended seamlessly with their entire act. I never thought I’d say it, but Infected Mushroom is one of the better rock acts I have seen in a long while. Overall the whole show made a lot of sense. It wasn’t all excellent, but each group built upon each other excellently. It was a three-act journey into what electronic music can be. I wouldn’t mind living in a world where a rock group can drop sick beats or an EDM crew can have a killer guitar solo and none of that be out of the ordinary.