The Glitch Mob >> Fortune Days in Los Angeles [Club Nokia]

The Glitch Mob >> In order to continue satiating my post-Coachella palette for live music and dancing, I jumped at my friend’s last minute offer for an extra ticket to The Glitch Mob at Club Nokia in downtown Los Angeles on Saturday night.

The Glitch Mob >> Club Nokia

Did I cancel Mother’s Day plans? Technically, she cancelled.

Did I forget I also had a kickball party and dinner with a friend after? Sort of—I had planned to spend the weekend with my mom, so both RSVPs were tentative.

Did I feel obligated to make at least one of the events before the show? Yup, which I rallied through a few quick rounds of flip cup and still managed to grab some Jack in the Box (10% off for the long wait—score!) and made it to my friend’s just in time to take a shot of tequila before the UberX driver arrived.

A surprisingly quick trip east on the 10 to downtown and we made it in time to catch the two minor acts before the main event.

Club Nokia, to my mix of both pleasure and dismay, is not the venue I expected.

Based on the website, I noticed that previous shows included stand-up comedy and violin concertos. I had anticipated reserved seats and a small dance floor near the stage for a select few.

Not quite—instead, it was more of a club environment with 3 levels and a lengthy bar at each [of which there was zero wait for a drink given the clientele that night, but more on that later]. I should have figured from the name Club Nokia that this would be the case, but Yelp threw me off a bit this time.

The seats upstairs were empty and most people were squeezed together on the dance floor, which made sense provided this was an EDM show and not a symphony. Part of the stage was blocked on both sides because of giant, 3-feet wide columns, though fortunately TV screens were placed at the top for those stuck in the back.

Before the main show started, we enjoyed the outdoor patios that were heated by nothing but the unnervingly warm Santa Ana winds, overlooking LA Live where we witnessed mopey Kings fans drudging back to their cars across the way.

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By the time 11pm rolled around, The Glitch Mob trio of Boreta, Ooah, and edIT came out as I had expected: lights off and motionless, creating an atmosphere of eager anticipation. This was followed by the measured buildup of those 3 recognizable notes of 'We Can Make the World Stop' that instantly had everyone screaming in support. I myself was jumping and dancing right away, with the help of said shot from earlier.

I must say, I was quite literally blown away.

The residual from the 6 oversized drums and synthetic bass were so strong that my hair was blowing and my eyes had to squint to keep from drying out. The best way around it was to close my eyes and dance to the beat of the music.

To give you a feel of the clientele at this show—which both added and detracted from the music itself—I will quote [almost] verbatim my conversation with the lollipop-sucking wannabe candy raver who I will excuse for those reasons alone:

“How old are you?”

“You should never ask a woman her age.”

“Am I too young to dance with you? I’m 23.”

“Dancing is fine.”

“How old are you? 26?”

Give him the thumbs up sign, and then gesture upwards a couple times to indicate he needed to guess higher.

Red-mouthed boy dance spins around, walks away without a word, end of story.

I will admit that was one of the funniest age disses of my life and made for a great post-show conversation, which was actually told much better by the friend standing next to me who witnessed the whole episode.

Needless to say, the majority of attendants were probably college kids or recent grads, which is the only reason I didn’t feel this venue was ideal for this kind of show given the all ages entry. Our group was definitely in the upper echelons, but at least we weren’t the ones who puked in 1 of 2 elevators or were the girl who passed out on the floor and had to be escorted out by security once she came to. It happens.

Despite the minor distractions, the show ended gracefully with crowd favorite sing-along encore of 'We Can Make the World Stop' followed by the much built up to 'Fortune Days' that sealed the night pleasantly and helped me burn the last bit of energy I needed to feel satisfied with the evening.

[related: hella coachella 2014 >> glorious Spotify playlist]

Other highlights included edIT’s amazing bleached hair that he waved about like a mermaid jumping out of the water, watching as the trio spun around effortlessly to beat the ginormous drums in Taiko fashion, only to sync back up to tap each of their 6 iPad-style red touch pads that de-lit once tapped, creating an illusion that closely resembled the Simon toy of the ‘90s.

In sum, The Glitch Mob was fantastic and very professional. The venue would probably be better for a different type of music genre. The crowd should probably practice their manners and party skills before going back. Conclusion: I still love live music, and dancing!

Danielle

Danielle

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