USF @ Holocene

Jason Baxter and Kyle Hargus of USF

Last night at Holocene, four great acts came together for an electro-based ambient trip out. Nice Nice, USF, White Rainbow, and Big Spider's Back all had the crowd in the palm of their hands, creating hypnotizing sound scapes that complacently swooned onlookers.

Big Spider's Back is Yair Rubinstein, and you should check out this fantastic act when you next get a chance. We showed up early to catch the opening set from this NW musician, and we weren't disappointed. The murky and often colorful songs each painted a different musical landscape for the audience, and if you weren't paying enough attention the mood could change dramatically in seconds, though never enough to take away from the airiness of the songs. 

Seattle's USF, formerly known as Universal Studios Florida, are Jason Baxter and Kyle Hargus. The songs the two create border on atmospheric and electro pop, with plenty of thick tones dogpiled on top of each other. The tripped out nature of the songs never take away from the melodic backbone that runs throughout, while an often bouncey rhythm dances beneath it all, driving the duo and the rest of us as we wait to see where we'll go next.

White Rainbow, the moniker of Adam Forkner, brought sometimes ambient, sometimes fierce electronic-based tunes. Using a microphone, countless buttons and knobs, and several samplers, this talented act brought a lot to the table, and was really enjoying himself. The crowd really ate up the party vibe that Forkner tried to instill, and his funky synthesizer work it really brought the dancers up to the front of the stage. The sampled bass and kick allowed Forkner to play a bit more freeform at times, which made the live experience much more resonant with the audience's mood, so he kicked it up even more.

Nice Nice ended the night with a furious mix of instrumental and electronic madness. Jason Buehler and Mark Shirazi built the structures of their songs right in front of the crowd, allowing them to gain momentum until they simply leveled the dance floor with a furious thumping rhythm. The live drums brought a lot of immediacy to the sound, and reinforced the pair's already tight performance. It's hard to believe that this band has been doing this type of high quality work for over 12 years. 

Big Spider's Back

USF

White Rainbow

Nice Nice