Simon Green, aka Bonobo, stopped through Miami two nights ago to play a show at Grand Central. I won a ticket to the sold out event so I couldn’t miss out. I have seen Bonobo multiple times so I expected to hear a pretty chill set of Bonobo style tunes on a great sound system. Bonobo sets are usually more for captivating and entrancing purposes rather than dancing purposed. After seeing the full Bonobo live band show last year I didn’t think I would be very impressed by a mere DJ set. This US Fall Tour is much different than expected however. Simon was well aware of the city he was playing in and made sure to cater to us accordingly. Kastle served as an excellent opening act on the evening too. Here are the 3 reasons you should catch Bonobo on his Fall Tour or anytime you can for that matter.
1. PERFORMANCE Bonobo is a performer. He is a damn good one too. He is a good DJ but not all good DJs know how to perform. You can tell there is work being done on stage. Simon Green gets in the zone and goes to work only to break and thank Miami for providing good vibes and to let us know he’s having fun. You don’t just hear one song play then another song play. There is mixing and experimental sounds being used to transition. Taking chances on stage is something I have loads of respect for. Everything about the performance on this Fall Tour was top notch. The lighting rig is similar to the one used with the Bonobo live band so there was plenty of visual stimulation to trance you.
2. MUSIC CHOICE New music, well known music, and unknown music all found its way into the Bonobo set at Grand Central. Primarily the unknown. I literally only knew about three songs that Bonobo played. Cirrus being one of those songs. He played a new song that is coming out on a new EP very soon. He also played a song that he’s never played out live before or played to anyone for that matter. His ears were the only ones who have heard it according to him. It always creates a more intimate experience when an artist plays you something new or unheard. As for the rest of the set, I’m not really sure what was played. I would love to see a tracklist honestly. The show was in Miami on a Saturday night and the music matched the setting very well. A lot more upbeat house influenced music than I’m used to from Simon. Even his brand new song had some house influenced drums and bass. I managed to grab a video of his new song which will be included on the upcoming EP (bottom of page).
3. ATMOSPHERE/CROWD Many crowds at concerts can be hit or miss in the vibe department. The Bonobo crowd is usually a hit. Nobody wants to attend a Bonobo show to shove people around and fight for position. Everyone seems to be there to enjoy some ambient melodic tunes on a great sound system and dance around a little bit. Even in Miami where you tend to find some uptight folks, the Bonobo crowd was chill and full of music lovers having a good time. Check out the vibes for yourself in the video I snagged below
Post by DubEra.com.
The tour is still in progress so make sure you catch one of the stops if you can!
