Just past 9:30, the lights on the stage went dim. Slowly, each light fixture turned on and off, flashing between white, red and blue colors before moving to the next. First, the overheads. Next, the massive panels to the left and right of main stage, each adorned with a set of vines and plants. Finally, the giant arch lighting that crowned the main stage blinked on and off. A slow synth wave flooded in and out of the speakers, while heavy tom rolls interweaved themselves in and out of the sound. Minutes later, a large sheet was removed from center stage to reveal the main attraction: What So Notโs iconic life-sized silver stallion statue. Quickly, it became clear that this massive stallion was pulling the mainstage-turned-chariot (outfitted with its own monster truck wheels and a smorgasbord of plants and vines) that would be What So Notโs (aka Emoh Instead aka Chris Emerson) perch throughout the evening. ย What So Not and Trev Lukather on stage. Photo by Roldy As the drums and synth swelled, Trev Lukather (aka Biotin Babies) appeared to the right of the stage, playing the telltale intro guitar riff of โSame Mistakes.โ Then, just as the song approached its first climax, What So Not himself stepped onto his chariot to reign in the first of countless drops throughout the night. Armed with a full electronic drum set and his laptop, What So Not brought his new live set to the test for the first time. After the opening track, the show opened up into a tropical thunderstorm, with bright sporadic lights flashing above the forested stage, and the massive rumble of What So Notโs heaviest bass drops. The show featured many of What So Notโs iconic remixes, including โPowerโ by Kanye West and โAfricaโ by Toto. One of the highest energy moments of the concert came during What So Not and Quixโs dual remix of โRunโ by AWOLNATION. With two full sections of What So Notโs drop followed by two full sections of Quixโs, the song maintained incredible energy for over a minute. About 20 seconds in, the first of multiple mosh pits opened in the center of the main floor area, and lasted until the final drum sounded on the drop.ย ย What So Notโs set was an impressive amalgamation of hisย older, intense works and crazy live edits with the more serene and contemplative new material from Not All the Beautiful Things (2018). By the end of the concert, he had played bits and pieces of just about every song from the new album. During the main set, songs such as โWarlord,โ โGoh,โ and โIf You Only Knewโ entered the live scene with even more energy and power than their album versions. Photo by Luke Eblen Others, such as โWe Keep on Runningโ and โStuck In Orbitโ made for important lulls between the otherwise high energy and aggressive set. โSeveranceโ and โAdieu,โ both from the Divide and Conquer EP (2016) also marked slow moments in which the crowd came together to sway in unison to some of What So Notโs most memorable melodies. Just as What So Not made sure to focus on his new material, he did not fail to revive some of his all time biggest hits as well. Pop-Inspired masterpieces โBetterโ and โHigh You Areโ were early plays in the night, and helped to set the tempo for the show. Later on, the brooding but equally heavy “Gemini” stood out from the already amazing set. However, the most powerful of these performances came near the end of the main set, in which What So Not played his incredible remix of RรFรS DU SOLโs โInnerbloom.โ From the slow, brooding intro with RรFรSโs inebriating vocals to the hybrid, percussive lead melody over a classic What So Not trap drop, the song had the crowdโs attention for its entirety. After a brief intermission, What So Not returned to the stage for an encore which consisted of three songs from the newest album. The first, โBe OK Againโ marked the first single of the album and had many listeners singing along with Daniel Johnsโ featured vocals before the classic pulsating future bass chords washed over the crowd. โBottom Endโ followed, and possibly brought the heaviest section of the entire night as the high, squeaky lead synth led into the metallic and mechanical boom of the powerful drop. The set ended on the slower note of โUs,โ which also serves as the album closer on What So Notโs newest album. As Danielsโ vocals swirled and collided with the smooth synths and arpeggiating melody, the crowd interlocked arms and swayed as one. As the song came to a close, What So Not took his leave despite continuing cries from the audience for more music. On both the debut of his live show and his โAll the Beautiful Thingsโ tour, What So Not delivered an unforgettable show. ย Between his enticing melodies, creative live edits, incredible percussion and low end production and generally incredible feel for the crowd, the show delivered both a meaningful and energetic experience. ย At the beginning of the tour, What So Not said he hoped to create an โentire world that people can step into.โ It seems, however, that once people stepped in to it, they had no desire to step out. What So Not created an entire world with his unforgettable live experience. Photo by Roldy Written by Jacob Green Share this:Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Leave a Reply Cancel ReplyYour email address will not be published.CommentName* Email* Website Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Currently you have JavaScript disabled. In order to post comments, please make sure JavaScript and Cookies are enabled, and reload the page. Click here for instructions on how to enable JavaScript in your browser. Δ