I had the privilege of catching Sleigh Bells, Rusko, and Major Lazer playing together at the Middle East in Boston on Sunday night – whoo what a show. A night after playing the gargantuan Terminal 5 in NYC, Diplo and friends packed the significantly smaller Middle East to the rafters for a great night of big beat dancing.
Sleigh Bells kicked things off with a blistering set – I was super impressed by this pair at SXSW, and they blew my mind again on Sunday night. Lead singer Alexis Krauss is a complete rock star, leaning into the crowd, punching the sky, and screaming into the microphone. She dominates the stage while guitarist Derek Miller absolutely slays. On the surface it’s a strange pairing, matching this guitar-driven pseudo-metal with Diplo and Switch’s electro reggae. Underneath that surface it’s all about hype music and big sounds, and all three groups shared that power.Rusko, although not my favorite flavor, put together a pretty sweet set of dubstep remixes of familiar songs. A bit telling that the beginnings of each track he played – when he teased the original before slaughtering it with a dubstep thump – were the highlights of his set. Regardless, he set the table nicely for Major Lazer.
Supported by two hyperactive dancers, Diplo dominated the dancefloor as Major Lazer. Wisely splurging on a baller laser light display, the group lit up the ceiling of the Middle East as a sweaty crowd danced below. The energy continued to build throughout the set, climaxing with set closer “Pon Di Floor” and encore “Hold The Line.” It was an epic set, and one that has reignited my love for Guns Don’t Kill People…Lazers Do in a big way.
Here's my new favorite Sleigh Bells tune (besides, you know, all the other ones) plus a couple really dope Major Lazer remixes.
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