It was my first time at The Abbey; don’t be fooled by the look of the Irish pub. I couldn’t fathom the idea of an electronic concert being held at this venue. Fuck was I wrong. Walking up to the entrance there was line of youngsters crowding into the street. Doors opened at 10:30 but the show was delayed until after 11. The venue consists of an open room, a small upper balcony available with chair seating even a couch, and three AV screens on stage.
________________________________________________

KINETIK GROOVE
The crowd, filled with hula hoops & spinning poi, waited anxiously for them to take the stage. They would not be disappointed with the delay as Austin O’Meara started shit off right and got the crowd going immediately. He opened with a deep bluesy mix, one hand on his guitar and the other hand on his volume switch. After a couple songs Steve Kirsch took action on his bongo drums and joined Austin – an amazing surprise because he killed it.

These guys are chill as fuck, offering a mad jamtronica sound. Austin was ripping solo’s on his guitar like shredded cheese and also busted out his mini synthesized electronic piano. They played several mixes Sublime’s “Summertime”, Macklemore’s “Popping Tags”, and (WTF?) the theme song from that movie “Holes”. Kinetik Groove also transitioned into heavy bass drops with splashes of funky jazz. This was the first time seeing the troupe live and it definitely won’t be my last – these guys need to be put on the map and I would keep an eye out for them.
____________________________________________________

STYLUS BEATS
…also known as Geoff Reich, hailing from Vancouver, BC but currently residing in San Francisco. Geoff has previously collaborated with Lorin Ashton (Bassnectar), and his persona offers loud intense beats. Stylust took the stage blasting a heavy trap banger using a Wiz Khalifa rap hook from “Black And Yellow”.

He continued bringing the heat all night with dub infused trap vibes with mixes ranging from Pocket Full Of Dubs and Biggie’s “Maybe I’m Dreamin to “Hey Ma” by Camron, “Hits From The Bong” by Cyprus Hill, Dusty Springfield’s “Son Of A Preacher Man”, and Griz’s “The Future Is Now”. Geoff brought along a variety of musical elements and transitions, from psychedelic bass to a West coast influenced sound. Stylust Beats’ deep dubstep rounded out his set with nicely with Bill Withers’ classic “Ain’t No Sunshine” and “Chase The Devil”. Geoff capped it all off with Bassnectar’s massive “Loco Ono” remix while dishing out CD’s and shirts to the audience.
____________________________________________________

KAMINANDA

…took the stage next and switched up the tune. He provided a melting pot of sounds, mixing into some super tranquil, trance, and trippy melodies while also adding a glitch-hop flavor sprinkled throughout. He changed up the atmosphere, mellowing out the crowd with an exotic sound and style that brought out Kaminanda’s charisma on-stage along with an artistic audio/visual display.

____________________________________________________

VIBESQUAD

was the finale for the night. He’s previously played at several large venues and festivals, including Wakarusa and Electric Forest, and this guy knows from experience how to keep a crowd going after a long exhausting show. He jammed out to bass bouncing beats which continued raising the crowd’s enthusiasm. It was the perfect ending set, leaving the small crowd with a taste of great vibes from front to back all night.

 

50

Add to the story...