In between 16 curved LED panels running beat-synced animations and a sold out crowd at George’s Majestic Lounge in Fayetteville, saxophonist Dominic Lalli and drummer Jeremy Salken performed the closing show for their “The Night is Young” tour March 5.
The duo’s livetronica band, Big Gigantic, has gained mass popularity in the electronic dance music community over the past two years after the release of its album, “Nocturnal.” Lalli’s live saxophone and Salken’s live drums combine with electronic beats to produce unforgettable live performances.
The band’s “The Night is Young” tour began after the release in 2014 of its fifth album also named “The Night is Young,” Big Gigantic’s most recent album since “Nocturnal” in 2012.
Big Gigantic’s two-hour performance featured a tasteful balance between tracks off the band’s new album, and throwbacks to older albums and remixes such as a Kanye West “Get Em High” remix.
During the chorus of the title track from the duo’s latest album, “The Night is Young,” two air-canons blasted an irrational amount of confetti over the band’s subwoofers and into to the crowd.
The subwoofers the act brought along in their semi trailer could be heard from blocks away before shutting down, in accordance with the Fayetteville Police Department’s 2 a.m. sound ordinance.
Big Gigantic’s mass popularity in the electronic music scene and the relatively small capacity of George’s Majestic Lounge resulted in the concert selling out before the date of the show.
The show’s audience was committed and passionate, the atmosphere testifying to this.
Audience members brought a variety of costumes, signs and light-up toys, further enhancing the atmosphere. Two audience members wore masks, a lion and an owl, and one individual brought a large U-turn sign made of cardboard and covered in neon paint that he held upside down, sending the message “Turn up.”
Within the party atmosphere the show attracted, the inebriation of audience members was obvious. Security at George’s Majestic Lounge had to remove a few people who became too belligerent in the crowd, but otherwise stayed calm and did a respectable job keeping everyone safe while the sax-fueled party raged on.
LED panel animations that composed Big Gigantic’s light show ran a variety of well-synced and often hilarious graphics. One song’s animations included a large cat head shooting laser beams and making screens near Lallic and Salken display explosions.
CAKEDUP, a duo comprised of electronic artists Oscar Wylde and Vegas Banger, opened for Big Gigantic with an hour-long set.
The combination of trap beats and the duo’s high energy was successful in getting the crowd fired up.
The DJ set from CAKEDUP featured a mix of its original songs and other popular songs in their genre. The beats were easy to dance to, but began to feel repetitive and uncreative 30 minutes into the band’s performance.
Fayetteville was one of the first towns the duo performed in after leaving their Boulder, Colo. hometown. Almost two years later, they returned to the town Lalli said was fundamental to their uprising.
Big Gigantic will begin touring for music festival season soon, beginning with Coachella and making appearances at Counterpoint, Spring Awakening and Sasquatch festivals this summer.
