REZZ Hypnotizes Halloween Show at Skyway

Halloween was an absolute blast with Rezz yesterday. I haven’t been to the Skyway Theatre in a bit. The last time I was here I saw Twenty One Pilots before they released their latest album. Rezz is currently touring on her new album, Mass Manipulation that came out August 4th. The album is her debut and with mau5trap She is also releasing a 60-page comic book that details the narrative of the album which, is basically to hypnotize and blow our minds. Love it. As I walk in, I hear that people are referencing Rezz as “Space Mom”. There is a deep following here that I did not anticipate for someone that released their debut album and it’s really amazing.

As I get there with my gang of halloween misfits around 9:30pm, there is already a long line of people waiting to get in (doors opened at 8). Half the fun of this was really seeing the costumes and frankly experiencing another side of concert-going. EDM has another culture when it comes their events. I was pumped, especially with only the small knowledge of Rezz’s single, “Relax“. Walking in, there is already a pretty good sized crowd to see Mad Zach kick off the party.  He keeps things pretty mellow, not ripping the bass too hard, it’s enough to groovy along to, good music for the poi and hoola-hooping dancers off to the side to get into.

Every once in awhile I’ll spot a girl having someone with glowing fingers do a personal light show. It’s sort of romantic that the EDM community is like that. They are here to listen to experience the same things and want to help others appreciate it too. I honestly feel like the glow fingers is moshing in this environment, very personal. He recently released a single, “Bicycles“. Very mellow, more of a strobing track that gets your head to bob.

Mad Zach exited to applause and Blackgummy hits the stage. I would say that Zach and Gummy were more atmospheric DJs. They like to play with more ambient sounds that lead into more of a pulsating rhythm. They don’t hit you too hard but they keep a solid bass going and then fade into more ambient sounds. They get their sound stabs through more subtle bass hits then higher frequency sounds. Another thing I noticed was that each act almost has a color signature. Zach was red. Blackgummy was blue. I thought it was pretty interesting. Blackgummy is touring on his new Monolith EP that he released this year.

Blackgummy makes his exit to applause and EPROM takes the stage with a THX synthy entry. He’s a bit taller than the previous DJs by at least a foot it feels like. His sets start with what’s sounds like a space ship starting up. Slow and then hitting a rhythm. He goes deep bass fast and the crowd appreciates it. EPROM released, literally this week, his new album Acid Disk with G Jones. His work with G Jones is a bit more fast paced, and has a bit more electronic voice work. He focused more on his EP Pineapple that dropped this June. I would say Pineapple is alright, my favorite off it is “Zweihander“, which honestly was a great opening for Rezz.  They sort of have the same resonating sounds in track, they share a few sound similarities that made the transition to Rezz pretty perfect.Near the end of EPROM’s set, his strobes fire, and you can see all the way to the back of the theater and realize it’s absolutely sold out. This place is filled. It’s about 12:00am and there is a lot of people in here. He’s lit by green lights that transition to purple. He goes from song to song by trying out lingering beats and making them fit together. Kendrick Lamar “M.A.A.D City” got remixed near the end of his set, with heavy bass and the place went nuts. He takes it and tries to run with it and brings it back to the original track. It’s really an interesting art to try and perfect and experience. EPROM did a fantastic job. He filled the gaps and transitioned well, that’s what the live experience really adds and is all about.

As he finishes his set around 12:30am there is a thunderous applause and he breaks down. They transition “Space Mom” Rezz to the back of the stage. She has the back stage to herself. She starts “Edge“. She has this beautiful symmetry in her music. She has thematic sounds in her music that underlies her music like her demonic pulse in “DRUGS!” and “Relax“. She has a twang beat she loves that she uses in “Premonition” (which is probably my favorite from the new album). It’s the twanging, clanging, and pulsing that drive her music from front to end. All of her music really transitions well into each other. There wasn’t much in terms of changing up the tempo, it pretty much was pulsing and driving for the first thirty at least. In my opinion she was unmatched, her music is precise, you can see her conducting her set-up like a maestro. It’s really quite something to watch.

The fans love her, you can hear the crowd chanting “We love you Rezz” and “Marry Me” which is something you’d hear at a rock concert. I was blown away. This place was absolutely sold out on a Tuesday and for good reason. Rezz conducts a beautiful symphony behind the stage. She adapted and surpassed all the DJs that were before her and really she stood alone. Her sound is fresh, it’s loud and makes you vibe intensely. With the air cannons, the lights, the costumes, the overall happy vibe of the night it was quite a visual feast. I’d definitely recommend checking her out (if you don’t mind staying out well past midnight during a school night or work night to catch her)