Papadosio / Highline Ballroom (New York, NY) / 02.09.12

Published: February 21, 2012

By: Billy Murray

Last week Papadosio headlined an all ages show at Highline Ballroom in NYC, with a full load of openers that included Horizon Wireless, SpeakerBot, and PH Factor. Papadosio has only appeared in NYC a handful of times, leaving hardcore fans eager to get their fix. This show was also the 6th stop of the Awake Inside Tour, their first tour of 2012.

Before the show, the members of Papadosio could be seen moving through the audience, engaging in conversation with their fans and peers. Much of Dosio’s dramatic rise in popular over the past couple of years can be directly linked to non-stop touring and deep, personal connection with their fans.

PH Factor kicked off the night. A three-piece, Colorado-based act, its members thrive on maintaining an organic sound, utilizing only guitar, bass, and drums. Despite some technical issues, the trio played a variety of songs ranging from slow and jazzy drum beats, to fast paced classic and progressive rock and roll. However, many seemed to feel that their set lacked a bit of originality, failing to win the hearts of the majority of the audience.

Next up was SpeakerBot, a young New Jersey based DJ, who is known for blending a broad variety of genres such as house, disco, and minimal, while covering many of the sub-genres in between. This young new artist most definitely made his presence known with an energetic performance and great stage presence. Not only did he play a terrific set but he taught the audience how to really “get down” as well.

NY’s own DJ/drummer duo, Horizon Wireless, took the stage in the feature slot. These guys blended a tidal wave of unique sounds and genres, incorporating minimal house, tech house, and trip-hop into psychedelic break beat music. The combination of live drumming and intense production resulted in a powerful, high-energy dance performance.

Midnight approached, the lights dimmed, the projector whirred to life, and Papadosio took over the stage. Their performance was backed with a seemingly standard light show; however, the visuals flooding the stage gave fans an extrasensory element. This psychedelic imagery strongly emphasized the surreal state Papadosio seeks to integrate into their performance.

A unique part of their live show was the high quantities of layering found inside their songs. With a crash of the cymbals, the drummer lets loose a groovy and danceable beat, while the bassist throws down a jazzy but steady melody. As the song builds the guitarist begins to unleash a smooth and elegant riff, gaining volume as the song progresses. As the intensity reaches greater heights, an equally elegant and almost identical synth riff is played along with the guitar. The combination of the guitar and synth join to create one powerful and magnificent sound that cuts straight through the hearts of the audience. Above all, this is backed by flawless vocal harmonies, which is something that most (let’s say… 95%) livetronica bands lack.

Papadosio played a wide range of songs with a healthy dose of segueing and improv. Some tracks were from their 2008 EP By the Light of the Stars, others from 2009’s Observations, and even a few new songs that have yet to be released.

&lt;a href="http://papadosio.bandcamp.com/album/by-the-light-of-the-stars-ep-2"&gt;By the Light of the Stars EP by Papadosio&lt;/a&gt;

The rest of the tour is as follows:

02.22.12 | Kalamazoo, MI | Bells Brewery

02.23.12 | Bloomington, IN | Bluebird Nightclub

02.24.12 | Urbana, IL | Canopy Club

02.25.12 | Chicago, IL | Bottom Lounge

02.26.12 | St. Louis, MO | Old Rock House

02.27.12 | Memphis, TN | Newby’s

02.28.12 | Oxford, MS | Proud Larry’s

02.29.12 | Starkville, MS | Rick’s

03.01.12 | Auburn, AL | Bourbon Street

03.02.12 | Knoxville, TN | Cider House