Youth Lagoon @ Wonder Ballroom 07/22/2012
Youth Lagoon produces a sound that reflects a generation displaced — a sonic experience spliced with many musical influences that culminates in a melting pot of melancholy and joy that so adequately encapsulates the disposition of youth today. Twenty year old Trevor powers, the bedroom virtuoso behind the moniker took the stage with a bashful wave to the crowd, took his place behind his blanket covered keyboard station and let the music transport a sold out wonder ballroom into a place of dance and reflective trance.
Only a guitar player and drum machine accompanied powers on stage. For this listener, drum machines usually detracts from a live experience and are a cardinal sin of live performance but Youth Lagoon required nothing more. Perhaps its because Trevor is just so young and it suits his style musically and otherwise or perhaps I need to reevaluate my position on drum machines but the snap of the synthetic snare and boom of the bass beat kept the show from falling into a show devoid of any real energy.
For the most part, powers is a quiet soft spoken individual who prefers to let his music do the talking and broke his silence between songs only for a select few words of gratitude and to address the guy who was on an entirely different level than everyone else and screaming at Trevor any time there was silence.
“What’s your name brother?” Powers questioned. “Now’s your time to shine, tell us whatsup!”
All the guy could do was scream “YOU ROCK TREVOR WOOOOO.”
Powers shrugged and laughed and the show continued.
Over the next hour, Youth Lagoon played every song from the album, The Year of Hibernation. Posters, the first single from the album saw an extended interlude before the guitar and kick drum were added and the build pulled just long enough that when the song broke into full swing, everyone went apeshit. Youth Lagoon had the crowd in their fingertips, lulling listeners into a trance in the down beats and moving them like marionettes when it was time for everyone to dance. After the band played “Montana” I looked around and wondered why no one, myself included, was clapping. I then realized everyone had been hypnotized by the music. Youth Lagoon then launched into “Afternoon” which brought the crowd back again before they left the stage to roars from the crowd that quickly brought the band back on stage to play “Cannons,” the perfect cap to the evening.
Words and photos by Gabriel Granach.