Brightest Young Things

all photos: Ben Field-Pickering
all words: Megan Burns

Let me just start by saying I've been listening to "Royal Blue" on repeat since I got home Sunday morning. I have not once listened to it below the maximum volume and bass settings, and still I can't seem to crank it up enough. It seems I'm going to have to ask Ryan and Hays Holladay to come follow me around and perform it live for the rest of my life; I've essentially been trying to recreate a stellar concert in my house and in my car and let's face it, I just don't have those capabilities. Being able to physically feel the music is, for me at least, a critical factor in a good performance, and for this particular show they totally nailed it. If I could have just stayed there and listened to that song over and over for the rest of my life I would've been ecstatic. And this was just the beginning.

Bluebrain continued to deliver aesthetically on both sonic and visual levels. The brothers were, at least from my point of reference, completely invisible in the dark room, but behind them was a screen with live visuals of morphing faces and plasma blobs. This gave the show a mysterious element that heightened the whole experience; it also fit well with the description I'd been given of their sound beforehand, which is like The Knife or a darker MGMT (Peter's words, not mine). Another impressive aspect to note is that they sang all the lyrics live, which didn't even occur to me until they were two or three songs in. I still can't believe this show was free...maybe if it hadn't been I would've stayed for the whole thing since I wouldn't have eaten so much Chinese for dinner with my newfound mini fortune and thus wouldn't have fallen into a severe food coma, which forced me to leave about halfway through. If you missed this one, it's definitely in your best interest to check out them out next time.

Update: this came to our inbox

hey i played at comet pingpong with bluebrain last sat under the name CANOPY it would be sweet if you included my name in the article if ur gunna post my set in like half the pictures.  u can just describe the jams as smooth jungle journeys if u cant recall.  thanxxxx

In the meantime, get free downloads of their EP Cult Following here, and their LP Soft Power here.

Previously in Live DC:

• 2/3: Live DC: The Asteroids Galaxy Tour @ RnR Hotel
• 2/3: LiveDC: Smith Westerns @ Black Cat
• 2/2: PHOTOS: Elizaveta @ Jammin' Java
• 2/1: PHOTOS: H Street Karaoke Championship
• 1/31: LiveDC: Carsie Blanton @ Black Cat
• 1/31: LiveDC: Loose Lips/ Lightfoot/ Paperhaus/ Ugly Purple Sweater @ Black Cat
• 1/30: LiveDC: Jeff Mangum @ Lincoln Theatre
• 1/30: LiveDC: Coeur de Pirate @ 930 Club
• 1/26: LiveDC: Ryan Adams @ Strathmore
• 1/25: LiveDC: GHOST @ RNR Hotel