LOS ANGELES, CA- KCRW kicked of its summer-time “World Festival” program at the Hollywood Bowl in grand style on June 17th, 2018 with an eclectic line-up featuring a mind-bending, headlining 3D performance by Flying Lotus. On this pleasant Sunday evening, Hollywood Bowl patrons were also treated to a wide range of jazz influenced sonics and emotions from performances by Georgia Anne Muldrow, BADBADNOTGOOD and Little Dragon.
Flying Lotus has performed at the Hollywood Bowl before, but he was still in awe of the enormity of the crowd. I had seen twice before at the Hollywood Bowl, but this would be the first time seeing him with his 3D show. I catch a portion of his FYF last year, but I don’t count it because I didn’t have a good view of this stage.
Flying Lotus’ 3D spectacle was engulfing. I’ve always been skeptical of the effectiveness of 3D effects in a concert setting, but the visuals that were on display this evening was nothing short of inspiring and a taste of what the future of concert going, especially for the DJ set, could be.
But it wasn’t just the digital 3D effects that were impressive. It was the way that FlyLo used those effects with real world stage production. The way the 3D lazers interacted with the actual lighting projections from the stage and how fog from the stage interacted with 3D fog seen through the glasses was tremendously aesthetic. It truly felt like I was being consumed by the stage, and that, in and of itself, is nothing short of impressive. The lines of reality and fantasy were blurred, and that sensation is something that’s not easily acquired in an outdoor setting.
On the music front, FlyLo kept it loose, dark and spacey. It almost felt like he was just going with the flow, letting his mood dictate the direction he took his sonics. Now, clearly, I don’t think he could have necessarily done that as I’m sure that his music most likely had to be synched with the visual show that he was putting on, but that’s the genius of FlyLo live. He keeps the listener on their toes, stirring a sense of anticipation with every beat drop and modulation.
“I got tunes for days,” FlyLo announced before he delved into new material for the last 15 minutes of his set. If that’s the case, I can wait to catch him and his spectacle on another date to see how his live-show evolves from here.
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