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RÜFÜS / RÜFÜS DU SOL at Santa Monica Pier's Twilight Concert 8/11/16. Photo by Derrick K. Lee, Esq. (@Methodman13) for www.BlurredCulture.com.

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The Santa Monica Pier Twilight Concerts always draw big crowds. But, wow. I have NEVER seen a crowd as big as the one that showed up for RÜFÜS DU SOL’s performance last week. Headlining the evening’s “Australia Rocks” themed concert, RÜFÜS DU SOL, an electronic dance trio whose nu-disco sonics spawned the international hits “You Were Right” and “Like An Animal”, took the stage to a packed pier, and beach. Typically averaging around 16.5K attendees, I wouldn’t be surprised if this concert drew close to 30K concertgoers.

The opportunity to listen to their dreamy, yet danceable, music under the stars by the ocean was probably the carrot (a perfectly sautéed carrot with unbelievable spices) that enticed the crowd to come out en masse, and it was no surprise that from the first note played, everyone, including the masses on the beach, was up on their feet moving to the band’s infectious synths. The dancing on the pier was tangible, as I could feel the wooden structure pulse under my feet with every beat. Even if your senses couldn’t pick up on the vibrations on the pier, you could see it visually on stage with lighting fixtures swaying to point that it actually made me nervous that it would topple over at some point.

Security redirected fans from the pier which had reached its maximum capacity early in the evening to the beach, but that didn’t stop die-hard fans from finding a way to sneak onto the official concert area. I personally witnessed several young males climb onto a utility truck located adjacent to the pier, scaling the side of it in order to “hop the fence” and join the rave like madness that those early arrivals were reveling in. Security noticed the two men too late, and try as they did to catch up with the trespassers, the pier crowd was so packed that they vanished in an instant; swallowed into the masses.

RÜFÜS DU SOL’s music transported its fans to bliss. Tyrone Lindqvist, Jon George and James Hunt cast their musical spell on the audience, as was evident by the fans in the audience who swayed to their music with their eyes closed, singing every lyric at the top of their lungs. Mr. Lindqvist’s smooth vocals, particularly his laidback falsetto, added to the ethereal nature of the music. The musical production notwithstanding, I personally feel like Tyrone’s lead vocals is what separates RÜFÜS DU SOL from many other electronic dance recording artists. Where many popular acts have special guest vocalists sing on their recordings (resulting in having a pre-recorded vocal tracks used in “live” concert performances), every RÜFÜS DU SOL song is truly their own, not having to rely on the voice of a third party.

Though it was suggested that there may have been some technical issues with some of the instruments during the performance, I’m fairly certain that no one noticed any deficiency. If the gentlemen of RÜFÜS DU SOL had any inkling that their performance was anything less than wonderful, I would have pointed to the permanent grins on every face that was around me while they were playing. 

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