- Antone's wasn't exactly designed with electronic music in mind. If the creaky, bourbon-soaked atmosphere didn't immediately tip you off, the countless B.B. King and Johnny Cash posters would. So it was a little weird passing through a saloon to bone-rattling dubstep. Luckily, the atmosphere didn't faze an Austin, Texas audience who were most certainly ready to dance recently. And TOKiMONSTA and Bonobo gladly reciprocated.
Given the fresh eruption of TOKiMONSTA's popularity, it would almost be expected that the Los Angeles-based producer's stage presence and set lists would still be in development. Luckily, she defeated that with the age-old technique of bringing a goofy friend on stage. Suzi Analogue, decked in day-glo rave gear, did most of the talking—purring meaningless catchphrases in a sultry underground tone. "I think you might know this one," she quipped after Toki introduced a spliced-up remix of Jimi Hendrix's "Purple Haze." All eyes were on Suzi, especially considering Lee spent her entire time in the lights staring studiously at her laptop. She had her mix, and she was sticking to it.
The crowd on this night, however, was mostly here for Bonobo. Simon Green was joined by five other musicians. The flute and sax samples were played live, and the head-nod hypnotic drum patterns Green is so fond of came out of an actual drum set. It was peculiar seeing the organic, yet hypothetical sounds come out of the instruments they were originally designed for.
Andreya Triana even appeared to reprise "Eyesdown," letting her esoteric soul run all over the mechanized beats. Members entered and exited the stage seemingly on a whim, sometimes leaving the beatmakers to their sets or the guitarists to their hardware. At one point Triana was the only figure in the spotlight, overdubbing her voice into a surging, knotty monstrosity. It was the complete opposite of TOKiMONSTA; while her set felt scripted, Bonobo's performance evolved on random inclination. These players are so good at their respective roles, they can sit back and let the music react for them.