Live Review: Lapalux at Schubas Tavern September 18, 2013

Schuba’s Tavern, a small bar/venue on the corner of Belmont and Southport in Chicago, played host to three upcoming artists; Deanna Devore, Redwood, and Lapalux. Given the size of the venue itself, and the lineup, a good turnout was anticipated, and the people delivered. The tavern remained mostly empty for Deanna’s stunning indie rock performance. Miss Devore, lacking two other band members took the stage with her bass guitarist (who also doubled as the synth played for most of the set), and replaced her lacking members with synthetic rhythm. The band recently released a new EP, and played a few songs for the small crowd. When Redwood took to the stage single as a pringle, only accompanied by his MacBook, the crowd grew. Redwood played continuous music from his most recent album and also previewed a song for the album he is currently working on. Though the set lasted forty-five minutes the crowd grew and along with the dance moves. As the set progressed, more people began dancing to the heavy bass, synth leads, remixes, and spoken word. I even found myself dancing the set away. I had the opportunity to speak with him after his performance, he recently collaborated with a few small Brooklyn groups, and is anticipating the collaboration with a few California artists. Lapalux walked up the steps to the stage, where a projector and screen had been assembled, along with his MacBook and DJ equipment. The crowd had since more than doubled and the eagerness of the people was evident. In the true indie fashion, the projector displayed an obscure picture of a man and woman in what appeared to be water. The picture itself was still but through different lighting, framing jumping, and filter settings, the picture gave life to the performance. Starting with slow, high pitched beats and some white-noise, Lalpalux gave the crowd something to wait for. Just as the build had perceived it to be, the drop was subtle yet heavy, with the same high pitches but with extended heavy bass lines. Even though the overall beat of the continuous set was slow, the heavy bass and other effects lead people to dance. All in all, a good time was guaranteed for everyone in attendance and the artists did not disappoint.