Chromeo Light Up New York City

Posted on Jul 30th 2010 10:00AM by Alex Suskind
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FilmMagic

At 11:20PM on Thursday night at New York City's Bowery Ballroom, hundreds were waiting in anticipation for the night's main act, the '80s-inspired funk maestros known as Chromeo. As the lights dimmed, people swelled towards the stage. Two pairs of leg-shaped lamps -- from the cover of the duo's second album, 'Fancy Footwork' -- lit up. One set was fastened underneath an electric keyboard, the other, under a table holding up a laptop. Then, as a loud booming bass began to shake the floor, a sequencer blasted through the speakers, each sound eliciting loud cheers from the sold-out crowd. Cue the fat synth, talk box and thick drumbeat; the dance-party commenced.

Chromeo's show was funky, entertaining and, well, bright -- as the duo played their brand of electro-funk, 12 gigantic sets of spotlights and six multi-colored strobe lights shined on behind them, mesmerizing and slowly blinding the crowd at the same time. Synchronized to the beat of the music, the lights put a spotlight on the dancing mass, particularly during favorites like 'Momma's Boy,' 'Bonafied Lovin' and 'Tenderoni.' They also played two new tracks from their soon to be released third LP, 'Business Casual': 'Don't Turn the Lights On' and 'Night by Night,' both of which were greeted warmly by the energetic crowd.

Since their first record came out in 2004, Patrick Gemayel and David Macklovitch -- also known as P-Thugg and Dave 1 -- have put a new spin on dance music by mixing '80s new wave and '70s disco. Drawing comparisons from Rick James to Hall and Oates -- Chromeo actually played alongside Daryl Hall himself at this year's Bonnaroo festival -- the band has developed a solid following since their debut. Two albums deep with a third on the way, Chromeo have cemented themselves as one of the premier dance-funk groups in music and, after a show like Thursday night's, showed exactly why they continue to live up to that title.

In fact, the Bowery is already familiar turf for the duo -- they played their first concert in New York City at the very same venue, something Macklovitch alluded to midway through the set. "It was a memorable night. I had a Gibson Flying V [and the owner told me] 'that's the first time I saw someone playing disco on a Flying V,' said Macklovitch, smiling as he gave his best impression of the owner's heavy New York accent.

By the end, the Bowery was hot and humid and concertgoers were glistening with sweat. Although the crowd wasn't as energetic during the group's final song, '100%,' they still seemed ready to hear another track. But even if the shindig at this particular venue had finished, another one was about to get started just across town -- Chromeo were DJing an afterparty at a nearby club.

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