Concert Fri Nov 02 2012

Review: Beats Antique @ Park West, 10/31

By Brianna Kelly

There's truly nothing better than going to a concert on Halloween. It's a giant costume party with live music and dancing. What could be more fun?

Wednesday night the Park West was packed with seemingly every character, creature and celebrity imaginable for Beats Antique's sold-out show. People decked out in costumes from head to toe were ready to get weird. The Michelin Man, Pikachu, bananas, Smurfs, and aliens gathered together under the disco ball and got their groove on. Breaking Bad's Walter and Jesse made an appearance — there was even a group of friends dressed as Adventure Time characters.

The Coop, dressed up as Johnny Depp characters, from Jack Sparrow to Raoul Duke from Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, opened the show with a short and notably electronic set. Their sound has moved further away from the typical jam band sound and is becoming increasingly more influenced by electronic dance music. It seems to be working for them because the crowd keeps on dancing.

Lynx, who has been supporting Beats Antique throughout their tour, came on next. She is not your average electronic producer because she adds other live elements through her own vocals and instrumentals. Though her talent is no doubt immense, she came on much too mellow for most of the crowd's enjoyment. Things started to warm up a little more when Lynx covered "No Diggity" and even more when she started beat-boxing. Nonetheless it was crystal clear when someone in the audience yelled "Beats Antique!" that's what everyone was really waiting for.

Then, the electronic gypsy trio took the stage in subdued costumes. Zoe Jakes wore her usual belly-dancing outfit, while her musician counterparts David Satori and Tommy "Sidecar" Cappel wore Romantic-style powdered wigs. They began the show with their typical world fusion-inspired songs and performance and increased the theatrics as the night wore on.

As usual, Zoe commanded the stage with her beautiful style of belly dancing. It's hard not to fall in love with Zoe a little bit when you watch her perform. I'll admit I've got kind of a girl crush on her. She is so elegant and unconventional — from her long, straight jet-black hair to her many tattooed adornments. The things she can do with her stomach are incredible. She can make it pulsate and flow and move in the craziest ways.

Beats Antique brought Lynx, who was wearing a black Mohawk wig, back onto the stage to cover Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love." It was a decent cover but what came directly after was truly something. The band walked off the stage and "Finally Moving" immediately started playing. Each member of the band then came out and impersonated a popular electronic artist during a mix of their song. It was an ode to Pretty Lights, Bassnectar and Skrillex. Zoe was the most convincing as Bassnectar because they basically have the same hair, some people in the audience, including myself, actually thought it was him.

They ended the last show of their two month-long tour with a bang. There were more crazy masks, extra dancers, confetti canons and a massive inflatable dancing squid. Then for the final song, Zoe, who was wearing a massive lion's head, fluttered about the stage conducting a mass sing-along to "Bohemian Rhapsody," while Sidecar Tommy and David played along to the famous track. It was one of those magnificent moments at a concert where everyone in the crowd feels connected.