CONCERT REVIEW: Pop Levi At The Echo
By Seraphina L.
It was a bit freaky walking into the Echo the night before Halloween, especially since I forgot people celebrated the holiday early. Bumping, dirty, beats so heavy that they pulsated within my veins made each step I took a little more cautious as I saw a ghost imitations hanging in every corner. Everywhere else I looked, odd characters – ghoul or human – had transformed the intimate room into a twilight zone. It was only after going outside on the porch and seeing a group as motley as the one inside that I finally began to hear what I had come for: The eclectic rock sounds of Pop Levi.
Pop Levi, the brit with a falsetto voice and fingers that were born for the guitar, had taken the stage. I recognized the first chords of “Wannamama” slide up and down but I was surprised to see that Pop had a live drummer and bassist. The last time I had seen him, it was just him on the guitar and his best friend on a laptop.
For anyone who has heard his latest album, Never Never Love, the laptop made perfect sense. However, this night, I was thrilled to see a live band producing the same energy and volume a drum machine or laptop could, if not more. Pop was no longer alienating a machine on one side of the stage but was collaborating with some human camaraderie instead.
Although Pop Levi has shown his chops as a solo artist around town, the highlight was definitely his interaction with his band mates. Watching a musician who had such control over his skill as he simultaneously orchestrated a band that played infectious eccentric music was certainly impressive. It’s also what made me forget about the creepy looking audience.
Playing to a full audience of moose, guys in bathing suits, huge fros and more, Pop Levi – in all black, couldn’t have played “Dita Dimone” more suavely nor could have “Fire On Your Feet” have felt more bluesy. For the first act of the night, he pulled the music goers together and enticed them even further with mastermind rhythms and vocals to match. His stage presence, however, was unmatched and all we could do was bathe in his aura.
Photo by akmal.naim
