Despite being around for a over a decade, Montreal electro-funk duo Chromeo had never played Winnipeg before. Dave 1 (David Macklovitch) and P-Thugg (Patrick Gemayel) made up for lost time with a high-energy set that dipped into familiar territory with tracks like "Hot Mess," "Needy Girl" and "Fancy Footwork," along with showcasing newer cuts "Over Your Shoulder" and "Something Good" from 2014's White Women.
With plenty of fog machines, strobes, cross-cutting white spotlights and a semi-mirrored backdrop that pushed the stage setup over the top, Chromeo's slick and well-executed live set has obviously been polished on the road, with the duo seamlessly changing between guitars, modular synths, a talk box, electronic drums and various keyboards throughout the show. Dave 1 bounced around the stage shredding Prince-like guitar solos on "Hot Mess" and later in the set on "Frequent Flyer," while partner P-Thugg handled talk box vocals, keys and bass from his corner of the stage.
Charismatic throughout the night, Dave 1 led the audience through a couple of call and response sections that would normally fall flat with a Monday night Winnipeg audience, yet he managed to pull it off without being cheesy. Feeling like an updated version of something from another era, Chromeo carefully balance the nostalgic sounds that are their foundation with enough booming drums, splashy bass and juicy chords to keep things sounding fresh. Anthony Augustine
With plenty of fog machines, strobes, cross-cutting white spotlights and a semi-mirrored backdrop that pushed the stage setup over the top, Chromeo's slick and well-executed live set has obviously been polished on the road, with the duo seamlessly changing between guitars, modular synths, a talk box, electronic drums and various keyboards throughout the show. Dave 1 bounced around the stage shredding Prince-like guitar solos on "Hot Mess" and later in the set on "Frequent Flyer," while partner P-Thugg handled talk box vocals, keys and bass from his corner of the stage.
Charismatic throughout the night, Dave 1 led the audience through a couple of call and response sections that would normally fall flat with a Monday night Winnipeg audience, yet he managed to pull it off without being cheesy. Feeling like an updated version of something from another era, Chromeo carefully balance the nostalgic sounds that are their foundation with enough booming drums, splashy bass and juicy chords to keep things sounding fresh. Anthony Augustine