Matthew Dear

Despite the sparsely attended state of the Chupacabra dance tent, Matthew Dear brought an intense performance this evening. Dressed in sharp black from head to leather-clad toe, Dear had an almost tortured look on his face when he sang, his eyes squeezed shut, but he would smooth out when playing guitar or tweaking a Dave Smith Mopho x4 synth. His evocative style of avant-pop and tribal disco, created with a bassist and two percussionists supporting Dear's processing whims, created an effect similar to seeing LCD Soundsystem on the main stage in 2010, particularly his version of "Do The Right Thing" from 2012's Beams. Those who were on the ball enough to attend were in it to win it, using all the space available to them on the tent's dance floor, fostering a bright feeling of togetherness and joy in the twilight hour. It was magic.