Paul Tucker
Staff Writer
Marcel Everett, better known by his stage name of XXYYXX, brought his rhythmic, mellow music to The HUB this past Thursday.
The A.S. Program Board concert started shortly after 7:30 p.m. with two openers. Taikon, a fairly unknown act, started off the night by playing some mellow remixes of alternative songs by artists such as My Chemical Romance.
The second opener, Andrew Luce, who has gained a bit of a following for his performance at Coachella in 2015, helped bring the crowd to life. Playing remixes of popular songs from Kanye West and Drake, among others, the crowd started to become rowdy with anticipation of XXYYXX.
Luce set the stage perfectly, as when the main act had arrived, onlookers seemed to become entranced by the melodic sounds coming from the speakers. Some of his more famous songs, such as, “About You,” “Red,” and “Fields” seemed to put the crowd into a daze. The songs started off slow, yet as the songs matured they grew with pace and overall intensity.
XXYYXX was able to excite the audience, but never get them too out of hand. The drops in his songs induced excitement, but there was always an overall calm that remained throughout. I saw XXYYXX’s performance like a short beach day. Most of his songs stayed small, hitting shore but not really causing much commotion, but every once in awhile the pace started to rise, and a big set of metaphorical waves came and caused a huge clamor in the audience.
Once again, The HUB was able to set off another great concert experience. The main stage was set toward the back, so people could enjoy the dance floor and strut their moves, or move to the beer garden and drink some refreshments. In the middle of dancing and singing along, The HUB seemed to transform into a larger venue. For a second it felt like you were at an EDM concert main stage, as the music just seemed to take you to another place and make you forget about your true surroundings.
All in all, I really liked the experience. Andrew Luce really knew how to get people pumped up. For a second at the start of the show I thought we were all going to be subjected to the constant slow rhythms of XXYYXX, but with Andrew Luce’s upbeat performance, the night was a perfect mixture of fast and slow songs, of drops and lulls in the music, of swaying and dancing. Overall, the night was awesome.
XXYYXX has been performing since 2009, and originated in Orlando. He stated that his musical influences include Star Slinger, Disclosure, and Shlohmo, yet his music has been likened to Burial, James Blake, and The Weeknd. Everett gained prominence in indie music culture in 2013, as he began to mix songs for artists such as Tinashe and Usher. His song “What we Want” is included in the expanded soundtrack of “Grand Theft Auto V.”
XXYYXX’s slow but melodic music will continue to surface in the indie music scene, as the 21-year-old from Orlando seems to be finding his niche, and excelling in it just as he did on Thursday night at The HUB.