Well, we didn’t drop ALL of Louis the Child – we just dropped Rob.
Alright. Maybe twice.
A crowd surfing went wrong. Let it be known that is might just be a Minnesota thing. Maybe the concert goers in the front row needed more time working out their arms in the gym. Maybe there was a curious amount of smoke that was not artificial in that same section that lead to poor focus. Maybe it was the drinks being thrown around and someone slipped. There are many excuses, but at the end of the day … Sorry, Robby!
With apologies out of the way, where do I even begin to tell the story of Minneapolis’ taste of the Here For Now tour?
I arrived around nine that night after having a few beers with some old friends. The first act, John the Blind, was on stage and was absolutely electric. His long wavy hair was complimented by a guitar strapped to his hip and a full set-up to his side. I really need to learn what these devices are called – sound pads? Mixers? I’ve noticed a handful of EDM artists using them and this folk-loving guy is UNINFORMED. Anyways. John started off on a high note with “what’s up Minneapolis – Lets f******* go!” and joining his bass drop came a set of colorful light bars that provided him a pulsing, linear backdrop. He gave me goosebumps a handful of times as one of his songs had a punch line of “you never call me when you’re sober” which lead to me finishing my drink – can anyone else relate to that one? John lit things up and got the crowd bumping before he left the stage, just after asking “y’all ready for LTC?” LTC must have been a hip-lingo abbreviation of Louis the Child. The more we know! He closed with his piece “minutes” which I’d encourage anyone to look up as soon as you finish this article.
So, I usually go to shows alone as we do in this industry, but there’s something morally wrong about attending a rave as a lone wolf I have found – it just doesn’t feel right. I decided to throw a brief temper tantrum with a beer and found a spot to sit on a railing bordering the floor area of The Armory. I sent out the signal flair – or, in literal terms, posted on all of my social media platforms asking if any of my followers were in attendance. I was out of luck, or so it seemed, until a man walked up to me and stared me down like I was a celebrity.
“Collin f****** Dobin. How the hell are ya?”
It was my buddy from high school that just graduated finished officer training for the marines, joined by a set of eyes that I haven’t connected with since 2015. Kids who I grew up playing football and singing in choir with were now standing in front of me, about a half dozen of them or so – I had my wolf pack. We went to the bar and ordered a round of drinks before my marine buddy announced “we’re going to the front.” Testosterone began to fume through his pores. This man wasn’t kidding – we were going to the front of the crowd. Here began the hell of the night.
There was a lot to take in at this show. An immense amount of smoke filled the air but it wasn’t coming from the stage, and I’m no doctor but I have a feeling the crowd’s energy was coming from something a little more… uh… exotic? than our run of the mill alcohol party fuels. People were dancing, lots of fish nets were worn, and every other person was wearing neon or something that glowed it seemed. Girls were on shoulders, guys were on shoulders, people were smiling at the stage and some people were smiling at the ceiling – you can’t make this stuff up. It took us twenty minutes of “ope, excuse me” and passive dipping and budging, all the while being lead by this machine of a man. We finally got to the front of the crowd when Duckwrth was kicking off his set for the second opening act.
Duckwrth was rocking some UK garb, and pants that had two fire emblems on them; a buddy of mine kept yelling “his pants are on FIRE” which was a joke, but once front man Jared Lee would start dancing around they actually might as well have been. This man was hot. Duckwrth’s music was a wonderful hybrid between the EDM we were all here for but a stage pop sound that got us all bouncing and fist bumping. His swagger was second to none and his crowd interactions were fun as hell – even managing to get the entire crowd to sway back and forth several times following his hand directions. Many great songs were played, including one titled or consisting of the word “whateva” that was a jam, and for his last song this guy took his shirt off with the confidence of a lion. It was such a blast that once LTC was mentioned again towards the end, we forgot that we were still watching the opening act.
Louis the Child came out and did not make time for cute introductions or opening monologues – the bass dropped as soon as they came into view and the show took off. It was a battle of the electro drums on stage as both Robby Hauldren and Frederic Kennett took their places and unleashed EDM euphoria and I will say this quickly – the lights and confetti cannons truly are that much better if you submit yourself to the chaos of the mosh pit up front. Everyone was in a daze as all of LTC’s big hits blasted from the stage. “Better Not,” “It’s Strange,” and “Weekend” were all played and not even necessarily saved for the end of the show like so many artists do these days, almost to suggest that all of their music and this performance was so good that they didn’t have to tease and bait us to stay the whole time – we just wanted to. In the heat of the moment, I caught myself looking around about halfway through the set to realize my friends and I had all scattered and were no longer sharing space – this tends to happen at these shows as the crowd is like an ever-fluxing amoeba and everyone is falling over each other and constantly re-discovering their balance all the while keeping their eyes locked on the bliss on stage. I had finally given up and decided to follow a small group of people I had befriended back to the civilization of the bar area.
I decided to spend the rest of the show bar side, eventually regrouping with my friends and nearly crying tears of joy when my favorite song “Genghis Khan” (which is a remix of a Miike Snow track) came on. It was around this time, too, that Rob decided to crowd surf. It was all fun and games until the sprawled man’s legs and arms submerged into the crowd after just a few moments of the ride – OOPS. Kennett, the other band member, was still on stage and it was nothing short of hilarious to hear him pleading for his friend to be lifted back to the platform. “Bring back Rob please” and “can I have my friend back” was the short of what he was playfully begging of the audience. Do you think the whole dropping thing cut the ride short? We’ll never know! He didn’t seem to mind it.
This was hands down one of the best shows I have been to at The Armory. Louis the Child is probably the most enjoyable EDM artist I have had the privilege of seeing live so if you are reading this and contemplating buying tickets the next time they are in town – do it. There was something special about two friends jamming out with drumsticks and jumping up and down nonstop for hours while lasers and confetti painted the crowd and venue. One thing’s for sure – we just can’t drop Rob again.
