Concert Review/ Artist Close-Up: Holiday Mountain In Concert Is Like A Self- Reflective Dance Party

While Holiday Mountain uses electronica to defy genres, it uses human electricity to defy concert expectations. Berlin NYC may seem like too small a space to contain the light of Mexican-American songwriter/keyboardist Laura Patiño and drummer/producer Zander Kagle,  but its intimacy had an odd chemistry with that of Holiday Mountain’s bigness. It was as if a planet had been stuffed into a room, and as you walked in you discovered all its mysteries and creatures within four walls. This may sound like an imaginative comparison, but Holiday Mountain is an imaginative duo.

Seeing Holiday Mountain at their Berlin residency is like watching the behind the scenes of a fantasy show. While the duo have built their career on a persona that uses artistic sensationalism to sociologically analyze humanity, their show was surprisingly simple thanks to the Berlin set. This is not to say their music or Patiño lost her dynamic edge. This woman is the physical embodiment of a firecracker. She crackles and sparkles light in every direction, as she shoots up and down her songs’ bassline as if she herself were a beat. Personally, I find Patiño fascinating as a performer because she is so intelligent and calculated in her artwork. Thus, the smaller set allowed the vast magnitude of their energy to become absorbable for the education it offers. 

If you have read my interview with Holiday Mountain, you will know that the duo are a pair of smart, strategic artists that wish to use their music as a mirror. For them, music inspires if it inquires, i.e. a song must pose a question. Whether it be through facet jokes or poignant statements, their tracks carry lyrics and images meant to poke into the mind of its listeners. Why are we so social media obsessed? Why do women have such a history of body image issues? Why are we so judgmental towards creative experimentation?  These are just a few of the themes Holiday Mountain’s record, Shia, touched upon, but their live show manages to articulate more clearly. Patiño and Kagle use the stage to be a soap-box of sorts where they express their social discrepancies and differences to the audience, which brings a level of intrigue and respect to their performance. Yes, they are their to shock and push you away form your comfort zone, but it is not out of viciousness. Instead it is out a freeing idea of fun. 

For Holiday Mountain, fun can only be had when you are free from social chains and boundaries. Hence, as Patiño seductively dances or piercingly glares into the audience, she is using the force of her presence to challenge her audience. She wants to musically break down your spiritual walls which makes facing her like facing yourself. Her music for however “bumping” it is, carries a weight of human observation that should not and cannot be lost. Thus, their concert can also be categorized as one of the most self-reflective dance parties you will go to in NYC. Yes, you will dance, but you will also have moments of mindfulness seep in through Patiño’s lyrical banter and strong perspectives on life. Therefore, DO NOT miss their last Berlin NYC shows on October 12 and 19. You deserve a chance to shake and grow as a person. For more on Holiday Mountain Click Here.