Concert Review: Kungs Brings The Heat To A Cold NYC
It is a rather strange thing to enter a club and exit it to a winter-storm. It is even stranger when the club felt like a sauna of high spirits and good music. Kungs brought the heat to a snowy NYC, and made everyone melt like it was was Summer 2016 rather than winter.
I reviewed Kungs album, Layers, for its exceptional and successful attempt to bring emotion to electronica. He is a rare DJ, of which, the sentimentality his music strikes is as important as the rhythm. He wants to move you heart as much as your body, which is why I described his record to be like a pill of beats that induce synthetic- ease. On record, his music makes you want to sway was he swindles into your ears like a thief happy to steal your sonic waves. On Friday at Webster Hall, Kungs was a “happy thief”, and live his music felt even more dynamic and zestful, as if the album was only meant to ease you into the adrenalines of his concert. During his Webster Hall show, his music felt like a complete meeting between body and soul. It was as if your spirit separated from your body to formally introduce itself to your physical self. The vision sounds majestic because Kungs’ show felt majestic. It was a humble, visual celebration of him.
Like every DJ, yes Kungs bought lights and visuals that matched the bright rhythms of music through multi-colored, sporadic organization. Yet, the best aspect of Kungs’ show was Kungs’ himself. He truly brought a bouncing energy that made the night feel as if the Webster crowd had walked into his birthday, and he was popping champagne rhythms all over us. He was happy, dancing, clapping, and ready to be apart of the experience with the crowd, which made him a standout amongst DJ’s. Usually, there is more of a distance. The DJ is there to mix for the crowd like some music god that has graced humanity with his or her presence. Yet, Kungs was not like that. He appeared like a genuine fan of music and his capacity to be apart of it, which made his energy and music spread over the audience like an overcast of youth and joy.
//cdn.embedly.com/widgets/platform.js You Remain Snow may have been spreading over the NYC skies, but Webster Hall was transformed into a celebration of youth. There we all were oblivious and uncaring to the cold and sleet shadowing the streets we would have to trek to get home. For us, life was in that moment, which makes Kungs a powerful music presence. If he and his music can make you forget a storm then his concert becomes one that is accessible to all: no matter time and space. The ability to make you leave your surroundings, especially its anxieties, is a real gift that you would usually associate with an artist that sings or dances. Yet, Kungs may mix the music, but he also shows his connection to it, which makes him a show, as well. I walked out of Webster surprised to see that the world outside of it did not match the sparkling look and feeling of its world inside. Through light, rhythm, and personality Kungs was able to take people to a better, less snowy place. For More Information on Kungs Click Here.
