Concert Review: Nightmares On Wax Shapes The Future At Bowery
Going to see Nightmares On Wax (NOW), I kind of expected a typical “DJ” show. Maybe, a flashy back-drop that showed zooming images of the “future”, which I, technically, got through a tv screen mounted behind. Yet, I did not expect that tv to be apart of a literal, living room set. Ironically, at Bowery Ballroom, NOW went retro to get progressive, and produced a modernized, more thoughtful “speakeasy”.
Back in the day “speakeasys” were popular saloons known for their music, chill conversation, illegal alcohol, and the hushed culture that surrounded their locations. While alcohol was certainly legal, there was something quietly glamorous about Nightmares On Wax’s show, and made the show feel like a hidden gem. From “You Wish” to “Da Feelin”,everyone gathered to have conversations on how the future needs to be kinder to all, while listening to songs that blended electronica, trip-hop, soul, and R&B as if to build it. “Tell My Vision”, “Back To Nature”, and “Citizen Kane” came to life not through their intricacy as much as through their intimacy.
Playing from his latest record, Shape The Future, Nightmares on Wax waltzed through his living room set like every creative adult trying to transfer his dreamed “project” into a literal reality. He treats the stage as if it is his space, and you are merely a spectator watching a man make music in his home and discuss/ rap aloud his thoughts on bettering the world. His friends, like Evelyn, walk on as if they had to be buzzed in to help “finish” the “creative project” and add to the dancing fun. Like any buddy, she is breathe of fresh air to the set with a voice that reminds of classic 80’s divas that could belt flavorful notes to a disco’s fervor. Moreover, she solidifies the night’s positive vibes and core message that we must act NOW to shape the future for the better.
We are the keepers of time. Often, humanity acts as if time keeps us. From our watches to our timers, we look at clocks as if they are marking our lives, but Nightmares on Wax, literally, sages that idea away. He goes towards crowd and swishes the benevolent smell of this ancient plant in hopes that it awakens in us a mindfulness that absolutely everything on earth, minus the earth itself, is constructed by human perception. Thus, to think of the future with hope and goodness is to make it one of hope and goodness. For More Information On Nightmares On Wax Click Here.
