For Pretty Lights fans, the anticipation leading into this past weekend was extremely high. After months of ambiguous videos, hidden cassette tapes and other teasers from the team, the first of five Pretty Lights Live Episodic Festival stops kicked off in Gilford, New Hampshire with two nights at the Bank of NH Pavilion. Derek Vincent Smith, the mind behind Pretty Lights, created context for the weekend by posting the theme of the two sets on social media: “Expanding Perspectives” – and, it did just that.
The openers for Friday night’s set all seemed to be on the same page for setting the mood for Pretty Lights’ set. What started off as a rhythmic evening with Marvel Years quickly turned into a bass-heavy, grimy, dance-heavy few hours with the help of sounds from G Jones and Tipper. After hearing some of the familiar pre-Pretty Lights pump up anthems on the sound system, the excitement and energy was high throughout the crowd.
After a few minutes of an analog intro, Pretty Lights broke into the Color of My Soul Remix – a treat that I, and am sure others, were more than happy to kick off the weekend with. Other highlight tracks from night one included the “King of Rock Remix”, “The Love You Left Behind,” “So Bright – Jam” and “Up and Down I Go” into a jam break. In addition to some of the higher energy songs, Derek and his band also brought on the feels on Friday with a rarely heard “Try To Remember” into a “Yellow Bird” jam break and a “Cold Feeling Remix” closer. As a whole, Friday’s night set was heavy on the jam transitions – to the point where I found myself asking those around me “what is going on?” multiple times. One minute you could have been rocking out to a break and then brought back down with a more down tempo song and then picked back up again. The range of emotions that could be felt throughout the set and long after was far-reaching.
The band itself, sounded incredible for only having rehearsed for a short amount of time. While the brass from Eric “Benny” Bloom and Scott Flynn were missed, Smith, alongside Brian Coogan, Borahm Lee, Chris Karns and Alvin Ford, Jr., played beautifully and seemed as though they had been playing together for much longer than they have been. Their chemistry on stage was contagious, particularly during each of the jam breaks. From the audience, you could tell they were feeding off each other’s energy during their first live performance together and I think that’s a huge part of what made night one feel so special.
Night two’s openers were strikingly different compared to night one, which I think served to the festival’s theme of expanding perspectives. Wax Future’s set was great, and seemed to set the tone perfectly for what lied ahead with the sets after. Big Wild brought the energy up with a danceable opener while Atmosphere’s positive lyricism and energy definitely hyped up the crowd. Having a hip-hop act on the festival line-up was a great addition considering the amount of hip-hop influences and samples that can be found on Smith’s work throughout the years.
For those craving a more classic Pretty Lights set for night two, Smith went above and beyond to deliver the goods. Not that fans were disappointed after night one, but I personally found myself yearning a set similar to the ones that helped me fall in love with his music and live show in prior tours. After seeing over twenty Pretty Lights shows over the last few years across the country, few sets have compared to the second night in New Hampshire. The night carried over the emotional ups and downs of night one, but with shorter jam transitions that made for one hell of a two-hour set.
Night two’s set started off with a jammy intro which transitioned into the always moving “Understand Me Now” into a fan favorite “High School Art Class.” Other classics that were played during night two were “Finally Moving “(perfectly transitioned into after “My Only Hope”) and “Hot Like Sauce.” “Can’t Stop Me Now” into “Out of Time” into “Gold Coast Hustle” was an emotional roller coaster-esque transition that covered an array of moods in a span of a few short minutes. The set ended on a high note with “Sunday School” into “Forever Lost” into the heavy “I Know The Truth” – closing the night with an intense amount of energy.
In addition to the sounds, Greg Ellis, also known as the LazerShark, debuted a new stage and light show production this past weekend. Vastly different, in the best way possible, the lights veered away from the classic lasers over the crowd that have come to be commonly associated with the Pretty Lights live show during night one. Grids of lasers crossed the stage and colors melted into one another silhouetting the band in the foreground. The lights and lasers seemed to interact more with one another than with the audience, a stark contrast from tours and shows prior. Also, the light-up platforms across the stage that debuted during the Analog Future Tour of 2013, made a reappearance from above the stage, which served as a nice homage to Pretty Lights’ first tour with band members. The LazerShark brought back a light production more reminiscent of what the Pretty Lights live experience is known for during night two: lasers into the crowd and basically everywhere throughout the amphitheater. This definitely made sense given the nature of second night’s set, and again, served as a contrast factor between the two nights.
What really set night two apart for me and what made it feel so special was the crowd. The audience was so excited and truly thriving off the music being played. Fans of Pretty Lights are known for their community-centered attitudes, but this was an entirely different level. From the rumbling banging on chairs echoing throughout the amphitheater to the loudest sing-a-long to “Finally Moving” ever… thinking back on it gives me the chills.
Looking back at the Episodic Festival as a whole, it made a lot of sense. I remember leaving the amphitheater night one speechless. What had I just listened to for the last two hours? It was so incredibly different than any other set by Smith and team. The best way I can think to describe it was that I had truly felt as though I was taken on a journey during the two-hour set. There were ups, downs, moments of feeling lost in the long jam breaks to then snapping back to feeling familiar again when a different song was transitioned into. It was honestly a little uncomfortable at times but most situations where you grow from tend to be. It was unlike any other experience I’ve had when attending a PL live show and I’m grateful for it, as strange as it seemed when night one concluded.
With night two, Smith and the band brought the crowd back to the Pretty Lights show we have all come to know and love – which sums up the theme of the first festival stop perfectly. Smith showed us two vastly different sides of the Pretty Lights production. From the gritty analog beats flowing in seamlessly throughout the jams to the classic song after song format with intermittent breaks that brought you through an entire emotional spectrum – the two nights did exactly what Smith intended: expanded my perspectives.
Check out a full gallery of images below, courtesy of B.a.D Photography.
