UK Dance/Electro-Soul Band Rudimental performed their first headlining Terminal 5 show this past Friday and to put it simply, it was indescribable. Between the powerful and ambient vocals of the two female singers, the funky additions of the trumpet player, and the feel good beats of the band, the show was truly a hypnotic mix of a variety of musical elements and genres. To try and explain the show to anyone that was not there poses as a difficulty, for the experience was an all encompassing and consuming one, and was a constant hype battle between band and audience –never really knowing which was feeding off the other because of the continuously flowing good vibes and high energy. Not only was there a smile on every single fan’s face, but also an undeniable chemistry amongst the band members and with their subsequent fans. Rudimental had one goal: To make themselves known in the US, and that was single handedly attained during their performance in New York City.

The set opened with “Give You Up,” a track originally performed with British singer-songwriter, Alex Clare, which built up a good amount of excited tension within the crowd with the beginning lyrical melody, before dropping into a dance and jungle infused beat, setting the bar and energy high for the rest of the night. The core four of Rudimental, Amir Amor, Piers Agget, Kesi Dryden, and DJ Locksmith, were immediately greeted with love by their fans, as they knew all the words to every song and responded to each with unwavering enthusiasm. The two vocalists, Annie-Marie and Bridgette Amofah, made their presence known right away too, replacing the voices of artists like Foxes and Ella Eyre in well-known original Rudimental songs throughout the set.

Just a few songs into the show, it became pretty obvious that Rudimental’s sound was none like any other.  Their genre ranges from all things electronic to a more low-key bluesy feel, making us all take note of their culturally rich upbringing and diverse musical exposure in Hackey, East London. UK chart-topper “Not Giving In” dropped about five songs into the show, and the crowd went absolutely wild at the fan favorite. From then on the crowd took a turn from a normal boppy dancey audience to a full blown jumping-up and-down electro mosh pit in the best way possible. The atmosphere even got emotional at some points throughout the song, given the semi-serious content of the song (the music video portrays the off-beat vibrant, yet often difficult lifestyle of children in slums). The trumpet player, Mark Crown, equally killed it, often standing behind hype man DJ Locksmith, although never failing to catch the eyes and ears of the crowd in the front of him.

A few new songs were also woven into the mix, including one with the repeated lyrics “You’re too cool to love me,” which the crowd picked up immediately and started singing within minutes. A seamless integration into “Free” followed, which also called for the all too ecstatic fan faces and the spinning bodies on stage and in the crowd to emerge.

Other notable moments during the show included the breakout of Ed Sheeran’s “Bloodstream,” which the guys of Rudimental actually helped write, and performed with Sheeran himself at Glastonbury Festival in the UK. The song was one filled with personal ambivalence, and the show instantaneously became extremely intimate and overcast with heavier emotions. However the mood picked up shortly after, when they dropped “Feel the Love”,” in which the mic was handed off to the crowd during a verse, and the line between fans and artist became blurred by the togetherness of each and every person in Terminal 5, appropriately mimicking those up on stage, holding up heart gestures with their hands at one another. Rudimental created an ambience of pure delight –one that separated the joyful and carefree crowd from the busy streets of the city, with nothing but their own unique and fun pulsations and receptive stage presence.

 

In short, Rudimental proved themselves to their US fans on Friday in the halls of Terminal 5. They performed with such genuine openness and were received with similar appreciation by every single audience member, whether they were from overseas in the UK and Australia and familiar with the band, or native New Yorkers curious to get a glimpse of Rudimental’s recent rising stardom. I was not only impressed by their ability to bring something never-before-seen to the venue, but also by their natural performing skills and capacity to make the crowd, literally, roar for more. If I didn’t make apparent yet just how kick ass this show really was, just take a minute to muse over the fact that this foreign and relatively new group managed to sell out NYC’s favorite 3,000 person venue during their first headlining US tour. L4LM will surely be awaiting their return.

-Stephanie D’Agostini (@stefdaggg)