By Christiana Bartolini | December 11th, 2012
This past Friday, I had the pleasure of seeing Lushlife perform at Underground Arts in Philly. I had been looking forward to seeing him play live ever since seeing and hearing his single, “Magnolia” and falling completely in love with it.
The venue was — you guessed it — underground, which set the mood for an intimate and diverse show. The first act was a man by the name of Kev Choice — just a soulful man and his piano and laptop. He was no doubt a prodigy on the piano, with skills above and beyond most people. Second up was Lushlife, who set up a projector playing movie clips and scenery from what looked like the first half of the 20th century. His table of electronics was filled with not an inch to spare as he dialed, tweaked, and calculated his way through his set.
Lushlife had an infectious stage presence, getting the audience to engage with him and truly feel what he was putting out there. The vibe in the room was reminiscent of what I could gather of Lushlife himself: positive, welcoming, charming and joyful. Maybe it was because he was back in his hometown performing, but either way, his set was flawless and undeniably enjoyable. It had swagger, flow, intelligent messages and an infectious rhythm and bass through and through.
If you get a chance, go see Lushlife live. It’s an energetic experience that’ll leave you enthralled and spellbound until the next time around… because you won’t want to see him just once.