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| rlo Cruz/Red Bull photofiles |
This writer’s inner rock star was channeled during the Red Bull Soundclash event held at the Tabernacle. The historic building was filled to the brim, from the floor to the nose bleed section, during the roof-raising battle of the bands concert where The Roots took on Shiny Toy Guns. Red Bull Soundclash is a unique clash of sounds, style,and creativity, where two bands with totally different music backgrounds collaborate to create an innovative live music performance. MC Questlove offers, “The event is basically a creative friendly fire between two comrades, two groups who mutually admire and respect one another.”
Both bands brought their own dynamic sounds — a clash of The Roots funky hip-hop beats and Shiny Toy Guns’ electro rock style, as they performed a variety of different songs, some rehearsed and some improvised, to showcase their musical versatility. “We are challenged artistically by Red Bull Soundclash mainly because Shiny Toy Guns is — we’re sort of a hybrid type of band,” explains Jeremy Dawson of STG. “We’re part machine, part rock. We’re half electronic, half organic. And the way Soundclash works is completely hyper organic.”
– Each band played their own take on the same cover song, Jimmy Hendrix’s “Fire”;
The Takeover – A collaborative round where one band played one of their original tunes then the other band took over the second half of the song on cue and finished it in their own style, and vice versa;
The Clash – This round challenged the band’s versatility as they adapted their songs to the music genre DJ Z-Trip was spinning; punk rock, country, and disco; and
The Wild Card – Each band picked a musical artist of their choice to join them on stage and be a part of the performance. The Roots chose dirty South rapper, Yelawolf and Shiny Toy Guns brought up drag performer, Miss Lawrence (“The Real Housewives of Atlanta”), who lit up the stage wearing a bright pink tutu and va-va-voom.
Both bands brought their own dynamic sounds — a clash of The Roots funky hip-hop beats and Shiny Toy Guns’ electro rock style, as they performed a variety of different songs, some rehearsed and some improvised, to showcase their musical versatility. “We are challenged artistically by Red Bull Soundclash mainly because Shiny Toy Guns is — we’re sort of a hybrid type of band,” explains Jeremy Dawson of STG. “We’re part machine, part rock. We’re half electronic, half organic. And the way Soundclash works is completely hyper organic.”
DJ Z-Trip spun on the one’s and two’s while Akro Batik served as the emcee.
The concert was broken down into four rounds of musical conversation:
The Cover
– Each band played their own take on the same cover song, Jimmy Hendrix’s “Fire”;
The Takeover – A collaborative round where one band played one of their original tunes then the other band took over the second half of the song on cue and finished it in their own style, and vice versa;
The Clash – This round challenged the band’s versatility as they adapted their songs to the music genre DJ Z-Trip was spinning; punk rock, country, and disco; and
The Wild Card – Each band picked a musical artist of their choice to join them on stage and be a part of the performance. The Roots chose dirty South rapper, Yelawolf and Shiny Toy Guns brought up drag performer, Miss Lawrence (“The Real Housewives of Atlanta”), who lit up the stage wearing a bright pink tutu and va-va-voom.
The fans were the true winners in this competition because they were the first to witness this live aural journey. Me on the other hand, the way I listen to live music will forever be changed.
–yvette caslin
