What better way to spend a Monday night than to walk to campus and see nationally renowned DJs like Two Fresh and Big Gigantic rip apart four solid hours of music? Ryan Hug, of the MTSU student programming council, pulled some long strings to provide MTSU students and the public community an amazing performance that didn’t hit the wallet hard at all.
This is Art, Photos by Langston Gatewood
This Is Art was the first act to take stage. Art Webb and Miles Cramer make up this DJ/band collaboration (knowing his name makes the group title sound far less pretentious, right?). Webb, who wore a hat sporting his first name throughout the opening set, played a bass guitar while running his computer and playing synthesized keys. There were around 40 people that had made their way to the show at this point, but even the early crowd was very energetic and ready to dance.
Only able to hold my interest for so long, I left the stage briefly to make my way over to the live painting going on. Here, Trinh Nguyen (painting major) was doing a piece alongside Melody Vaugn and Josh Bright (both screen painting majors). Student programming had commissioned the three to do some work during the show as an interactive addition to the music. All three artists ended up turning out some really impressive work.
Once Art finished up, there was a 20-minute break during which this MTSU conference room began really filling up with people. Only a two-man collective, Big Gigantic then started its set off with a quick hello to all of the “Tennessee people.”
Gigantic delivered a wild performance by mixing a saxophone with the sounds of your average DJ, giving the group a vibrantly authentic sound. Big Gigantic is comprised of Dominic Lalli, who runs the computer while also playing sax, and drummer Jeremy Salken.
Big Gigantic
Unfortunately, DJ sets can occasionally get boring, at least for the listener who may be less familiar with the artist. For this reason, it is always great to see a show like this keep so many people mesmerized for so long. Big G delivered an energetic and constantly changing set that was chock full of sax lines laid perfectly over intricate . . . Electronic? House? Electronic hip-hop?—However you describe this music, Lalli was playing the sax so quickly that, unless you were there watching, it could have been mistaken for another sample mixed into the music.
The transition between Big G and Two Fresh was nearly seamless. Suddenly the crowd slowed down while hearing what sounded like a synthetic harp. On stage, twins Sherwyn and Kendrick Nicholls took control of the Mac-laden control panel and drummer Colby Buckler grabbed his seat behind the set.
Fresh has a trip-hop DJ sound that is far more R&B and funky than that of your average music mixer. The twins created a euphoric atmosphere as they bounced their heads up and down in perfect synchronicity for every song they shelled out. This was not planned choreography, just two similar souls experiencing the same rhythm as one another.
Along with their own material, the twins mixed in some samples from rappers such as MF Doom and Count Bass D (who is actually a Tennessee-based performer). This pumped even more energy into this already unruly crowd. Yet regardless of the dancing and party feel to this music, it was hard to not step back and really hear how appealing these compositions were. There is a certain indescribable sound that Fresh has, which provides more than just a fun experience. The Nicholls twins looked so serious and drowned in their music. Their faces were so solemn. The love of music is beyond apparent in the lives of the two young musicians.
Two Fresh
My favorite part of the evening came next: Lalli from Big G came out onto the stage and played his sax during the last part of Fresh’s set. The three nailed a collaborative version of Nite Owl (from Fresh’s album Baker’s Dozen).
This track transitioned into Big G beginning their second full-length performance. Then, even after four sets of music, Two Fresh came out for one more closing performance that lasted until midnight. By this point the crowd had dwindled, probably exhausted from the four straight hours of dancing or heading to the big afterparty getting started next door at The Boro. Either way, Two Fresh still nailed another great set.
For me, the most interesting part of the entire night was the fact that attendees, even while on campus, seemed to completely escape from reality and enjoy the show surrounding them. This was not at a bar, festival or even a venue. There was no alcohol being sold and no wild, trancy light show to get sucked into. This was simply quality music and what ended up being 300+ students having an amazing Monday night.
For more information visit:
http://www.myspace.com/biggigantic
http://www.myspace.com/twofreshbeats
