Venturing to an uncharted concert venue in Orlando is quite are rare situation for me, but nonetheless proved to be a trip worthwhile.
The Plaza Live, tucked off of N. Bumby Ave., hosted chillwave artist and DJ, Washed Out, on September 12.
Washed Out’s Georgia native Ernest Green came hot off the press from indie opener Small Black’s set equipped with his soon-to-be groovy tunes. Although I expected a man and his laptop to produce his electronic-meets-revamped-Brian-Eno-esque vibes and songs, Green came with a 4-piece band, one of the members being his wife, while he himself toted an acoustic guitar and drum machine as support with show opener, Paracosm’s “It All Feels Right.” It was obvious his laid back style with an oddly patterned and snug button up matched the male audience members, and that was very much okay.
After reminding us that it had been a while since he’s been back to Orlando, his last show being in 2012, Green dove right into his hour long set. From start to finish, the stage was donned with neon lights while audience members blindedly bobbed their heads to the tunes, in which seemed to be the perfect dance move to do to his slower paced songs.
The set was intricately mixed with cuts from Greene’s 2011 album, Within and Without and his recent release, 2013’s Paracosm. When it came to his more recognizable tunes, Green came alive to interact with the fans who knew his music all too well: “This one has the easiest chorus ever, just sing along!” he said to the crowd before he performed fan favorite, “New Theory.”
With a few songs that seemed to be hard to recognize at first came as refreshing remixes; Greene proved was much more than a man with a machine making music. With his band, Greene performed revamped versions of his studio creations, the most creative being “Belong” and minor key laden, “You and I.”
Greene switched his regime with Within and Without‘s cuts, “I Feel It All Around” (known as the “Portlandia theme song”) and “Get Up” that brought us back to the 80’s with it’s funky samples and easily recognizable guitar riffs, while long awaited “Amor Fati” reminded fans why Washed Out is still a staple in his unique genre.
Though Greene has performed at large festivals like Bonnaroo this year, the vibe within the Plaza Live’s small venue matched Greene’s calming and engaging croons and swoons with his ambient music. Conversely, the band played up their time there as Green reached out a hand or a limb or a crowd surf to reach out to fans and his drummer and guitar player threw out beach balls, bracelets and a few funny faces.
For those at Washed Out’s show, it was a high just being there.
Complete Setlist:
“It All Feels Right”
“Belong”
“New Theory”
“Get Up”
“Far Away”
“All I Know”
“Weightless”
“You and I”
“I Feel It All Around”
“Falling Back”
“Amor Fati”
Encore
“Hold Out”
“Eyes Be Closed”