Chromeo: Live at the Rose Center for Earth and Space
On April 22, 2011, I was given the chance to witness something beautiful. Chromeo would be performing a DJ set at the Rose Center for Earth and Space. I had a ticket.
It’s likely that this was a once in a lifetime event. So naturally, when the opportunity decided to bestow itself upon me, I jumped quicker than a proton in the Large Hadron Collider – okay, that’s the only science joke, I promise. Grand spectacles of the cosmos, the unrivaled sex of Chromeo’s prowess and, of course, alcohol: all these things were going to team up, lull me into fetal position and politely send me to bed.
The powerful trifecta almost guaranteed success, right? Well, space and booze definitely did their part. Chromeo, on the other hand, sent one man with a low effort level.
Dave 1 came solo since, for some unannounced reason, the dashing and usually severely entertaining, P-Thugg couldn’t grace us. When I realized it was a one man show for the night, it really didn’t bother me much. I was sure that he’d still throw down and send me packing. But about ten minutes into his set, I realized that this wasn’t going to happen. Maybe fatigue from their recent Coachella explosion had him in its grip. Maybe he ate a bad cheeseburger. Maybe he was just lonely behind that table by himself. Whatever the reason, he didn’t do much. He spun some tracks – better than those who opened, but not up to par with his capabilities – and played a select number of original tracks. And by “play”, I mean he hit play and basically stood there. Not the most valiant effort.
This went on until I was sufficiently frustrated enough to… well, leave. I never foresaw myself leaving a Chromeo set early, but it happened. And the fact that I did it has made me mildly uncomfortable with my life ever since. But what was I supposed to do? It was too sad to watch.
Moral of the story: don’t trust shows in awesome places that are likely too good to be true. I’ve been slightly scorned. It was nice to see Dave 1 in action, but it clearly left me wanting more. For the record, Chromeo, I do still love you. Just bring it when I’m told it will be delivered.
-Maxwel Lemberger
