image//will deitz words//holly aileen

With my stomach full of my grandma’s Easter feast, I made my way over to the Middle East to see Sleigh Bells.  As I waited in line for the sold out show, I wasn’t entirely sure I was at the right place.  A lot of girls were dressed like me – in a floral dress with sneakers – but I saw neon club gear and glow sticks sprinkled throughout the line.  The crowd was a mix of hipster cool and dance-ready club kids, but they all came ready to dance.  These kids were definitely dedicated as they waited in line for a show during Easter/Passover/Red Sox opener.

Sleigh Bells started with their nursery-rhyme reminiscent song “Infinity Guitars.”  Singer Alexis Krauss danced around in a tie-dye dress and gold bangles while guitarist Derek Miller played calmly to the side.  The duo is fascinating to watch live.  Miller stands on the left side of the stage, playing his guitar parts, and moving very little while doing the exact opposite.  Most of the crowd was stuck in line for their set, but they captivated everyone who made it in.

Krauss is so incredibly engaging that you completely forget what else could possibly be happening in that moment.  She caught the attention of the audience by dancing and even writhing on the ground interspersed with grabbing members of the all male front row.  Her shameless fake flirting with these guys made me excited, and I wasn’t the one getting my shirt pulled. Words can’t describe the stage presence this gorgeous girl exudes while alternating between demure vocals and perfect horror movie screams.  She is equal parts aloof hipster and classic badass front woman. The first few rows were mainly guys who you could see instantly fall in love with her.  I’m pretty glad that I decided against standing in the first few rows, as I am sure it was just a sea of awkward hard-ons.  I don’t blame the guys though, because I have a total musical girl crush on her now.

My biggest concern about seeing this band live was how they’d manage to be interesting while playing to a track.  I’m always disappointed when artists do this because it either ends up sounding like karaoke or the CD.  To me, neither of those options are worth paying money to see.  For example, I saw Kid Cudi play on a huge stage by himself to a track.  I was so bored and uninspired as he vaguely wandered around the stage delivering a performance I could have got by listening to his CD.

I completely forgot about my objections by Sleigh Bell’s second song because everything felt so organic. Krauss’s vocals sound even better live, and are killer when combined with her incredible stage presence. While Miller isn’t as visually exciting, his calm and focused delivery of the guitar parts really makes the experience perfect.  The duo compliments each other so well that you feel like you’re seeing a huge band in an intimate setting.  Writing about what I witnessed is difficult because I feel like there was so much trickery involved.  Sleigh Bells on paper can’t compare to the feeling you get while being sucked in by their live performance.

Their set was short but jam-packed. I wish they had played my favorite song – “Sleigh Bells” – but understood how the trance inducing song couldn’t really be fit into their noisy set.  Be forewarned – Sleigh Bells is so loud that they blew a fuse at a house party they played a few days before, according to their sound guy Ryan. Their dancey beats, low-end guitar, and raucous vocals were the perfect set up for the next act.  Rusko, who played the backing tracks for Sleigh Bells, started playing immediately.  The duo packed up their equipment as he launched right into his set, stopping only to dance to his first song and dump water on the crowd as it went insane.

Rusko, a dubstep producer and DJ, helped me better understand why there were glow sticks.  He had three beers set up next to his equipment, but was too energetic to even drink them.  He was constantly jumping while yelling out to the crowd.  He fed off the crowd’s energy just as much as they fed off his.  The Rusko crowd was an interesting mix of glow stick girls and nerdy bros in baseball hats fist pumping like they’re on the Jersey Shore but without the GTL. Every single person was dancing, most were fist pumping, but in such a way that it was more about instinct than looking cool.

Next up was the headliner Major Lazer, the pseudonym for Switch and Diplo.  Their set made the crowd practically explode.  The energy and excitement multiplied exponentially as they put their own twist on dancehall and reggae music.  The dancing became so intense that it looked more like some sort of primal mating ritual.  It was unlike anything I’ve ever seen before.

Sleigh Bells and Rusko were definitely responsible for gradually psyching the crowd up to go completely crazy for the Major Lazer set.  I definitely recommend checking out all three of these acts if you love to dance but are looking for some new, non-radio beats to play at your next party.  Whatever your musical taste is, you’ll find something in at least one if not all that you can blast as you dance into summer.

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To hear Sleigh Bells and see more of their live dates, check out their MySpace page.