Last week was one of the few times that I was genuinely excited for the weekend to end. One of my all time favorite electronic musicians, Lido, was coming to Los Angeles once more to bless us with an amazing performance at The Fonda Theatre. After watching his breathtaking set at HARD Summer, I could not wait to see what he had in store for his fall tour. Despite having the same set time as The Weeknd, Lido packed the Purple Stage showing that he could easily compete with one of the most currently popular artists in the U.S, which is nothing short of impressive. After witnessing that, it was no surprise to me that Lido sold out The Fonda and that I saw literally everyone from Mr. Carmack to Goshfather to Ocean Roulette’s neighbor there to enjoy the best that LA had to offer that Tuesday night.
Priding himself on being an amazing musician, Lido of course had to give his signature speech, emphasizing that what we all were about to experience was not an EDM show. Lido told us it was going to be a night filled with, “some songs I wrote, some songs I wish I wrote, and some songs you might not even have known that I wrote.” With that being said, everybody was ready and Lido began to take us on a journey filled with lush R&B chords and the amazing vocal solos that he is known for.
To give his live performance even more of a musical element, Lido brought out trumpet master Brasstracks to perform a few songs for everyone. The result was pure bliss, with Lido and Brasstracks going back and forth, exchanging parts and taking turns soloing to reassure the audience that true live performances still exist in today’s age of computer music. This approach to performing is what really makes Lido stand out to me as someone with a true talent and vision. Lido’s productions are heavily electronic yet draw on many influences from R&B to gospel amongst other musical elements. This approached paired with him actually performing his music live highlights the power that live music can have over the standard DJ set. Lido’s live shows really puts electronic music in the face of anyone ever skeptical of it because they believe producers cannot be musicians. Lido does an excellent job at demonstrating just how musical a producer can be and should serve as an inspiration to all artists in the electronic music world.
After blowing our minds away with his performances alongside Brasstracks, Lido continued to amaze us by playing a number of his famous remixes along with a few extras that we’ve never heard. Prior to him leaving for his tour, Lido released a video saying that this tour was going to be the last chance for anyone to hear his famed remixes live which was sad news for anyone who couldn’t make it out. However, if you did make it out you definitely remember him encouraging you to take find the closest person that caught your eye and ask “Shawty whatchu sippin’ on” as he sang his beautiful rendition of Yung Lean’s Gatorade. It felt like I was in a trance watching him play his Faded and Drowning remixes accompanied by the amazing visual set up that he brought with him for the tour.
If you missed out on Lido's tour then I'm sorry to tell you that you missed out on a once in a lifetime experience. Nobody can tell where Lido will take his music next or when he will go back on tour. Be sure to keep up with him on his Facebook, Twitter, and Soundcloud to stay up to date on his latest musical projects, as I am sure there are plenty already in the works.
Photographer: Conner Lee Coughenour