Shpongle’s Simon Posford brought his one man, museum of consciousness tour to Irving Plaza for two nights.
The day before the gig, Simon asked his followers on social media if they would be up for a “one time only special set” where as everything would be mixed in the moment and would be completely different and new from any other gig on the tour. The fans responded more than favorably, as who wouldn’t want a special show just for them.
Armed with trippy toys such as LED hula hoops and other cool lighted objects the fans were ready for this special show, many of whom dressed for the occasion with face painting and ultra shwaggy homemade attire.
Admittedly this photographer knew practically nothing about Shpongle before the gig and took to the crowd to ask the fans what I was in for, and got responses such as “It’s a subgenre of EDM known as Psytrance” and “It’s basically dance music for younger hippies that like to party, want some E man?”
Starting the psychedelic evenings fun was Lonshi and Desert Dwellers who brought some groovy beats for the kids to get warmed up to, each performed a 45 minute set on a bare stage and were received well by the NYC crowd.
Once the curtains were drawn, revealing the large multi-paned DJ platform known as the Shpongletron 3.0, the party was on. The Shpongletron is an amazing vehicle of vibrant colors, trippy imagery, and flashing lights that compliments the music perfectly while hosting a DJ station for Simon to work his magic.
The music came at you in waves, in a matter of minutes you heard genres such as Jazz, Latin swing, and Indian disco which all melded perfectly somehow in magic ball of light and movement. After the first song Simon thanked all those in attendance and for allowing him to perform his magic freestyle just for NYC, and mentioned it “might suck, so thanks for showing up”. It never sucked, not for a moment especially during the clip of “When Shall I Be Free” when everything came together in a transcending moment of musical bliss. After nearly two full hours of dancing and grooving the set came to a close leaving all with a sense of happiness and self awareness that defied a regular musical event.
Be sure to catch the Shpongle tour if you can, you won’t be disappointed.
Article and photos by Shayne Hanley
