Two things I learned at the Crystal Castles concert ...

I have heard many crazy stories about this band in performance, particularly regarding the band’s ex-heroin addict lead singer. Flanking the stage’s right hand side, there are four bottles of water and a couple towels (presumably to deal with perspiration and fatigue), and an enormous handle of Jim Beam whiskey. “Oh god. I’m in for an interesting night,” I think to myself while the aggressive sensation in my stomach starts to permeate elsewhere in my body.

The show starts. The first drum beat hits and reverberates through my substance-altered body while the band’s innovative mixer board pilot and cracked-out lead singer start putting on one hell of a performance. As my stomach starts to mellow out, the drug's feeling in the rest of my body kicks in. With each loud thump of the bass, I feel a shake all over, the drug's effect finally reaching it's full potential. The catchy riffs from the mixer board dance through my ears and around my head while the flashing psychedelic lights play games with my eyes. "Is this really happening?" I am asking myself now. The crazed lead singer seemed to be calling out towards me through her microphone, assuring me that indeed it was.

At this point in the night is where I discover the second portion of what I learned at the Crystal Castles concert: Crystal Castles are awesome. The band, which consists of a greatly skilled operator of the mixing board and a notorious lead singer who was, by unanimous opinion, “out of her goddamn mind,” put on an incredible show. Traditionally, my musical tastes, such as Michael Jackson, Bob Dylan and Prince, do not cater to this brand of electronic music, but Crystal Castles educated me immensely. Each time the heavy bass hooks would hit, sending at once the crowd up off their feet into the air, or when the partially insane lead singer would dive off the stage into the audience, I became more and more a believer.

Crystal Castles left a taste of electronic music in my mouth that perhaps will only be satiated by attending more concerts, but, hopefully, these will be concerts that I allocate substances more appropriately. I find that I am learning new things everyday ... ‘The More You Know’ ... LW