Manatee Commune w/ Dave B., Yppah, Saint Claire, and DJ KINDA 
Neptune Theatre, Seattle, WA 
12.23.16

Advertised as the chance to dance inside a snow globe with 1,000 of your closest friends, the first ever Manatee Commune On Ice show at Seattle’s historic Neptune Theatre truly felt like a winter wonderland. Giant lit-up ice cubes on stage, snow machines, and interactive projections by Sensebellum gave the sold out room the perfect atmosphere for a night of genuinely good tunes.

House DJ KINDA kicked off the night followed by Saint Claire – stage name of 21-year-old John Sinclair – an electric soul-pop indie artist from Seattle. His heavy melodies and powerful voice, combined with a strong and comfortable stage presence, kept the youthful crowd engaged. His set featured plenty of synth beats and layers of inventive instrumentation.

Long Beach electro-rock musician Joe Corrales Jr. – known as Yppah – followed this with progressive, shoegaze-y, psychedelic tracks with a full live band. The lighting picked up and got more flashy as the songs built louder and faster. Gentle openings crescendoed into electro-pop, drum-heavy anthems. Yppah had a great trancey quality, and a heavy blue light swept the room. The band stayed pretty stationary, and kept the emphasis on the feeling.

On a clear, open stage, the versatile musical stylings of Dave B. were up next. With a DJ in the back and a guitarist to the side, his super high energy kept him dancing across every inch of the stage. With a few opening chants to tease the DJ, the room lit up and Dave B. took control. The multi-talented rapper/singer/producer owned the stage with smooth confidence and seemed to be genuinely having a good time.

Having released both the Thistle EP and a self-titled full-length this year, headliner Manatee Commune has been garnering high praise from all angles. The solo project of Grant Eadie, MC’s upbeat, complex compositions kept both him and the crowd moving.

A semi-circle of equipment allowed Eadie to bounce around to different tracks, barefoot to note. Accompanied by stunning vocalist Moorea Masa for a few tracks, his inventive melodies and multi-instrumental virtuosity brought atmospheric textures to life. He played with so much passion that he ripped his glasses off mid-set it was impossible not to be engaged.

Review and photos by Zach Etahiri

Manatee Commune, Dave B, Yppah, and Saint Claire