Robert DeLong w/DJ Kryspin
The Crocodile, Seattle, WA
11.21.18
If you’ve ever talked to anyone who’s seen Robert DeLong live before, you’ve probably heard about the Wii remote. Infamous for playing his music with a wide variety unconventional instruments—Wii remotes, joysticks, etc.—DeLong has made quite a name for himself in the alternative scene these past few years, bringing a quirky electronic sound to his fans.
After DJ Kryspin warmed up the crowd, the stage continued to get more and more packed with instruments. Guitars, drum sets, percussion pads, keyboards, cymbals—essentially every instrument you can think of—ready for a whole army of a band. But that’s the best part: DeLong doesn’t need a whole army, he simply runs around between his musical stations and plays them all himself.
His set opened with “Beginning of the End,” a newer release that shows off the high-energy and upbeat sound he’s known for. Quickly followed by “Don’t Wait Up,” the crowd easily enjoyed the song they’ve been hearing on the radio for months. “Revolutionary” is where he really started to show off his skills though. He’d already broken out the Wii remote and pushed the joystick around to manipulate his sound, but now it was time to break out some new tricks.
All the lights turned off for the opening of “Revolutionary,” allowing just the lasers to show in the dark room. A set of six or seven purple lasers branched out vertically in front of DeLong, he would block the pathway of individual lasers with a spatula-like thing, assigning a different note to each beam to play the intro of the track. It was crazy to watch because it was such a unique idea, and DeLong would do it perfectly every time.
After seeing Robert DeLong kill it at 107.7 The End’s Summer Camp this previous August, I’d figured once was all I needed, but it was interesting to see how different the energy was when it was his own headlining show. At Summer Camp, the crowd sang along and had a lot of fun, but just a few months later, his fan base has multiplied significantly, and they brought all their love into the Crocodile.
Review and photos by Lulu Dawson
Robert DeLong
