It’s Halloween night at The Sylvee and the atmosphere is packed with energy high in anticipation of the final set on stage about to be performed by Big Gigantic.
Openers Dense City from Madison and Flamingosis had both completed their sets — leaving the audience slightly sweaty and out of breath, yet ready for more.
But before the last set began, several audience members were brought on stage wearing some of the most innovative costumes one could think of making. Ideas ranged from a Samoan warrior to the four seasons and everything in between.
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As a part of the costume contest, each individual was introduced by what they dressed as and walked across the stage to present their costume. Each presenter was cheered on by the audience at various levels as a measure of how much people wanted a costume to win.
In the end, King Midas went home with the gold (but not literally this time) as well as a fellow dressed as Marshmello, another big name in the electronic music world. Both costumes carried unique sets of lights that illuminated the wearers’ places on stage — ultimately setting the tone for the light show to follow.
Not long after all the contestants had left the stage, the lights dimmed again to present Big Gigantic. Producer and saxophonist Dominic Lalli and drummer Jeremy Salken form the dynamic Colorado-based duo. Lalli and Salken came on stage dressed as another dynamic duo from the wizarding world — Harry Potter and Ron Weasley — in Hogwarts robes with their magic wands at the ready.
Lalli, looking similar to Potter, didn’t have to add many extra accessories aside from the classic spectacles to look the part. Meanwhile, Salken was fitted in an orange wig — one of the brightest items on stage all night.
The set began with a thrill of intense bass and bright lights accompanied by refreshingly animated graphics presented on the screen behind Lalli and Salken. The live electronic music performers provided an exciting combination of funk and bass for a fun-filled night of movement all throughout The Sylvee.
It was surprising not to find Lalli run out of breath during the hour-long set as he was intermittently playing the saxophone, producing beats and pumping up the crowd while Salken mostly remained seated behind his drum set in order to maintain the fuller sound their live instruments gave off.
Nonetheless, Lalli didn’t miss one note on his saxophone, playing with clarity for the full set.
The graphics and lights that went along with the music provided exciting visuals for audience members to watch from anywhere across the venue. Visuals on screen ranged from animations of artists featured on the tracks to a variety of anthropoid saxophones.
This paired with swiveling lights from all angles which often set the tone of a song allowed audience members to encounter heightened sensory experiences.
Since the band’s most recent studio album Brighter Future was released in 2016, the duo had the option of playing whatever they felt the crowd wanted to hear.
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Though Big Gigantic was leaving the stage after what seemed like their last song — many fan favorites had yet to be performed. Chants of “ten more songs” exited the mouths of audience members standing from afar on the balcony as fans awaited some sort of encore to take place.
Calls were answered as Lalli and Salken came back out on stage for an encore and pumped the audience back up to the level of energy which was present all throughout the Sylvee right before they left. They played hits like “The Little Things” and “All of Me” featuring Logic and Rozes to end the night on a high note.
While listening to Big Gigantic, audience members were given non-stop opportunities to jump up and down while letting go of any other worries on their mind. Spirits were high, energy was flowing and bodies didn’t stop moving from start to finish — creating good vibes all around.
Though there wasn’t much commentary or speech from the duo during their set, the lyrics and meaning behind Brighter Future speak for themselves.
Lalli and Salken ended the night thanking everyone for a great show by taking a group photo with all audience members up in arms. The lights shone brightly on everyone’s faces giving way to the euphoric state many felt.
