The Chainsmokers end show at The Town with “Closer”
The Chainsmokers gave the audience what they wanted. And the public didn’t want much. In a show that alternated between poprock cuts from other artists and their own electronic hits, the New York duo put on a natural and relaxed show.
The duo’s breakthrough came in 2016 with the hits “Don’t let me down” and “Closer”, the songs that were played at the beginning and end of the show at The Town this Thursday (7).
The Chainsmokers drummer attends a fireworks display in The Town
Since then, DJproducers Andrew Taggart and Alex Pall’s talent for creating catchy arrangements has become clear. Thanks to their freshness and a bold face, they migrated from festivals and electronic parades to even bigger spaces, like the main stage of Rock in Rio’s younger sister event.
According to her, the idea was always to “blur the line between styles such as indie, pop, dance music and hip hop.” The sound is still that mix, but a little simpler.
They basically mix EDM, supercommercial electronic music, with rock from the 1990s and 2000s (Panic! At the Disco, White Stripes, Red Hot “Californication” phase, Coldplay in the Britpop era). Most of the lyrics still describe the “problems” of America’s (and indeed the world’s) top youth.
The first hit made fun of selfies, but later they started telling about road trips, bad trips and other journeys of the American upper class. What can we say about a song that begins with the line: “We went to Paris to escape your parents”?
1 of 1 Chain smoker in the city Photo: Reproduction Chain smoker in the city Photo: Reproduction
The formula worked, making the audience feel like they were part of a playlist (or a party), but the show falls a little short of what the band delivers on their albums and singles. The moment when the three go to a structure in the middle of the stage and start drumming, shaking and making noises seems to be having more fun for them than for the audience.
Maybe that’s exactly what the Chainsmokers are: an unpretentious duo without much new to show. It’s a straightforward electronic pop show, but it doesn’t have nearly the same technical arsenal as Alok, who performed on the first weekend of the festival.
On stage, Andrew holds the microphone and sings (a little and poorly). In the background, DJ attacks Alex. They are accompanied by a drummer. Shortly after releasing their debut album in 2017, they released excerpts from rehearsals with the band, making it clear that they could go beyond the “duo of DJs pressing play, interacting a lot, jumping around and turning the volume down to the point of delirium.” “General format”. They weren’t.