Photos by Diana Cordero // Written by Molly Kish //
The Presets with Antwon, Chela, Frankie Chan //
The Warfield – San Francisco
November 13th, 2014 //
Australian electronic duo The Presets headlined The Warfield on the first West Coast stop of their 2014 “Check Yo’ Ponytail” tour last Thursday. Presented by the IHEARTCOMIX and Topshelf Management teams, the tour aimed to showcase an “open-genre, multimedia-driven” event, highlighting cutting-edge artists, stage design and an over-the-top concert-going experience.
Although the tour sentiment may have gotten overshadowed by the sheer magnitude of the large-scale venue, fans in attendance didn’t seem to mind in the least bit. With many gearing up for a jam-packed night at The Warfield, we were pleasantly surprised by the ample amount of dance space and ability to casually traverse the theater’s several tiers, solidifying the best vantage point to take in the evening’s performances.
All four of the strategically-curated acts played to a mixed-bag audience, composed of fans not only there to catch their favorite performer of the night, but also willing to expand their horizons to enjoy the entirety of the lineup. Each of the artists played with an intent to impress and did so with their respective fan bases as well as their brand-new demographics.
Following the smooth vocal stylings of the Los Angeles-based Chela, Antwon’s thickly-laced, web-core hip-hop tracks and IHEARTCOMIX owner Franki Chan’s DJ set, The Presets took the stage. The entire audience immediately rushed their way onto the main floor, as the introductory sirens of “Push” blared out of the theater’s massive speakers. A perfect opening anthem to warm up the intimate crowd for a “non-stop party, party, party, party, party …”, the Australian duo of Julian Hamilton and Kim Moyes followed up with back-to-back hits from their 2012 gold record Pacifica. Having recently released a pair of new songs over the past few months and teasing a possible album-in-the-making, Hamilton and Moyes seamlessly embedded “No Fun” and “Goodbye Future” into a master mix of crowd favorites from their two previous full lengths midway through the set.
The pair closed with the crowd communally losing their minds and vocal chords to “Kicking and Screaming” and “Talk Like That”, followed by an electrifying encore of “Surrender” and “Anywhere” that further enlarged the tired and sweaty audio blue balls of the “CYP” audience.
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