Photos by Steve Carlson // Written by Nik Crossman //
MS MR with Jack Garratt, Heartwatch //
Fox Theater Oakland – Oakland
October 23rd, 2015 //
Following the success of their debut single “Hurricane”, MS MR took the Fox Theater Oakland by storm on Friday night with a new kind of energy as part of their “How Does It Feel” tour.
The New York City dance-pop duo comprised of Lizzy Plapinger and Max Hershenow joined forces at Vassar College in 2011 to Plapinger’s record label thesis project Neon Gold Records to life. Their second and latest LP How Does It Feel strategically balances the tumultuous theme found in their debut album Secondhand Rapture with a few more get-up-and-dance songs. As Plaplinger explains in an interview with New York magazine: “We want to make an album we can move to, but let’s explore all the elements of movement.”
At the Fox on Friday, Plapinger and Hershenow had no problem influencing movement with their electric stage presence and spectacular lighting. Donning her shimmering sleeveless jumpsuit, Plapinger bounced around the stage, making verbal love to the crowd with her sultry lyrics. While others may gamble away the attention of the audience by playing more new than old, MS MR’s following proved loyal as the Fox erupted with singalongs to most of the tracks from the group’s new album.
Plapinger and her fantastic complement Hershenow returned the admiration, declaring the Fox “the biggest and coolest venue (they’ve) played.” Building on mutual appreciation, she dedicated “Dark Doo Wop” to the audience and even changed the chorus to “Oakland, you should stick around!” With only a few years of production and two studio albums under their belt, MS MR are set to reshape the contemporary pop landscape, and based on their show at the Fox, they will not disappoint.
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