By Marc Fong //
Baio //
The Independent – San Francisco
February 3rd, 2016 //
It wasn’t long ago that Baio, the solo project from Vampire Weekend bassist Chris Baio, came through the Bay Area.
Back in October, Baio made his SF debut, performing on the first day of Treasure Island Music Festival. Undoubtedly, TIMF was a great place for Baio to debut his live show for the Northern California crowd. The crème of the indie/hipster/backpack hip-hop scene, after all, definitely would have remissed not performing at the Bay Area’s premiere indie-pop festival. The oxymoron notwithstanding, TIMF does bring out some amazing acts which aren’t quite “there” in today’s music scene.
Baio happened to be one of those acts. Sure, he’s best known for his contributions with Grammy-winning Vampire Weekend, but the 31-year-old record producer is capable of a lot more. And though the audience may have chanced upon Baio at TIMF the first time, the smarties took note and kept an eye out for his return.
Unfortunately for Baio, tickets were still on sale the night of his show at The Independent last Wednesday. But, that’s OK. At TIMF, Baio was on point, even if his shining talent seemed to get lost in the glare of the sun and the overwhelming size of even the festival’s second stage.
In a more intimate environment like The Independent however, Baio’s moody electropop fit perfectly. Looking sharp in a white blazer, the Bronxville, N.Y., native opened his set slow and steady. His sound, for one, is a lot more dreamy than Vampire Weekend’s more dance-driven songs. Combine that with his mind-bending visuals onstage, and Baio’s live show the second time around was a slow, chill ride through an electronic soundscape.
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