By Josh Herwitt //
Moderat //
Mayan Theater – Los Angeles
April 20th, 2017 //
One of the best performances we saw at Coachella (read our review here) this year was undoubtedly Moderat’s. As nighttime fell on the expansive polo fields, the Berlin-based supergroup mesmerized the crowd inside the Mojave Tent with remixes of Jon Hopkins’ “Abandon Window” and “Eating Hooks” off their 2016 critically acclaimed LP III, which ranked as my favorite album of the year. It was one of those scintillating sets that often remind us why we keep returning to the Empire Polo Club in mid-April — and one we’ll remember for a long time.
But when Goldenvoice announced its Coachella sideshows in and around the three-day, two-weekend festival, it was natural to get excited about Moderat’s headlining show on 4/20 at the Mayan Theater in downtown LA. Comprised of Apparat’s Sascha Ring as well as Modeselektor members Gernot Bronsert and Sebastian Szary, the trio combines elements of house, minimal techno and Intelligent Dance Music (aka IDM) into a sound that’s solely their own. Because at a time when DJs have solidified themselves as the industry’s new rock stars for now, Moderat serve as a refreshing departure from the EDM avalanche that’s become so ubiquitous over the past several years.
At The Mayan, Ring, Bronsert and Szary tailored the setlist primarily around III cuts such as “Ghostmother”, “Reminder” and “Animal Trails”, but it was older material, specifically “Les Grandes Marches” and “No. 22” from Moderat’s debut studio album, that closed the set and kept even the biggest fans on their toes. In fact, up to that point, they had yet to play a song from their sophomore full length, with the entire set stemming from their other two records. After a brief encore break though, that drought ended as they unleashed back-to-back songs from II, including fan favorite “Bad Kingdom”, which offers one of the coolest audio-visual experiences you’ll find at any concert, electronic or not (see for yourself here).
Moderat subsequently circled back to III, performing “Intruder” before exiting the stage to a rousing applause. Yet, when the house lights didn’t come on right away, the suspense began to build once again. Less than a minute later, the three-piece reemerged, giving the audience more than its money’s worth. Two-encore shows are usually reserved for high-profile groups with extensive catalogs like Radiohead, but Moderat have never played by any rules. Rather, they indulged us with one final song from III, treating our ears to the slow burn of “The Fool” as the clock neared midnight. For almost two hours on this night, Moderat transported us to another world. And for those of us who had just come back from spending three days in the desert, that’s exactly what we needed to cure those post-festival blues.
Setlist:
Ghostmother
A New Error
Running
Running (Shed Remix)
Abandon Window (Moderat remix) (Jon Hopkins cover)
Eating Hooks
Eating Hooks (Siriusmo Remix)
Rusty Nails
Reminder
Animal Trails
Les Grandes Marches
No. 22
Encore #1:
Milk
Bad Kingdom
Intruder
Encore #2:
The Fool
[…] at The Wiltern for its first LA show since 2017 when Ring, Bronsert and Szary played The Mayan (read our show review here) in between what many fans have considered to be two career-defining performances at Coachella […]