Concert Review: Toro Y Moi Took Us to His Party Planet

Toro Y Moi brought his groovy tone to a sold out show at White Oak Music Hall in Houston with the help of Wet and his band.  Wet performed to a packed crowd as people waited for Toro and gave her the same energy as if she was the leading act. Toro y Moi released his latest project Outer Peace which was filled with such effervescence that it translated into his live performance. If you haven’t checked it out yet, you’re missing out on an album of the year contender.

Wet is a band from Brooklyn, New York featuring the lead singers Kelly Zutrau and Joe Valle. Their sound is more on the indie pop side, which suited the sound that Toro was about to bring out. If she didn’t have any fans there before she performed, she definitely left with some by the end of the night. It’s hard to not like the band as Kelly had a very soft but demanding voice and you could see this when she performed “Lately.” You can tell they have been performing for a while as you could see how sentimental she would get towards certain songs like “Softens.” Touring with Toro could be great for them as they can catch exposure and reach a broader audience.

Chaz B. AKA Toro y Moi’s performance was dazzling, but also minimalistic with his use of lights and choice of colors used on certain songs to set the mood. He came out to a more somber ambience starting off with tracks like “Mirage” and “No Show” off of his previous effort Boo Boo. While these tracks were playing, he kept the blue lights in the background keeping the same mood until we hit the first track off of Outer Peace, “Freelance.” The lights transitioned into a more uplifting purple, and so did the crowd as everybody went from holding their significant others to dancing uncontrollably to the infectious beat. Even if you didn’t know the song you couldn’t help but to dance like you’re in a room by yourself. He kept the energy going when he switched to “Ordinary Pleasure” and even he couldn’t stop dancing as the whole crowd exploded into a frenzy of even more dancing.

Chaz tested the crowd’s knowledge on his music by playing “Still Sound,” an old gem from his earlier work off of Underneath the Pine. Let me tell you the crowd passed as everyone hollered out the lyrics and continued to dance to the beat with excitement. He gave everyone a breather transitioning into a more slower tempo track, “Monte Carlo” featuring Wet. Then instantly sending everyone into a trance with “Fading;” sending the lights into a spew on colors throughout the performance with an amazing band backing him up. That moment felt like a drug sending you into the 4^th dimension, feeling bad for whoever wasn’t there to experience such a psychedelic experience.

All in all, the performance was flawless with Wet and Toro y Moi matching the energy the crowd gave them. There wasn’t one moment where people were silent – even when the music stopped the crowd wanted the party to keep going. There’s a reason why Toro was awarded one of the best live performers last year according to the Billboard. If you haven’t gotten a chance to see any of these performers live, I suggest you do in the near future.