by Holli Stephens

My first Halloween concert experience was last year at the Electric Factory to see Space Jesus, Zomboy and Infected Mushroom. Though I was a little anxious on the ride there thinking about all the “epic” college parties back on campus that I’d be missing, my friends kept trying to tell me that this would be the best Halloween experience I’d ever have. A year later I found myself in the same situation and I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. The Electric Factory’s 2014 lineup consisted of Chrome Sparks, The M Machine and The Glitch Mob—a clash of different electronic subgenres that was a perfect fit for a Halloween state of mind.

The first opener, Jeremy Malvin aka Chrome Sparks, accompanied by a keyboardist and drum-kit, started off the night with a medley of off-beat refined chaos of catchy melodies that got the audience grooving as soon as they took the stage. I recognized a couple of songs including “Marijuana” and could see the group on stage really delving into their instruments.

The M Machine brought a movie screen size rectangular LCD podium which projected different patterns and images as well as the groups logo, a celestial looking “M”. Though openers as supposed to get the crowd at the peak of an anticipation level in order to make way for the main act, I felt as though The M Machine catered too much to the crowd and through that lacked the creative energy that Chrome Sparks and The Glitch Mob brought to the stage.

As I waited in the barricade area with the other photographers to take my first shots of The Glitch Mob I could feel the mass of speakers beside me pulsing, each time getting louder. The immense structure that was the Glitch Mob’s stage looked like a land cruiser you’d find in a Star Trek movie. Three different stations were set up for Ooah, edIT, and Boreta and four drums were mounted behind it. The group came out in black capes with gold masks covering their faces as smoke floated about the stage, concealing their identities even more.

Someone in the front row could actually feel a breeze produced from the speakers from the volume of music. It was a beautiful clash of heavy rock, electronic and instrumentals over a catchy beat. The group dabbled with music from their two full length albums including songs “Can’t Kill Us” and “Fortune Days”.

The Glitch Mob ended with a four-song encore that included their most notorious song, “We Can Make the World Stop”. I looked over to two of my friends right as the group was leaving the stage to ask how this show compared with their previous Glitch Mob experience. “This was definitely their better set. Everything was incredible.”