For those of you who haven't yet had the pleasure of seeing a show at the Echoplex, you're missing out. As one of LA's newer mid-profile venues, the Echoplex has consistently hosted concerts with some of the most forward-looking and popular indie acts over the last 18 months. Two bars and low lighting set the perfect mood for nearly any type of music.

The openers were as should be expected with a headliner of this type from Modular Records - DJs. DJ Paul V and then Classixx kept the slowly-expanding crowd busy until around 11:15 when Cut Copy finally made an appearance. By that time the venue was packed with well-dressed women, skirts and t-shirts, and tall lanky guys in pastel collared shirts. In true Cut Copy style, they started by playing sufficiently indiscernible noise, only to allow their track "Out There On Ice" to gracefully emerge from the wall of sound.

The band was definitely in Los Angeles to play music - there was very little chatting between songs. "Unforgettable Season" and "Nobody Lost, Nobody Found" resounded, with "Unforgettable Season" being the first big crowd favorite of the evening. The next was "Lights and Music," their most recently released single. At this point the crowd was ready for anything, but they slowed down the show with "Future," another off of their previous album.
And then, as if sensing the crowd's anticipation, they played "Hearts on Fire" as their final, pre-encore song, and the entire venue went wild. For the uninitiated, "Hearts on Fire" is arguably the most widely recognized song off of the Cut Copy's new album, with a sound that is both progressive and catchy - a true representation of the 80s-throwback electronic sound Cut Copy strives for.

The band's encore featured both a new song and an old song, in that order. "Far Away" was the first, followed by "Saturdays". This was an interesting choice, as "Hearts on Fire" is a perfect song to either start or end a set with - in this case, the two songs in the encore had less energy than the last song in their set, leaving the show in an almost awkward place after they finished "Saturdays". However, I am not Cut Copy, and therefore who am I to criticize their song choice. The show was not hurt by their decision, but I am left wondering why they played their most anticipated song right before, as opposed to during, their encore.

Overall, this was one of the best shows I've had the pleasure of attending in the past six months, though I didn't catch their last show at the Echo in March. Cut Copy's energy was formidable and they followed up a rousing performance at Coachella with a comparable one at a smaller, more intimate venue in the Echoplex. I would highly recommend making a point to see them the next time they roll their roving Aussie dance party through Los Angeles,

By Peter Van Dyke