Salt Lake City’s Urban Lounge lit up on Friday night for a celebratory evening with Manic Focus and The Sponges.
The mid-summer evening was greeted with Salt Lake City producer HER for a tantalizing 60-minute set. Playing through her set, Jocelyn Murray transitioned through genres of trap, drum and bass, and house while infusing her hip-hop influence to the crowd. The room filled up as remixed covers of Cardi B, Walker & Royce, Kelis, and more flooded the dancefloor, energizing the early night as the venue continued to pack in.
What kind of electronic show would it be without a full dose of funky house? Hailing from Miami, FL, The Sponges – comprised of Nik Eaton and Ryan Slepin – layed down funky bass grooves during their hour-long set. These guys are always a fun trip to see live, incorporating old-school funk and vocal samples into a modern-day twist of danceable house party vibes. Their latest track “Jerry Brain” made a Salt Lake City debut, sending drips of electro house and crunchy bass throughout the disco scene, while their extended deep house remix of “you can find me in the club” got the crowd moving and grooving.
Kicking off his headlining set shortly after 11 p.m., Manic Focus took to the stage to deliver his soulful electronic bass waves. Out on a nationwide summer tour, the Denver-based producer played through his discography spanning across his varied sounds in jazzy funk, and heavy-hitting bass. Rhythmic beats layed down the foundation of his set intermixed with surreal, atmospheric soundscapes. A change of pace arrived when Travis Scott’s “Goosebumps” was remixed with his original hard-hitting basslines and percussion, leading the set into his most recent track “Magic” with ProbCause. Gritty dubstep took over the scene while a quick CloZee remix made its surprise appearance in the crowd just minutes to midnight.
“On The Horizon” sent the crowd off on a light and funky ride, before classic samples of Red Hot Chili Peppers’ “Dani California” and a celebratory encore of The Beatles’ “Hey Jude” ended the night on a high-energy note.
Manic Focus is currently out on a multi-state tour and will continue on to Pontiac, MI's Elektricity on July 23rd, and Minneapolis, MN's Fillmore Minneapolis on July 24th, before concluding his tour with a set of festival performances at Summer Camp Music Festival, North Coast Music Festival, Elements Music & Arts Festival, and Fire Lights Music Festival. For more information, head to his website.
Scroll down to view a gallery of photos from the show courtesy of photographer Andrew Motter.
Manic Focus | Urban Lounge, SLC | 7/16/2 | Photos: Andrew Motter