On Saturday April 6th, I was lucky enough to catch the bands Blue Hawaii and Purity Ring, both Canadian natives, play at Plush St. Louis.

Blue Hawaii, a weird minimalist techno duo with vocals that wouldn’t be hard to get confused with Grimes, played through their little 30 minute set, with bits of banter between each track. The duo looked like they were having an amazing time, as they were very active during their short set. Between tracks, the bubbly vocalist started going on a rant about how she believes that alcohol should be consumed in small amounts rather than binge drinking, (note, after having two shots of whisky) which got a tad bit annoying as she lurched on. The tracks seemed to go on and on, but were incredibly mesmerizing, which was a great way to set the tone for Purity Ring’s set.

After the 20 minute set change, fog started to fill up the somewhat crowded area, increasing everyone’s anticipation. Soon after the fog, a light started to emit from Corin Roddick’s strange homemade instrument. Corin, the brain behind Purity Ring’s dreamlike instrumentals, played the strange, tree-like instrument throughout the show If you want more info on the instrument, watch the video here). Then, almost out of nowhere, Megan James, the vocalist of Purity Ring appeared, along with Corin. Their appearance was incredibly unique, as they were wearing clothes that they themselves made. Their appearance along with their instrument gave off a very DIY, authentic, and real feel to the show, which is rare for an electronic music show.

The band had started out with “Amenamy,” which captured most of the audience’s attention. James’ movement on stage was incredible, it was almost as if she was moving as a snake, making her way along the stage. James slowly moved into “Crawlersout” (which is my personal favourite Purity Ring song), which had captivated the audience even more due to the fact that she had picked up a mallet and started to play Corin’s magic “tree instrument.” More fog filled up the venue, which lead into the next song, “Saltkin.” At this point in the show, it had suddenly come to me that I’ve never seen electronic music performed so emotional and real. The next song “Cartographist” is where the show really started to click. The song was performed what seemed like an octave lower than the recorded version, which really showed off how authentic their sound is, and how they’re not afraid to screw up on a few tracks. The next few songs were just as phenomenal as the others, but the songs that really stood out were “Grammy,” and “Fineshrines.” “Grammy,” which is a cover a Soulja Boy song, really stood out to me, due to the crossing between genres,which made it amazing. “Fineshrines” was the closer to the show, which was somewhat upsetting due to the fact that I was expecting new material, but it was still an upbeat and energetic way to end the show.

The only issues I had with the show are: the short set, and the fact that there was barely any communication between Purity Ring and the fans. The set clocked in at an hour, which is significantly short, but what can you expect from a band that has only 12 officially published songs? The other thing that irked me was the lack of interaction. The only thing James said during the set was that there was an after party located somewhere in St. Louis, and that she was doing a cover of a Soulja Boy song, “Grammy.”

Despite the few gripes I had, the show was amazing. The whole experience felt very dreamlike, the lights and fog made it incredibly atmospheric. I had an amazing time, and I recommend a Purity Ring show to anyone who enjoys electronic music or an amazing performance.