Media Meditation: BEATS ANTIQUE

BEATS ANTIQUE: A Wild and Crazy Media Experience!

Over the past couple years I have been to a countless amount of concerts. I love live music and enjoy the concert experience. Since coming to school in Burlington, I found myself spending many nights at Higher Ground. Higher Ground is a music venue in the heart of Burlington. What makes it so special is the HUGE turnout of college kids at every show. They pay for the BEST artists to come, and most shows sell out.

That is the back ground on my concerting life in Vermont.

In the summer, my friend introduced me to a band I had never heard of, Beats Antique. My friend did a quick youtube search and pulled up this video:

After watching/listening, I was in love. Not only was the video a media masterpiece, but I could not stop thinking about how genius the music was. The growing popular trend in music is electronic, rave, and dubstep. It is obvious that Beats Antique combines these emerging genres with Middle Eastern culture to produce one of the more unique and innovative forms of music I have come across.

Searching the Higher Ground website for upcoming shows, I see Beats Antique listed and purchase tickets immediately. On Sunday, October 24th, I saw the beauty of Beats Antique for myself. Posted by Beats Antique, this video summarizes the show at Higher Ground with LIVE footage, and band interviews.

This show ranks in the top 3 concerts I have ever been too. The energy in this sold out venue was incredible. The band members played different kinds of drums, violins, and banjos to accompany the electronic rave atmosphere and dubstep background music. To top it all off, Zoe Jakes makes the whole show sexy as she belly dances to the music. The band made the crowd crazy. At the encore, the band put on animal masks, ran around the stage, and jumped into the wild crowd for some crowd surfing. The audience was going wild the whole show, and the band was feeding off of their energy.

Now that I've settled down, I can reflect on this unique MEDIA EXPERIENCE. From the power tools we see the use of...

Production Techniques: A big part of their success is due to production techniques. The rave lighting, fog machines, and other disorienting effects is all part of the experience. Instead of sitting and playing music in front of an audience seated in chairs, the band uses production techniques to have the entire venue jumping, screaming, and dancing like animals.

Pacing: At times, the show is overwhelming. The flashing strobe lights and lazers make it hard to see at times and the fast pace of the entire show makes it difficult to slow down and take a break. It is just too crazy.

Symbols: Zoe, the belly dancer, is certainly a symbol for the group. She is the connection they have to Middle Eastern heritage and is a huge part of the Beats Antique experience.

Humor: There is some humor in their performance. The guitarist frequently gave shout outs to his mom, who was in the audience. Also, wearing the animal masks at the end was a comical way to let loose and go wild.

Timing: Timing is very important to this production. At times they slow down the music, progressively getting faster and louder to make the crowd anxious. Then the beat will drop and all at once the bass will shake your insides, the banjo will break it down, Zoe will begin an impressive dance, and the crowd will be out of control.

Limbic Brain: Flashing lights, dancing acts, and the actual musical performance will create a one-of-a-kind limbic experience.

(pictures from beatsantique.com)

Beats Antique is a new, up-and-coming, band who's popularity is growing exponentially. The combination of many genres, energetic performance, and incredible musical talent will continue to attract new listeners.