The next time KNOWER is in the Boston area, cancel all of your plans and go to the show.
The opener for KNOWER was Mister Lies, based in New York City. While the group struggled with technical difficulties initially in the show, they were able to power through to have a pretty good performance. However, the crowd was clearly there for KNOWER. The lead singer said as much, admitting that KNOWER was his “favorite band ever,” sounding just as excited to see them perform live as the rest of the crowd.
KNOWER as a group is difficult to describe. They write pop songs that have Janet Jackson style vocals, Skrillex-like dubstep wobbles, and Ligeti inspired chord changes all in one song. (In this case, the song I’m referring to is “Time Traveler.”) The music videos that they have on YouTube reflect the style of the live performances, with a projector putting images with flashing lights onto the duo performing.
However, seeing this live has an entirely different effect than watching it on a computer. Louis Cole’s drumming is much more intense live, and Genevieve Artadi rocked the stage as if she was playing in front of a festival crowd instead of a packed Middle East Upstairs crowd. The projections ranged from flashing lights to dancing skeletons to pizza at one point.
In celebration of Easter, Artadi threw Easter eggs into the crowd multiple times. With all of the absurdity within the show, KNOWER managed to have a truly poignant closing moment when performing “Cry Tomorrow, Laugh Today.” And after that moment, they played “The Government Knows” as an encore, with the projection having dancing tanks and edited clips of Donald Trump moving with the music.
During the show, Cole remarked that they had not been back to Boston in about two full years. Hopefully the two don’t wait that long to come back again.

Gallery | 1 Photos

Louis Cole of indietronica duo Knower.