Clean Bandit delivers electrifying performance at the Fonda

In 2015, Clean Bandit began their nationwide tour featuring a show at the Fonda Theatre in Los Angeles on April 15 for their debut studio album New Eyes.  Formed in 2009, the group consists of Grace Chatto, Neil Amin-Smith and brothers Jack Patterson and Luke Patterson. After DJ Ivy set the stage with a high-energy opening act, the band followed with an inspired and vivacious performance that drove their fans wild.

Opening with the upbeat Real Love, the band started the show off with a bang. The stage was aglow with lights and colors reflecting the warm and wicked-fun vibe of the group. Among songs performed were a few favorites from New Eyes, including the island-inspired “Come Over” with all its sensual summer glory and the ballad-inspired tunes “Nightingale” and “Cologne.” 

The band gave their fans a most passionate show, full of different genre inspirations. Clean Bandit, unlike many other electronic bands, has revolutionized the genre by incorporating various other platforms of music like jazz, classical, hip-hop and even reggae.

The show also featured a menagerie of instruments, a factor that Chatto previously stated was a definitive aspect of the vision of the band. Aside from the driving and lilting electronic beats, Jack Patterson brought the house down on bass, keyboards and even saxophone.

Drummer Luke Patterson took the stage while the ethereal beauty Chatto danced to the beat of her own cello and vocals. Unfortunately, the group’s fourth member, violinist and pianist Amin-Smith, was unable to perform due to a hand injury. Thankfully, the group continued on with flying colors accompanied by wicked vocals from soulful acts like British singer Elisabeth Troy, who, along with Chatto and several other female artists, brought soul, classical and electronic music together.

The show ended in a flurry, but not without an encore of two of the group’s most popular songs. Their second to last number was a cover of singer-songwriter Robin S.’ track, “Show me Love.” The finale, however, was a performance of their most popular song yet, the one that won a 2015 Grammy award for Best Dance Recordings: “Rather Be.” Upbeat and funky, this track was the perfect ending to a successful and wonderfully performed show.

Despite the crazy beats, great vocals and lyrics, and the fact that we Americans just adore anything British, the show was truly defined by one thing. When The Daily Trojan spoke with Chatto for an interview, she had said that the group was striving for “a more intimate space of color and styling with electric content. We like to bring in bass guitars and electric guitars and piano so that its not just about a guy with a laptop and I hope this excites people about what we are.”

True to Chatto’s word, the band brought innovation to the table while looking like they were having the time of their lives. They were interactive and honest, speaking with an endearing directness to their fans, a feat many artists try and fail at accomplishing.

All in all, Clean Bandit proved that they not only have great potential in the rising world of EDM, but that they have also earned the love and dedication of fans who will follow them all the way to the top.