When it was announced that Crystal Castles were playing the large Roseland Ballroom, I was a bit shocked, and wondered if they would be able to fill it out. My doubts were short lived, as I remembered how intense of a live show these guys are.
The music of Crystal Castles is only one element of the live show. You also got a hot sweaty crowd of people that lose their shit for the entire duration “(Baptism” was the start of the non-stop action). If you’re in the front of the crowd, you’re stuck in a sea of people acting as if the show is a rave/hardcore show. Then you (literally) throw Alice Glass on them, and you practically got a riot on your hands.
Glass is notorious for her antics during live performances, and she didn’t shy down one bit last night. She eagerly crowd-surfed dozens times, either standing in the crowd, or floating within. She made her way on top of me a few times, causing a near panic as everyone began a shove effect. All of us holding her up had no where to go; resulting in a group collapse. Somehow, we still managed to keep her up. She thanked us by spitting her alcoholic beverage into the crowd to cool us off. Sadly, it actually really did. It was that hot.
Ethan Kath and live drummer Christopher Chartrand re-create the songs with a thunderous roar. It’s undeniable when everything falls into place. They opened the show with the two singles from their new album Crystal Castles (III): “Plague” and “Wrath of God”. They sounded great, but the real heart of the show were “Baptism”, “Vanished”, “Not In Love”, “Untrust Us”, and their own interpretation of HEALTH’s remix of their very own “Crimewave”. Inception style. Any chance for Alice and the crowd to collectively lose it is the core of this live show.
Speaking of HEALTH, they were fantastic live. Didn’t expect them to rock so hard – but boy, did they. Quite a good mix of blippy electronic and thunderous rock.
Crystal Castles as a whole didn’t even say one word to the crowd the whole night. They didn’t have to. The feeling of general ecstasy seen on the faces of all the sweaty bodies filing out of Roseland said it all.
Find photos from the show, below.
Join the conversation