Roosevelt @ U Street Music Hall - 6/3/2017
In a 2016 interview with music site Nothing but Hope and Passion, Lauber described what he wants out of the live music experience: “I’d like to see something, well, ‘larger than life’, something that’s bigger than the tragedy of everyday life. That’s what pop culture is all about, to create something that’s bigger and in a way more important than life.”
Hailing from Cologne, Germany, Marius Lauber has been doing just that by writing, recording, and producing music under the name Roosevelt since 2012. Following the likes of groups like Escort and Hot Chip, Roosevelt brings together the live instrumentation and slick bass lines of disco with modern pop melodies that are a perfect addition to summer and late-night dance club playlists. On a three-show pit stop in the US in-between European shows this spring and summer (including Governor’s Ball in NYC), Lauber brought a live band to a sold-out U Street Music Hall to turn his self-recorded creation to life.
Roosevelt and company at U Street Music Hall (Photo by Mauricio Castro / @themauricio)
Though Roosevelt is a solo project, having a backing band allowed Lauber to switch it up throughout the set, playing guitar, synths, and tambourine throughout the night, sometimes all three within the same song. Songs like “Night Moves” and the nostalgia-heavy “Fever” were textbook examples in Party Starting 101 thanks to the funky guitar lines, hi-hat drums, and dancefloor-friendly tempos. They even threw in an even more disco-fied cover of Womack & Womack’s “Teardrops,” slightly slowing down the tempo to get the whole crowd two-stepping along with Lauber. A fifth person occasionally joined the four-person band to provide extra percussion on cowbell, tambourine, and wood blocks. These little flourishes made all the difference in the live show, especially on their extended version of “Colors.” where the band demonstrated how much more fun it is when it’s a live band dropping the beat instead of a DJ. From start to finish, Roosevelt and company had the crowd lost in the music and dancing their troubles away - not bad, by Lauber’s standards. Roosevelt is out now via Greco-Roman and City Slang.
Opening for Roosevelt was Colombia-via-NYC musician Ela Minus, whose setup prominently displayed the phrase “Bright music for dark times”. Her Bjork-like voice was a perfect match for her bright, sunny electronic compositions, all of which were all created on-stage via a plethora of analog synths and sequencers inside a suitcase - all hardware and no laptops to be seen. Her latest release is the 2017 EP Adapt., available through YEBO Music.
