TALK TUESDAY / Illenium Gallery & Review

PHOTOS AND REVIEW BY PARIS LEWIS

Talk Tuesday is a weekly series where our staff is highlighted on our website with a gallery, review, editorial or even interview. We tackle many genre’s in our community and this week Paris Lewis captures the EDM scene.

I’ve got to say that I’m not the biggest fan of EDM music, but I took a step outside my comfort zone and made my way to an Illenium show last week. Illenium was the headliner of a sold out show at The Pageant in St. Louis, Missouri. If you don’t know who Illenium is, he is a 28-year old American DJ, musician, and record producer from Chicago, Illinois. I’ve only been to one or two EDM shows, so I had a slight idea of what to expect when I walked in. However, I was actually very surprised. The outfits were a lot more tame than I was anticipating. I tend to see outfits that cover very little as well as a multitude of light up accessories in regards to EDM shows, but a majority of the crowd had Illenium’s merch on. 

This show set up was crazy. I’ve never seen this venue have the pit open so wide and the front row as far back as they did. I believe it was done for safety purposes due to the use of pyrotechnics throughout the show. Illenium had his set very high up on the stage which wasn’t the best for taking pictures from the pit. I left the pit after about 3 or so minutes of not being able to see him over his set. Looking onto the stage from the back of house was very intriguing. There were blasts of fire to the beat of the songs, streamers, sick lighting design, and visuals. It was a very interesting and fun atmosphere to be in. I loved being able to watch fans sing along to every word and dance like no one was watching. This was the type of show that let you truly be yourself and release any emotion you may have had built up without anyone judging you. Illenium was so active and engaging with the audience. He showed each of his musical talents by switching from djing to playing the guitar to adding drum beats into the songs. 

The dude is sick, and he would be such a great artist to add on a festival line up. I would love to go see him at a show like Hangout Fest and end one of the nights dancing on the beach to his music. I recommend checking Illenium out, and if he comes through your city, go to the show.