Dirtyphonics at the Monarch April 6. (Photo by Kylie Gumpert)There’s a scene in the movie "Tower Heist" where actor Eddie Murphy, gun in hand, shouts at an assailant, “I will blow your face clean off your face!” Take that line and what do you get? The Dirtyphonics’s live show at the Monarch Theatre on April 6.
With intense lighting, high-impact music and a level of energy that can only be described as something that created a perfect “dub experience,” French group members Charly, Thomas, Pho and Pitchin brought the Parisian club scene to Phoenix — and Phoenix digged it.
Maybe it’s a French thing, but these guys know exactly what gets a crowd to commit to the music and when to “blow their faces off,” as mentioned before. The packed-like-sardines venue spoke to this as hundreds of electro lovers gathered for a gyration fest that literally shook the floor.
Live performances from its new album released in mid-March, “Irreverence,” despite the album name, were highly revered judging from the crowds irresistible urge to move uncontrollably.
“DIRTY,” its first single in the album, got the crowd chanting along with the lyrics: “Think dirty, say dirty, move dirty, dance dirty,” and considering all of the sweating people in the room, dirty it was.
“Walk In The Fire” brought a spastic energy to the space with its mesmerizing combination of Metallica-inspired screamo rock and drum step, which combines dubstep technique with fast-paced drums and bass.
During what can only be assumed as “Stage Divers,” a song with Steve Aoki, Charly and Thomas moved from their perch above the dance floor to the edge of the stage and jumped in-synch into the crowd’s faithful arms, creating a defining moment for the show as other crowd members joined in the surf.
At one point Pitchin shouted into his mic, “You guys are f—ing crazy!” That’s got to mean something for Phoenix coming from European club-connoisseurs, right?
One thing that can be said for the show is that it was incredibly intense. An intensity that, in moderate doses, is extremely powerful and makes for one well-spent, euphoric evening that has you tuckered out in the best way possible by the end of it.
Overall, Dirtyphonics in Phoenix was a combination that just worked, and the experience is obviously still thriving in the hands of this group.
Reach the reporter at kgumpert@asu.edu or through Twitter @cat2bekittenmee
