Lido helps LA ‘feel something’ at #30DaysInLA gig

“If you want to meditate, if you want to jump around, if you want to cry, I don’t care – it’s our place tonight,” Norwegian producer Lido said early on in his set at the Theatre at the Ace Hotel on Wednesday night – night 9 of Red Bull Sound Select’s #30DaysInLA festival.

Throughout his hour-long show, Lido kept asking the crowd – “LA, do you feel something yet?” It was clear that a majority of the crowd was still feeling numbness from the results of the previous night’s presidential election. As the show wore on, people began to feel again, the apathy beginning to wear off just a little bit.

When things turn to shit, whether personally or all around us, music is always there to help us see the light at the end of the tunnel. Personally devastated by the reality of a Donald Trump presidency, I looked forward to attempting to return to normalcy by seeing some live music again, something that has become my nearly-daily routine since moving to LA a few years ago.

It was clear entering the Theatre at the Ace Hotel that things weren’t going to be normal right away, per se. There was a palpable somberness in the lobby as people grabbed drinks from the bar. When people took their seats, I wasn’t sure if this crowd was going to match the level of energy that Lido brings to his live shows. In a seated venue, you never know whether people are going to stand or sit, regardless of the vibe of the show. On this night in particular, I was extremely unsure what the vibe was going to be.

When Lido took the stage, maybe 15 minutes later than expected, spirits felt immediately lifted. My friend and I stood up immediately, and though people weren’t quick to follow, it only took a few songs for a majority of the theater to get on their feet.

The marvelous lights bounced off the cavernous walls of the Ace and I felt like I saw the light return to people’s eyes.
It was an incredible turnaround from seeing looks of despair
across the faces of 40 of my peers at a potluck we hosted during the election.

The production that Lido brought with him Wednesday night was incredible. Touring in support of his new album EVERYTHING, he’s reached new heights both in production and in songwriting. Seeing him bounce around from drums to the piano to singing and even a little dancing, Lido came across as a guy with some high-functioning A.D.D. He bounced off the walls of the stage from station to station the way I did as a kid before I was medicated.

The marvelous lights bounced off the cavernous walls of the Ace and I felt like I saw the light return to people’s eyes. It was an incredible turnaround from seeing looks of despair across the faces of 40 of my peers at a potluck we hosted during the election.

The show closed the way the album does – the song “Tell Me How to Feel” feeling especially poignant in that moment. The song comes across as written about a breakup, but it couldn’t have applied more perfectly to the situation most of us found ourselves in. The scattered emotions one feels after a breakup: denial, feeling lost, trying to come to acceptance. It all applied.

Lido was joined on stage by Jaden Smith for their song “Only One” — with Smith performing his part from atop the piano that Lido played. It was one of the high-point moments of the night.

When Lido shouted “Who the fuck cares anymore?” over and over, I got goosebumps – moreso when someone from the deepest part of the balcony above me yelled “I fucking still care anymore!” The positivity that the reaction drew from the crowd was infectious. That just a few blocks away, a protest of our new president-elect was going on with the same kind of fervor in that statement felt like a nice way to wrap up the first night in our new nation.

Photos courtesy of Koury Angelo / Red Bull Sound Select