I know I have talked about EOTO a bunch on the Resonant Vibes blog but I wanted to once again share my thoughts about Michael Travis and Jason Hann’s performance two nights ago at The Hideaway Saloon in Louisville, KY. First of all I may have never in my life seen a venue more packed beyond capacity then The Hideaway Saloon was the other night. The bar is pretty much, as the name indicates, hidden away in an alley right off Bardstown Road which is the hip party street in Louisville. It has a very small stage, which is only elevated about a foot off the floor, situated directly to your right when you enter the door. The inside is laid out like an old shotgun house with a long bar lining the right hand side of the club’s back half and a dance floor that is probably no bigger than a king bed right up front near the stage. It goes without saying it is a very intimate place to see any performer! Talking to Michael Travis before the show he indicated it was ridiculously silly they were playing a show at this bar! Don’t get me wrong, I love the Hideaway and it was evident that EOTO does too! The place is just way too small for them these days, and as I suspected people came out in numbers, jam packing themselves like sardines into the club. There was such an overflow that even the steps through the alley were shoulder to shoulder crowded with late-night concert goers. Yet no one really seemed to be all that uncomfortable and the energy was just insane!
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On EOTO’s website it indicated the show was to start at 10pm, but in true late night concert fashion the guys did not take the stage till about 11:30-12am. I should also mention there is absolutely no type of back-stage area, so in order to even get to the stage both Michael and Jason had to traverse the sea of people and literally climb over their equipment before getting situated. For about 1.5 hours the guys played a crazy hot set of sheer 100% improvised electro & dub-step oriented tunes that melted some serious face! They literally did not stop for the entire set with each song bleeding into the next like a great DJ mix. By the end of the first set the venue had already turned into a messy sweat box and it felt amazing to step outside in the brisk December cold. One thing that I love about EOTO is the genuine appreciation they have for their fans and their ability to interact with them. As usual Jason was just hanging out in the crowd, right around the stage and was talking to anyone who came up to him. He is one nicest people you will ever meet. I have said it before and I’ll say it again, EOTO is not looking for fame or fortune. They simply want to make Electronic Dance Music their own way and put on a great party!
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When I finally came back in the venue to get ready for the second set I witnessed a very unusually but hilarious duo called MC Spark Plug. The two MC’s are actually girl friend and boy friend who paint a lyrical picture similar to the TV show “Married with Children”. They did not really rap but instead traded off a playful banter towards each other that was meant to make you laugh as hard as possible. Anyone who took these two literally really missed the boat as the concept was built on sarcasm and it seemed like Louisville was in on the joke. I for one found it to be the perfect balance to the intense music that came before and after. At about 2am EOTO once again weaved their way through an even more packed crowd to start performing the second set.
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When they started playing the crowd was super primed for what would turn out to be an even more high energy packed set than before! Out of the three times I have seen EOTO this year, I really believe this was the best set I have personally witnessed. The guys were just on fire and the entire place was jumping around, waving their hands, and bobbing their heads with such force it was almost scary! The guys played for another 1.5 hours until Michael finally spoke to the still over-packed crowd. He said something along the lines of “Well I can’t really get out of here, so lets pretend that we left the stage and you guys cheered for an encore and we came back on to play one.” The guys finally wrapped up about 3:30am. The show was absolutely phenomenal. I can not wait to see them again soon, which will not be hard as the guys tour pretty much year round. I can assure you that next time they come back to Louisville they will have to play a larger venue as they have substantially grown this past year. Catch them now as they have quickly become one of the hottest Livetronica acts around.
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If you were at this show or have seen EOTO this year, let us know what you thought?
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John “The Grizz” Grisanti

Tags: DJ Spark Plug, Electronic Dance Music, EOTO, Jason Hann, Michael Travis