Baths, Houses, D33J
Sunday, June 16 at Strange Matter
With VCU students gone for the summer and a draining work week looming ahead, I was expecting a low-key, low-volume show from Baths. Upon arriving at Strange Matter on Sunday night, my prediction appeared spot-on at first—a handful of concertgoers lingered near the bar, some played arcade games at the back of the venue, and only a few devoted fans congregated at the front of the stage.
Baths, Houses, D33J
Sunday, June 16 at Strange Matter
With VCU students gone for the summer and a draining work week looming ahead, I was expecting a low-key, low-volume show from Baths. Upon arriving at Strange Matter on Sunday night, my prediction appeared spot-on at first—a handful of concertgoers lingered near the bar, some played arcade games at the back of the venue, and only a few devoted fans congregated at the front of the stage.
Djavan Santos—a Los Angeles-based producer known by the moniker D33J—warmed up to his set slowly, pairing ambient synth melodies with reverb-heavy vocal samples. At first the crowd seemed unimpressed, but the energy in the room finally began to rise as a thumping bassline entered the mix. The crowd bobbed and swayed contentedly while Santos transitioned between crisp, club-worthy beats and hazier sequences supplemented by his live guitar solos. Though Santos’ sound was disjointed and unpolished at times, he successfully whipped up some excitement at Strange Matter.
Houses, a Chicago duo comprised of Dexter Tortoriello and Megan Messina, immediately emerged as the hidden gem of the evening. Backed by a live drummer, the pair launched into a dreamy set tinged with melancholy and nostalgia. The duo’s mesmerizingly raw harmonies complemented their lovesick, regretful lyrics, and a smooth production laced instrumental and vocal components together seamlessly. Houses finished their set with “A Quiet Darkness,” a slow-paced, meditative track that serves as the title track and closing chapter of their most recent full-length, an album-long story rife with unrequited love and nuclear disaster. Tortoriello and Messina captivated the audience with their passionate, hauntingly beautiful performance, dialing the energy back a notch in anticipation of Baths’ more upbeat set.
When Will Wiesenfeld, the musical mastermind behind Baths, appeared onstage, the crowd—which had nearly tripled in size—greeted him with applause and shouts of excitement. Despite Baths’ mounting fame within the electronic music sphere (Pitchfork awarded his most recent album, Obsidian, a score of 8.6/10, as well as the coveted “Best New Music” label), Wiesenfeld seemed unfazed by the attention, jokingly sympathizing with the audience about the humid weather and stuffy venue before diving into his set.
Wiesenfeld performs under the name “Baths” to pay homage to fond memories of reflecting on art and music during long soaks in his bathtub. These recollections manifest themselves within his work in the form of whimsical sampling and imaginative aural combinations. With a nod to his childhood exposure to classical piano, plunking keyboard melodies reminiscent of lullaby tunes take center stage in many of his songs. Though Wiesenfeld’s fundamental influences are playful and childish, his songwriting and production abilities are anything but. Accompanied by multi-instrumentalist Morgan Greenwood, Wiesenfeld touched on a variety of different sounds, alternating between poppy, bass-heavy instrumentals and ambient, contemplative sequences. His signature emotive falsetto topped off the tracks; as he belted out the lyrics to hits like “Miasma Sky” and “Lovely Bloodflow,” the crowd couldn’t help but sing along.
About halfway through his set, Wiesenfeld took a break to address a pressing issue: the sweltering heat of the venue. Strange Matter—with its cramped event space, minimal airflow, and apparent lack of air conditioning—had turned into a sauna, but no one wanted to stop dancing. Exclaiming “Wow! It’s as hot as a hot place” and tweeting “in Richmond Virginia/humidity is how i die/i’m dead/humidity,” he sympathized with the crowd and thanked everyone for putting up with the suffocating heat before jumping into a swelling rendition of “Ironworks,” which yielded more dancing and even more sweat.
Towards the end of the show, Wiesenfeld joked with the crowd. He explained that he had reached the point of the show when he would normally go backstage to wait for encore applause, but the absence of a backstage area forced Wiesenfeld to improvise. He playfully pivoted away from the audience, shielding his eyes from the crowd but noticeably enjoying a minute of fervent clapping, yelling, and whistling. Wiesenfeld finally approached the microphone again and completed the show with “No Eyes,” undoubtedly the most danceable song from Obsidian. After a thoroughly enjoyable show, old and new fans alike trickled out of Strange Matter and into the muggy night, completely exhausted, drenched in sweat—and definitely in need of a long bath.
