The Scene: Few global touring companies ignite your imagination more than the vaudevillian electronic circus known as Lucent Dossier. Inspired by the artistic visions of The Do Lab Co-Founder Dream Rockwell, The Lucent Dossier Experience is the dramatic melding of cinematic avant-garde circus, spectacular contortionism and devastating electronic beats. The current touring setup for Lucent Dossier doesn’t pack the visual explosion and theatrics of The Awakening-Sea Of Dreams or S.S Lucent Dossier but this is still one of the more jaw dropping, eye gyrating performances you can witness in the world. A large crowd of young and old; Burning Man veterans and curious lovers of psychedelia packed the Fox Theatre in Boulder on a casual Wednesday evening. The Fox may not have been the best venue for a performance of this size but it certainly provided for a serene view of Lucent Dossier’s acrobatics and stylized choreography.
The Lucent Dossier Experience: A large metal dome took shape on the lower dance floor to begin the show. The crowd was pushed back to allow for the fluidity of the dancers using this massive structure. As the show crept to life with simple spoken word and a few brushstrokes on the drums, I couldn’t help but feel as though the dynamic artistry and magic of a larger scale Dossier event would be all but lost in this venue. This theory proved correct throughout Lucent’s set but the show still managed to explore ideas and concepts that don’t typically flow from the ceiling of the Fox. Throughout the one hour and 15 minute performance, the crowd was treated to a lightening bolt of silky dance, thunderous Dub-Step and gorgeous costumes that rival Empire of The Sun for sheer audacity. After several routines on stage, the troupe moved to the dome for the middle sections of the set. Watching the girls effortlessly dance on top of this spinning structure was otherworldly and the crowd was quickly curled into collective hypnosis.
The Lucent Dossier Experience is supposed to encapsulate an emotional journey into wonderland but it fails to reach a true pinnacle at times because it has been so watered down by the idea of consistent touring. Perhaps Lucent’s performances would work better if they were done more sparingly, on a larger scale and with more developed ideas behind them. If you go into a Lucent show expecting fire and water that will knock you off your feet you might leave disappointed by the lack of variety.
With Dream Rockwell in attendance behind the sound booth, her troupe rose to the occasion and delivered several fierce dance routines to finish the set. It would have been nice to see Rockwell take the stage but she decided to lurk in the background rather than steal the spotlight.
I appreciate the sensuality and vibrant idea driven formula that the current incarnation of the Lucent Dossier Experience brings to the stage but it seems to be lacking the killer instinct of similar Shpongle and Sensation live shows. Colorado deserves a new full-scale Dossier show and hopefully we get one in the near future.
Energy: A-
Musicianship: B
Sound: B
Stage Presence: A
Set/Light Show: A
Overall: B+
+ There are no comments
Add yours