Discreet and unassuming, Adam, half of the electro-pop duo ASTR, got on stage and started tapping on his synths. Before the show, the crowd at The Echo buzzed with excitement; however, it wasn’t until Zoe came on stage that the audience began to go wild. She entered the stage like a wrestler coming into the ring – all gusto and ready to unleash her pent-up energy.
Zoe started singing powerfully and passionately, but Adam stopped her to apologize to the crowd, and she looked surprised as she realized her mic had been off the whole time. A true testament to their gracefulness as artists, they simply laughed it off as the technological difficulty was resolved and returned to their set.
The band began with its darker track “Razor,” performing the song with exuberance. Zoe danced to the music on center stage while Adam remained tucked in a corner, side stage on his synths.
This dynamic was resonant in the group’s stage banter, which Zoe dominated – the New Yorker expressed gratitude toward being in Los Angeles, claiming that it is the duo’s “home away from home.”
There was brief confusion after the first three songs when Zoe unexpectedly left the stage, while Adam supplied eerie reverberating beats that had a haunting but enchanting effect over the smoky venue.
When Zoe returned, however, she was all business and launched into one of the duo’s crowd favorites, a cover of Drake’s “Hold On, We’re Going Home.” The crowd sang along as Zoe showcased her powerful vocals through the bareness of the effects on the track.
In the middle of its set, ASTR began to reminisce about its tour, which included 14 dates from New York to Michigan, when Adam threw in a joke.
“You know … we lost a few people along the way,” he said. “They didn’t die. They just couldn’t make it.”
Although ASTR played with full confidence and did not overtly push for audience interaction, the band appeared to be extremely humble when fans sang along or screamed in between songs.
After singing the group’s summer anthem “Blue Hawaii,” Zoe responded embarrassedly to the audience’s cheers, saying, “I’m just doing my thing.”
ASTR ended its set strong with some of its most engaging and popular songs, including “R U With Me,” before ending with its breakout hit “Operate.”
With an extremely tight set and an airtight band dynamic, ASTR established itself as a band that, though new to touring, knows exactly what it is doing. The audience remained engaged and mesmerized by the quiet and loud songs, and the quiet and loud performers Adam and Zoe.
At the end of the show, ASTR asked the crowd to take a selfie with the duo. While the band dominated the stage, the crowd joined in excitedly to be a little part of what will become ASTR’s background.
– Leyla Kumble