“Remember, don’t sit down,” instructed Lostboycrow 12 hours into the 18th annual Dance Marathon.
The second headliner took the stage Saturday night in Pauley Pavilion along with his band members, fusing in his relaxed, indie genre into the otherwise more energetic music scene at the event. His 45-minute set emphasized the band’s instrumentation while performing some of his newer songs for the crowd. Fourth-year sociology student Kelsi Barbata said she enjoyed the diversity in genre that Lostboycrow brought to Dance Marathon because it added a different style of music for participants to dance to.
“I felt like (DaniLeigh’s performance) before with the backup dancers was fun, and then I felt like it was fun to have (Lostboycrow) afterwards as a different genre,” Barbata said.
[RELATED: DaniLeigh delivers Dance Marathon’s first headlining performance at 10-hour mark]
Lostboycrow garnered a group of dancers who surrounded the stage when he stepped onto it, who primarily swayed and waved their hands for the duration of his performance. His set list opened with his original track “Waste of Time,” followed by “Thursday,” which immediately highlighted his focus on his band’s instruments – the sounds from his guitar riffs and his ensemble’s drummer were the sole melodies at intermittent parts of the song. He performed “Suburban Girl,” a slower, more balladlike track later in his set, before “Santa Fe,” a song from his recently released album of the same name.
Barbata said Dance Marathon DJs sometimes focus on playing more upbeat, EDM music throughout the night to keep participants on their feet, as well as portions of the night being dedicated to Disney and throwback music. However, she said she enjoys how live bands, in this case Lostboycrow’s, can diverge from other styles that take up the other hours of Dance Marathon.
“I feel like if we didn’t have breaking up of the music in between, it would kind of be just monotonous,” Barbata said. “I know all of my friends and I love the different theme shifts, and the music that accompanies the theme shifts, so it definitely helps morale.”
She appreciates live performances during the event because they provide people a chance to talk to each other in the midst of dancing, she said. Barbata enjoyed dancing to his music in the background, she said, rather than to something more overpowering.
Conversely, Kira Liss, a second-year geography and environmental science student, said while she enjoyed Lostboycrow’s performance, she would have preferred something that hyped her up more. She said it was important to keep things exciting over the 26 hours, especially during the time slot of Lostboycrow’s performance, as it took place during the 12th hour, when dancers begin to feel more tired.
While some participants were unfamiliar with Lostboycrow’s work, others had listened to his music before. Isaac Chan, a fourth-year political science student, said he has been listening to Lostboycrow’s music for about a year after discovering his songs on Spotify. He was drawn to Lostboycrow’s work because it was upbeat and part of the electric-indie music scene, which he said he enjoys. Chan said he wished the musician performed some of his personal favorites; instead, he focused more on his recent tracks. He still enjoyed the performance, he said, and appreciated Lostboycrow’s genre in the midst of throwback music and other styles.
“I think it’s good to change it up. Don’t get me wrong, I love a throwback, I love hip-hop to keep you amped, but also sometimes, you can’t always be going,” Chan said. “To slow things down a bit, it was nice.”