By Josie Stahler
In an era where live performances only live in our heads as distant memories, the fabulous Shadow Show answers the call with a fun and fanciful online performance. “Shadow Show Live: A Broadcast Experience” takes the concept of a virtual show and turns it on its head, crafting it into a visually unique and vintage-sounding experience.
The video opens with a static-sounding radio changing channels, tuning into different Shadow Show songs. Instantly I’m transported to another time, as if I’m a teenager in the 60s looking for the right song to play while I paint my nails in my room. A fascinating host by the name of Lou Ramo, who my Grandma would probably describe as, “quite the character” appears to introduce the band. “They are coiffed with cool, sewn with psychedelia, and only mere moments away from steady landing two brand new songs off of the new EP: ‘What Again is Real?’”
The band stands on screen dressed effortlessly chic, decked out in colorful scarves and matching berets like the models you’d find in an old catalogue. Just as Lou says, they perform two songs filled with dizzying harmonies and that perfect vintage Detroit sound. Their opening song, “What Again is Real?” not only has a psychedelic tune that captures your mind, but a title that contains the disorienting and sometimes crazed question we ask ourselves as we approach almost a year in quarantine. They finish off with their rendition of, “Is This a Dream?” bringing a rich and stimulating sound to the song by the Feminine Complex.
For a brief moment in time, it felt as if I was back on the venue floor, dancing in a crowd as the thrumming of the instruments captures the audience. By the time Shadow Show is done performing, I’m begging for more. The performance of Shadow Show’s latest EP, “What Again is Real?” is an entertaining feat of art; creating a hazy, dream-filled aesthetic that matches the band’s sound. It brings a new way to experience Shadow Show, exploring a side of chaos and fantasy, in addition to the distinctvely mesmerizing sounds heard in their freshman album, Silhouettes. Hopefully in the future we’ll be able to stand in a crowd and hear these awesome tunes live, but for now, we can at least turn to this unique “broadcast experience” to quench our concert thirst.