Packs of people hurried along Elm Street, scavenging for last minute bites at Subway, or a pack of cigarettes at the corner 7-eleven before heading to Trees.
Once inside, parties conversed, sipped alcohol and basked under a bubbling flow of house, electro-soul and hip-hop music. A near hobbit of a man in a windbreaker stood at the center of the dance floor, tongue outstretched, holding up a Confess LP in a manner that lightened the already waggish atmosphere.
The air murmured with anticipation for Twin Shadow’s soon-to-be exhilarating set.
“I went to Bonnaroo last year, and I didn’t see him, because hadn’t actually listened to him,” Andrew Ramsey, 21, said. “I heard about his album from Pitchfork, his first album Forget, and then I listened to Confess when it came out. I really dig it, so I wanted to come down and see [him].”
Vulnerable baritone George Lewis, Jr., aka Twin Shadow deals in mirthful, echo-laden torch songs concerning lovers past.
Lewis released his debut album, the new romantic Forget in 2010.
Confess, his 2012 breakthrough, brightens up the old formula with intimate new wave owing to bands like The Police and The Cure.
Local musician and opening act New Fumes brought the first flock of bodies to the dance floor with his thrashing psych-folk improvisations and accompanying, bizarro-humorous video show. Following act Niki and the Doves played a shamanistic set filled with cheeky ’80s synths and anthemic fem-wales, loosening more concert-goers into jigs throughout their performance.
Thirty minutes after the opening sets, Lewis sauntered from the left side of the stage. Dressed in a black blazer, white jeans and a fashionably-marred, skinny black tank top, the singer was joined onstage by a bassist, drummer, and keyboard player. After a hearty “What’s up, Dallas!” Lewis said.
The foursome proceeded with the show.
Now, a person turned off to Twin Shadow could argue that the music bleeds too lovelorn for its own good. Live, however, is a different story.
Fan favorites like the anthems “Run the Heart” and “Tyrant Destroyed” were invigorated with an aura not felt on record; the performance was easily thrice as loud as the album.
Lewis radiated for the audience while playing Vitamin C-rich guitar solos that sweetened the already impressive show.
Pouty, lovesick mystique aside, Lewis was quite jocular during the set.
Between songs were moments where Lewis revealed an affection for Dallas that grew during motorcycle trips through the city.
Self-deprecating jokes about his professed lackluster 2011 show at the Granada Theater strengthened the melodic convent between Lewis and the audience.
After playing two encores, Twin Shadow announced his departure to The Round-Up Saloon and invited an already smitten crowd of 500 to join him.
“I think these guys are really going to blow up, man,” Shannon Barrett, 36, said.
“I would be really surprised if the next time they’re in town, it’s not like a larger venue in need of more people.”
