Feed Me/Mord Fustang 2/2 Webster Hall Review

Jon Gooch’s highly successful ‘Teeth’ Tour is back again in North America, this time accompanied by the insanely talented and original, Mord Fustang. Fresh off of his “Death by Robot” EP, Feed Me graced the stage of Webster Hall for one of the first stops of his highly anticipated tour.

Ever since Gooch got signed to mau5trap and absolutely murdered as opener on the Meowingtons Hax tour back in 2011, he has been on the radar of EDM fans everywhere. Recognized for his unique brand of electro infused dubstep, Feed Me garnered critical acclaim and success from his very first EP release in “Feed Me's Big Adventure.” However, prior to this meteoric rise, Gooch was known to many core fans of Drum and Bass as Spor. Still creating DnB tracks under this moniker today, Gooch stays true to his roots (if you are interested in a sample, check out his track Ziggurat.) If producing effortlessly under two different genres wasn’t enough, he is also a graphic designer, creating all of the artwork for his albums as well as working closely with the fabricators who made the Teeth that are incorporated in his live shows. This ‘Teeth’ tour is his second over the span of just 8 months making stops from the United States all the way to Thailand.

On this bitter cold February night, fans were lined up around the corner to get a taste of Mord and Feed Me’s unique soundscape. Relieving residents Alex English & rekLES, Fustang took the stage calmly in Ray-Bans and did not wait a moment to give us a heavy dose of his eclectic brand of ‘’electro-wobble.’ Kicking off with favorites “A New World” and “Milky Way” the packed venue erupted. It is very fitting that Fustang is on tour with Feed Me as they have both created a niche within the genres they already produce in, making music that can be recognized as their own to anyone familiar with their sound. Mord finished up his hour set with my personal favorite “Lick the Rainbow” and although this track is very groovy and filled with massive drops, you could tell that the crowd was itching for what they came for.

After Mord exited the stage, the crowd was left waiting staring at a giant black cloth for what seemed like an eternity. Finally, the cloth drops to reveal the massive teeth and eyes that Feed Me stands atop, filling out the stage perfectly. As the music begins, the eyes start glowing in a staticky white arrangement as “To The Stars” becomes audible. Next it is the teeth that light up in a similar white array, and finally the beat drops and LED tubes behind him and lights from above and below shine on the crowd to reveal a sea of recording cell phones. If you somehow found yourself at this show having never heard his music, he wastes no time getting you familiar with his brand of grimey synth and wobbles. Although, soon into his set he played one of his only calm, bass absent tracks in “Relocation” from his EP “Escape from Electric Mountain.” This gorgeous production happens to be one of my favorite and serves as a further example of how incredibly versatile Gooch is. The end of the song leads perfectly into the much more popular “Blood Red” which coincides with the color of the bright LEDs in the Teeth that tower before us. What is so great about an artist like Gooch, is that he is constantly releasing new music, when you see him live you can expect to hear almost all of it. This includes both of the incredible “Cloudburn” and “Strange Behaviour”, which to me, were the highlights of the show. These two tracks are the few in his discography that actually have lyrics - both by the talented Tasha Baxter. This creates a truly visceral experience for those in attendance as the crowd erupts in a ‘shout at the sky’ sing-a-long. Although this is a beautiful moment, both songs contain the signature bass and synth cuts that Gooch is known for, creating an amazing juxtaposition of crowd energy. Particularly in “Cloudburn”, not only was the crowd sent into a frenzy but so too were all of the lighting elements on stage creating a mesmerizing effect.

As his set was winding down, Gooch played his new track “Death by Robot” from the self-titled EP released just a couple of weeks ago. The entire EP is slightly calmer than previous outings and this particular track provides a nice down-tempo and up-tempo switch to take us on a ride once again. During this song we can see his iconic little green monster moving along and riding in a robot suit across the teeth, nearly identical to what we can see on his album cover (self-drawn). This incorporation into the light show was not something I expected to see. For his final track, he played an awesome DnB edit of the single “Trapdoor” which feature vocals by Hadouken. This got the crowd back up and moving at a pace equal to that of the most intense of the night, a perfect way to finish. That and the fact that he had both the U.S. and U.K. flag showing alternately on the teeth was also a nice touch. Finally, Gooch stepped down from his iron perch and came to the front of the stage, bowing and humbling himself to his fervent fans. Thus ending another successful show at Webster Hall, NYC, a venue and place that Gooch himself stated as “one of the highlights of every tour."