TEED (Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs aka Orlando Higginbottom) returned to Seattle for the first time in a little over 6 years this past weekend. This time, he DJed at Kremwerk with Durante as a part of Noise Complaint, the dance party movement put on at the same venue every 2nd Friday of the month.
Personally, I’ve never been to Kremwerk before, but I can see that Noise Complaint works perfectly in the space. Noise Complaint is a monthly dance party focused on bringing curated quality artists together while keeping ticket prices reasonable. Tickets were about $15 for this whole event, which had a total of 7 different DJs to enjoy. The Timbre room above offered a stage for a “House Messengers Takeover” in a more intimate and open space with the likes of DJ Riz and Julie Herrera. Downstairs at the Kremwerk stage, main acts Durante and TEED took the larger floor, in a sea of deep red disco lights.
Unlike his last performance in Seattle, this 2-hour set by TEED was a true DJ set as opposed to performing all his original music in concert (for having a 12am-2am timeslot, this made a lot of sense). He also had a stripped attire, sporting a Nice Age t-shirt, Higginbottom’s cross-platform label. This casual look was in contrast to the bold headdresses and outfits typically worn for a TEED concert.
A DJ set for this particular event made the most sense - TEED’s two singles released this Summer had taken Higginbottom in a distinct new and exciting direction. “Leave a Light On,” is a sensitive and brilliant ballad and is nothing short of stellar. If you haven’t, go listen, the climax will blow your mind. Higginbottom himself even got emotional on Instagram following the release of the new song. In a follow up a few months later, he released “Don’t You Forget About Me,” another melancholic track with incredible build-ups & a touch of RnB nostalgia.
Both songs have been favorites of mine this past summer, and the craftsmanship of TEED is on full display in the mixing of each. Although the beats are iconically there, it made sense that for this evening at Kremwerk he stuck to a traditional upbeat set to keep the momentum going that Durante had set him up with as opener.
Hot and steamy, bodies rocked - all different dancing styles were in full force on the dancefloor, but everyone was being very respectful to each other. This gets me to the latest releases from TEED, “Body Move” and “Energy Fantasy,” both of which were meant for a night like this. Early in the 2 hour long mix of beats I even heard a background beat leading me to believe “Waulking Song” was on the horizon, alas, I was wrong, but spent the evening enjoying the fresh mix from TEED. The set had just enough of that familiar energy that I knew I could trust where he’d take us next.
Kremwerk was packed to the brim as everyone danced to TEED’s DJ set.
The 2am-3am slot was a b2b (back to back) set for Durante and TEED to share the stage at Kremwerk. The two have quite an established trust sharing the stage, evident as a result of this being the last show of their playing together on their 2018 Nice Age USA Tour.
Durante, taking in the crowd at Kremwerk.
Such a fun and stacked event put on by Noise Complaint and Nice Age. I cannot wait to see what TEED has up his sleeves next - and hopefully he’ll come back to Seattle a little sooner the next time around. Either way I’m be here waiting and listening, patiently.