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When half·alive first garnered attention with their
“still.feel” music video, they essentially changed the game of how low budget
videos turned into algorithm-changing content. They’ve been able to turn the
messages of their songs into narratives through choreographed dance moves and
subtle stage props, which they’ve also been able to bring to life during live
performances.
The stage of their current world tour involves a high rise
platform, a backdrop of circular LED lights and not a single set list in sight.
It doesn’t take long to wonder how much of their choreography will come to life
on stage because once the lights go
down, the first person to make their way to the stage is not Josh Taylor, Brett
Kramer or J Tyler Johnson. They walk out once of their two dancers make it to
the corner of stage left and meet him there as the beginning of “ok ok?”
starts. The stage remains dark except for the light held by their dancer, and
while lights are usually distracting from the quality of music, this isn’t the
case here.
Their two dancers make multiple appearances throughout the
night, even to teach the audience some of their moves. They aren’t entirely in
sync during their performances, but that’s the point. Part of their narrative
is to feel the music individually and bring the lyrics to life through their
own interpretation. Each dancer and band member has their own take on the song,
and depending on who the audience is watching, those different interpretations
speak to different people.
In addition to their dancers, lighting plays a major component
of their storytelling performance. The backdrop of lights move both by the
hands of the dancers and to encourage audience interaction during various
sing-along opportunities. The night ends with glowing beach-style balls, the
last one illuminated being held in the air by Taylor before making the stage
dark once more.
As mentioned before, despite the busy stage, it merely
amplifies the talent that radiates from the three band members. Their performance style does speak to their
audience in a way that almost can’t be described, but the same is to be said of
their physical performance. They are each talented in their own right and have
found a style of songwriting that causes anyone to stop what they’re doing and
pay attention.
half·alive has helped take the idea of a traditional
performance and turn it into something that speaks louder and to a larger
audience. As they continue the rest of their world tour, it’s no mistake that
their catchy lyrics and out-of-the-box narratives speak to a diverse group of
music lovers.