Puma Blue played a lovely acoustic set at Public Records on May 12. Just him and his childhood friend Luke, playing guitar and singing to a small crowd on a Monday night.
The opener, Halderman, used Public Records‘ fantastic sound system to his advantage. Utilizing loop and effects pedals to improvise intricate melodies over deep, rattling bass.
Puma Blue is an otherwordly performer. It’s baffling for an artist with this much emotion packed into his vocals to sound so close to studio recordings while also playing guitar. Moments from his records that you would imagine must have taken multiple takes in a studio are replicated perfectly live with no hiccups.
Puma Blue’s childhood friend and support for these shows, Luke, stage name Salpa, also played a song of his own, an unreleased track titled “Nobody Knows.” It’s understandable why the two artists have been close for over a decade, as the two fit perfectly together. Salpa released his debut record, What You Do Alone, in February.
After receiving a field recorder as a gift, Puma crafted a song set over crickets and ambient nature sounds. It takes you right out of your head and straight into the feeling of a summer night. Puma appreciates his audience, remarking that he’s glad the current party music renaissance hasn’t stopped people from coming to shows.
Public Records is the perfect venue for these intimate shows. The care put into the sonic experience is unmatched. This is the only venue in recent memory to control audio levels to the point where earplugs weren’t needed. The sound levels never crossed 80 decibels (if my phone meter is accurate).
The mix was also fantastic, with monitors and subwoofers in each corner. As a photographer, you experience sound systems from every angle as you move around the room. Many venues have dead spots on the sides or under overhangs, where you lose part of the mix. Public Records has none of these. The listening experience is perfect.
Comments are closed.