Louis the Child lights up sold-out Westcott Theater
Louis the Child lights up Westcott Theater
Louis the Child was everything you’d hope for from a Westcott Theater concert. The dance floor was packed, people were dancing in small groups, Juuls were being passed around, the lights were blinding and the music was bumping.
The concert started promptly at 9 p.m. with a silent DJ on the stage. The DJ would turn out to be one of the members of opening act, Point Point. The group came from Paris to perform in Syracuse for the first time. The second he started playing, the crowd jumped up and down with him.
The first recognizable songs were a couple of remixes of popular Drake songs, which were smoothly transitioned into a remix of “Light” by Han Solo. Point Point would go on to remix multiple Kanye West songs, including “All of the Lights,” “Power,” and “Flashing Lights.” The biggest pop of the opening act came when the crowd took a liking to Point Point’s remix of “Bad” by Michael Jackson.
Maybe the best moment of the set came at the end, when the silent man cut the music and proudly yelled his first words of the night: “Syracuse!” He then explained that the group was indeed Point Point from Paris. Overall, you couldn’t ask for much more from an opening act, and I would happily welcome them back to the Westcott.
Next up was Joey Purp, but the Chicago rapper made fans wait. Purp’s DJ played popular rap songs including “Bodak Yellow” and “Father Stretch My Hands Pt. 2.” The DJ tried to keep the energy up, but fans soon grew tired of waiting. Finally, after twenty minutes, Joey Purp came out in a Chicago White Sox hat and played a few very personal songs, saying he wanted the crowd to get to know him.
Purp next shared an anecdote wondering where the beautiful women were at SU, leading him into his hit song, “Girls.” He followed this with a new song called “24 Karat Gold.” Joey Purp had energy, but his hard knock life rap style just didn’t suit the EDM acts which surrounded his set.
After Joey Purp left the stage, the crowd grew and condensed. Leading up to Louis the Child’s arrival, you had to shove with all your might to make any progress towards the front. When Louis the Child came out at 11 p.m., the crowd erupted. Members Robby Hauldren and Freddy Kennett spent a ton of time dancing on the table, and at one point, Robby stood on the crowd barrier, inciting riotous cheers from the audience.
Louis the Child played their hit songs and also interjected some remixes of other songs, along with remixes of their own remixes. The group played “Fire” early on in the set, then followed up with some chill mixes into their remix of “Genghis Kahn” by Miike Snow. The crowd sang along to their remix of Chance the Rapper’s “All Night,” and they didn’t stop singing when Louis the Child’s song “World on Fire” started blasting.
The group stopped the music to ask everyone if they were ready to get groovy. They then played “Slow Down Love” and transitioned it into a remix of “Day N’ Nite” by Kid Cudi. After this, the group played some of their more pop-style songs, moving into “Weekend” and “Phone Died.” Robby even held the microphone up to the audience during “Phone Died” to allow fans to scream the lyrics.
Another cool moment came when Louis the Child played a remix of “Power” by Kanye West and shouted out Point Point, who had done the same earlier in the night. After a couple more songs, the group left the stage almost without warning. But the crowd wasn’t ready to go yet. Chants of “you can do it” and “olé olé olé olé” broke out before the group came back.
Robby and Freddy then had a conversation between each other, asking if they should play another song before they finally asked the crowd if they wanted to hear a few more songs. The answer was a resounding yes. They played their remix of Zella Day’s “Compass” before thanking the crowd and asking what they wanted to hear next. The riled up audience yelled “It’s Strange” multiple times before Robby simply said “okay” and the music dropped.
The atmosphere for the band’s award-winning 2015 song was electric, as fans jumped up and down with the music until the song finally ended. The last mark Louis the Child made before leaving was a personal connection with the Syracuse crowd. Robby stood on the table and started a “let’s go Orange” chant, which the crowd happily helped him out with.
The concert started off as well as you could hope, and while the middle may have felt a bit out of place, the main event certainly didn’t disappoint. EDM ruled the night on this stop of Louis the Child’s Last to Leave Tour. If you like chill house vibes mixed with some EDM bangers, you might want to watch out for the next time Louis the Child comes to your area.
is a contributor to The NewsHouse at Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications.
