When you see Michael Travis and Jason Hann of EOTO take the stage, it’s tough to know what to think. The “100% live improvised Dubstep, House & Electro” duo doesn’t have a traditional setup, by any measure. Hann takes the throne of a full drum kit with all kinds of electronic gadgets and goodies tucked wherever there’s space, usually with a djembe close by, while Travis, guitar or bass in hand, steps up to a wall of keyboards, MIDI controllers and touch pads with effects peddles and mixers all around. Both have MIDI synched MacBooks within reach and have the ability to loop and manipulate every organic sound they create. The music that flows through this setup from the minds of this duo shows how far the modern concert and live beat production have come and screams a challenge to the electronic music genre to step up its game and remember the beauty of organic sounds played in the moment.
While most current electronic acts spend hours prerecording loops and setting up MIDI controllers, EOTO approaches each concert with a clean slate. This duo uses nothing prerecorded, no set list and no designated songs to speak of. They use a plethora of instrumental and technological options to create and alter loops on the spot. This keeps their live performances fresh and creates entire live tours where no two songs are ever the same. Some mainstream vocal tracks are reused. For example: Jason Hann seems to like to break into the Michael Jackson lyrics from "Startin' Something," frequently at shows as heard in the clip below, but the beat and bass line he drops it onto are ever-changing. Some other popular hip-hop and dance hooks make their way into EOTO songs. You will never hear a straight cover song at an EOTO show, but don't be surprised to hear chopped up lines from songs like "I See You Baby (Shakin' That Ass)" or "Lean Back." These familiar refrains keep the crowd grounded, while every other musical layer of the song sets the fans soaring through the weirdness that is an EOTO set. The group’s improvisational pledge, coupled with the creative melding of the familiar and the alien truly set them apart from the rest of the genre and keep the fans coming back for more. Sure, purely improvised music is a scary prospect; it depends largely on the skill of the specific musician(s), but for these two members of EOTO and The String Cheese Incident who have over three decades combined experience, entirely improvised sets are a good look.
When EOTO took the stage in Jacksonville Beach, FL to finish up an impressive home stretch of 33 shows in 33 days, most of the fans in attendance were no strangers to the band. With tickets at $18 at the door, the intimate Freebird Live venue attracted many people new to EOTO, but the majority of the crowd knew what they were in for; Cheese Family was in attendance. As the show progressed, Michael and Jason maneuvered deftly between audio options and instruments, using guitar, bass, keyboards, a drum kit, hand drums and vocals to create the fully organic sounds and using their electronics to chop the loops and breaks down with the precision one would expect from the two drummers of The String Cheese Incident.
Melody after melody, thick, thumping bass line after bass line, EOTO rocked the beachside venue with a stellar show to cap off their 2010 tour. At one point, Travis donned a cheeseburger hat one of the many happy freaks in attendance offered up. EOTO is serious about making good music, but they also bring an atmosphere of pure fun to the stage. They were having a great time on stage and it showed in the band themselves and in the music. The intimate venue allowed the band to feed off the crowd as much as the crowd was feeding off of the band, and the chemistry between the two on stage was on point.
At one point in the second set, Travis broke out a deep, muddy version of the bass line from the Dead Prez song, “Hip-Hop,” and Hann followed up with a beat and the hook, “It’s bigger than. . .” There was much WOMP, as always: thick, moving bass with endless manipulations to give it the weight and meaning fitting for the jam, but at this particular show, the synth, guitar and vocal melodies were in full effect, leading through the musical landscape of the show. The electro/house sound was what the crowd was looking for, and that’s what they got at The Freebird. Hopefully, in the band’s upcoming time off, they’ll get around to posting this show, as they have with many others, on www.LiveDownloads.com.
As of right now, the only two shows on the horizon for EOTO are a sure-to-be-epic New Year’s Eve bash in Denver, CO and a set at the Summer Camp festival in Illinois on May 27th, 2011. But if EOTO’s work ethic this fall is any sign of things to come, expect the duo to make an appearance near you sometime in 2011 regardless of where you are; these guys are all over the place. If you’re looking to get your fill of top notch, genre-morphing womp, follow on www.EOTOmusic.com, Facebook and Twitter for tour updates and don’t pass up any chances to catch these guys live.
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