I, like most people, had no idea what Somasphere was before I moved to Lincoln. I heard a few potheads drop the name at a party I was at, but I didn’t think much of it. It was when Box Awesome put on their Nexus festival that I was first introduced to Somasphere, and I loved it.
Hard to define, but easy to dance to, Somasphere is like an experimental, live, trippy, acid house drum and bass band that consists of four, or sometimes five guys who smile when they see people dance. I have been to four or five of the band’s shows, and they usually result in me jumping around shaking my ass until I can’t stand out of dizziness and dehydration.
Somasphere’s show at Box Awesome on Friday night, however, wasn’t quite up to par with what I have become used to.
It wasn’t Somasphere’s fault that I didn’t feel quite as rhythmic as usual. They were just as trippy and beat-driven as ever, but the opening band threw me a little off. I forget the name of whoever opened for them, but they were Somashpere copycats who had more keyboard and terrible, Midwestern white-boy raps. You could dance to them, but when they covered Men at Work’s “Down Under” as their last song, it threw me so out of moment that I never fully got back in.
In between sets, there was a frat-house, Abercrombie couple basically doing each other on the dance floor, even though there wasn’t any music playing. I figured they were drunk, but the Box’s evil “Ms” were on their hands, so I didn’t know what to think.
When Somasphere finally did start into their fairly solid set, it was already sauna hot in the club, and no one was opening the doors. What this meant for me, sweaty as I am, is after the show, my butt sweat was so saturated into my pants that it soaked into my wallet and even dampened my money. Disgusting I know, but true.
I was dancing in the middle of the floor, packed as usual with other sweaty dance patrons, but I was thrown off by all the sex that was going on right in front of me. There was Abercrombie couple, groping each other heavily. I saw dozens of hairy hands go for dozens of female derrieres. There was a couple of obviously drugged out tie-dyes towards the front that literally had their hands in each other’s pants, working vigorously.
Between the heat, the sex, and the Men at Work, I felt like that Scissor Sisters song “I Don’t Feel Like Dancin’.” It really took me out of the mood. Where were all of the hippies, stoners and dance enthusiasts like myself who usually frequent Somasphere shows? When did they start letting Abercrombie couple in to grope each other on Ex? I like Somasphere and they did a fantastic job, even playing some new material, but when the crowd starts to bring me down like that, I call it a downer show.
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