Text & Photos by Austin Wilder
Boston, MA
As I walked from the Kenmore T station and rounded the corner onto Landsdowne Street, I was met by a mass of people. Yes, there was a Red Sox game going on, but the entire left sidewalk was packed with people of a different kind. People waiting to get into a sold out show at the House of Blues for Flume. It was then that it hit me - I was in for a real treat.
This wasn't my first time seeing Flume. The first week of my freshman year at Emerson, I purchased a Boston Calling ticket for Sunday’s show. On the lineup, a name I was not quite familiar with appeared at the bottom: Flume. He played early in the day, before the more well-known likes of Flosstradamus, Wolfgang Gartner, Major Lazer, Kendrick Lamar, and Passion Pit.
While it was earlier in the day, a huge crowd turned out. My friends and I rushed to the front, high off of adrenaline and freshman-boy-at-concert angst. He opened the set just as he had done in a video I'd seen of him performing earlier that summer, with the track "More Than You Thought" (which bangs) and slowly introduced the vocal sample from "Sleepless" - from there, I - along with my new friends - were taken on a musical journey that I have since rarely come close to enjoying as much since then. This guy had come out of nowhere in a very short matter of time, yet he had a close-to-full City Hall Plaza singing along to his tunes.
Flash forward to June 23, 2015. Flume is a force in the industry.
As Chrome Sparks wrapped up his set, the tension built as background music played in the house while the stage crew switched out cables and shuffled equipment off the stage. Finally, after what seemed like a much longer time than it actually was, the lights dimmed, and the familiar hexagon figure started to flash as a low bass rumble began to emerge from the speakers.
Flume strolled onto the stage and squatted behind his DJ decks, until the rumbles faded. A spotlight illuminated him as he exclaimed “Hello, Boston!” in his Australian accent - the crowd erupted.
Here is what happened next:
Flume was supposed to stop playing at 11:45, but as he waved goodnight and walked off the stage, something told me he wouldn’t be gone for long. Not a single concert-goer made a move towards the exit.
Chants started throughout the house, and continued for minutes. “We Want Flume! “One More Song”, and even the all-too-familiar melody from “Seven Nation Army” by The White Stripes.
The entire stage remained lit, just as it had been when Flume exited. Suddenly, the House went completely dark. A flicker on the back monitor of the stage instigated a roar from the crowd. Flume re-emerged from the backstage area and annihilated the crowd with two more tracks.
First, his remix of “You & Me” by Disclosure:
And finally, “Tell Me,” the product of a collaboration between RL Grime and he and Emoh Instead’s artist duo, What So Not.
At this point it was safe to say Flume had truly brought the House down, leaving fans with more than they could have asked for. He continues to rise in popularity, both in his home country of Australia, and internationally, touring all across the world. He has over a million followers on SoundCloud, and continues to produce innovative, show-stopping tracks.
Come back to Boston anytime, Flume.