This review strictly concerns Cult Fluorescent’s live performance 3/4/15 at Go Bar in Athens GA. It may not reflect his studio work (which you can listen to here: https://cultfluorescent.bandcamp.com/album/i-had-no-patience-no-patience) With those disclaimers in mind, read on.

I walked into the patio of Go Bar and immediately was intrigued. An array of tables and hedges led me to a chill door guy ( Nathan ) and a blue-lit dark and cool bar.

Inside and to the left, up some steps was a pretty sweet and intimate performance space. Decorated with a massive disco ball and related scattered mirrors, the place had a palpably unique character about it.

Located just blocks from one of the local universities, yet somehow bro-free, this place seemed like a pleasant anomaly.

The first act up on the night is the person I’m reviewing now, Brad DeMatteo aka Cult Fluorescent.

Brad’s a looper, among other things, and that caught my attention, because I loop as well. His looper is the rock solid and very classy Boss RC-50. It’s the model DubFX used in his viral videos about a decade ago, the very videos which launched the world into a new era of furor over live-looping.

Brad’s instrument of choice was an electric bass, which reminded me alot of Central Ohio bassist J.B. Collier’s work and style. I’d love to see the two of them in a show.

Brad looped his bass intricately, also involving two different types of synths and vocals. His mike was plugged into his looper as well, so he was able to do background harmonies and stuff.

The vibe was chill, intelligent, and Brad’s a gifted musician. Loopers often suffer from a bit of snobbery from onlookers because of the assumed gimmickry of the technology, but this crowd did not seem to include any such prejudice.

The end of his set was met with applause, not forced, but genuine, and for his part Brad genuinely seemed like he was having a really good time. It was about the music, and we all got that.