Musician Mk.gee – pronounced like a last name, not a URL – has managed to dig deep into a growing niche in listeners' psyches. The impressive debut of the 28-year-old Two Star & The Dream Police, released in February, manages to achieve a remarkable fusion of sonic and emotional textures while using very little — just a guitar and some pedals. The total impact may feel like a tear opening into the universe. During his sold-out show at Brooklyn's Elsewhere last night, he stood bathed in the glare of the piercing lights that have come to define fan clips from his current tour, which, rather than going viral, seem to send a beacon to people on the same frequency. A kind of intricate subtlety that feels blissfully impossible to capture, allowing you to give up trying and instead experience the show.
That's not to say the phones didn't go off the air sometimes. One of the most exciting parts of it Two Star & The Dream Police it's how piecemeal the songs fit together, and in the live setting, Mk.gee chose to enrich the world between each track, creating an irresistible and compelling sonic atmosphere. During the beloved “Are You Looking Up,” you could indeed look up and see a handful of iPhones recording, but even then a fraction of what you'd expect from such a highly anticipated show. Mk.gee has managed to cultivate something that pushes you back into the physical feeling of music.
This could explain why every date on the tour has been sold out for months. Mk.gee has quietly grown into a near-obsession for many fans while remaining relatively low-key. There was a show at Kimmel that captured the minds of those who tuned into his frequency but otherwise missed the traditional hype cycles we usually see with mainstream artists. The same applies to his naturalistic visuals such as music video for “Are You Looking Up”, directed by Danica Kleinknecht and featuring Mk.gee performing the track — as heard on the album — while leaning out the side of a bus driving through the woods. Or this for “A little more,” This time it was shot on a bus driving through what looks like New Jersey, Mk.gee's hometown. Kind of like a skate video, we watch as he wields his guitar with a skill capable of changing the physical world around him.
Personally, it's exactly the same. The crowd, though packed to the gills, was silent for a few moments, just moved by what was happening before them. For his part, Mk.gee seems to focus solely on the music the way an athlete might approach a playoff game. Except it doesn't feel like ambition fueling him, more like raw passion. For example, when he ran backstage for a beer before launching into a new, as-yet-untitled track, a bleak, lonely ballad with all the resonance you'd expect, it didn't sound like the fake antics of a media-trained man. rocker but someone who briefly came out of a deep creative trance realizing he was thirsty. During “Rylie & I”, midway through the set, the room was pitch black except for the two strobe lights on stage, giving the crowd a sense of light literally emanating from Mk.gee's heart, which is so simple idea as much as each set. design, but effective beyond words.
A gifted guitarist, Mk.gee showed flashes of Prince with his elaborate, intricately constructed flourishes on songs like “Little Bit More,” where he coaxed a thunderous roar from his strings and wrangled chords with harmonic precision. Aided by electronics from Zach Sekoff as well as guitarist Andrew Aged – whose band Inc. No World now feels a decade ahead of its time – the live performance of album opener “New Low” had the energy to come to an idea for the first time. Like we were in the room with them writing it. That's a good way to describe much of Mk.gee's music and the magic of his live show. There's a level of improvisation that, while not forced, comes across as a distinctly controlled form of chaos. It feels impossible and natural at the same time, which could be another way of saying that it felt human in the best possible way.
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