Beats Antique brought a colorful and powerful performance to Boston’s Royale Nightclub Feb. 7.
From Oakland, California, Beats Antique’s instrumental electronic music and fusion dance brought their eclectic and tribal-like sound center stage.
Formed in 2007 by David Satori, Beats Antique is composed of three members, Zoe Jakes, David Satori and Tommy Cappel, performing in Boston with a special guest musician Miles Jay.
Jakes, a belly dancer, has been dancing for almost 24 years. She toured across the world with different dance groups and then started to make music with the band. Her style of dancing is derived from tango, popping and different styles of fusion dance.
Jay performs all of the strings like the upright bass, as well as some uncommon instruments including the lotar from Morocco and the lyra from Crete. Cappel produces and writes most of their tracks, and is the drummer and beatmaker.
The concert opened with Balkan Bump, a trumpet player and DJ based in Palo Alto, California. He began with a beautiful soul-inspired trumpet solo. He then turned to his DJ booth and layered the trumpet over some fusion R&B-inspired beats. This set from Bump introduced the audience to the vivacious and Mediterranean music to come from Beats Antique.
Jessica LoBello, a friend of Jakes, was incredibly excited about the performance. LoBello is a belly dancer and has studied and worked with Jakes for over a decade. She has been following Beats Antique since they started making music and is a huge fan of their work.
“It’s really danceable and very nostalgic,” said LoBello. “I’ve known Zoe for a really long time and we’ve gone through so many life stages together.”
Christopher Kezick, a Winthrop resident, has been a Beats Antique fan for over five years and finally got to see them live for the first time.
“Beats Antique is something that I’ve been following for a while now and I love how eclectic their music is. What a true pleasure it is to have them here at the Royale,” said Kezick.
The show started with Jay and Cappel playing a soft instrumental. Jakes entered the stage in a dazzling costume and started dancing. The lively strings, electronic instruments and sharp dance moves had the audience buzzing. After the first song, Jakes left the stage and Jay and Cappel went back to playing their instrumental.
Jakes returned promptly with a bass drum strapped on her stomach; her and Cappel starting a battle of sorts, competing to see which person would give the most complex beat. This part of the show was the most interactive with the band and the crowd, captivating everyone in the audience. Jay left his part of the stage to move around and interact with the audience while playing his instrument, the crowd of fans screaming and cheering him on.
Cappel quickly directed the crowd’s attention to him after Jakes and Jay stepped aside, barreling in with a loud and complex drum solo. After a round of applause, the band spoke together for the first time that night. Cappel expressed his love for Boston and talked about his history with the city, being a Berklee College alumni.
The show started back up quickly with another interlude, a blues-esque ‘70s bassline and a disco drum pattern. Jakes re-entered the stage with two burlesque-like fans behind her back. The tempo slowed down and she danced with pure passion, moving her body gracefully with the music and the added props.
Jakes introduced two backup dancers towards the end of the show. Both of them danced similarly to Jakes, adding their own flair with some hip-hop-inspired moves. The dancers ended up staying on stage for the rest of the performance. They danced, helped Jakes on and off stage and played the bass drums.
Fans of the band thoroughly enjoyed the set, with most of the crowd dancing along with Jakes or tapping their feet to Cappel’s beat.
“[Listening to their music is like] taking a snapshot of my life at that time when I hear those songs it brings it all back,” said LoBello.
