Future Rock takes concertgoers to a galaxy far, far away

Hailing from Chicago, Future Rock is a progressive electronic band consisting of three members: Darren Heitz on the drums, Mickey Kellerman on keyboards and Felix Moreno on bass. Their live performances combine instrumentation with pre-recorded samples and loops, ultimately creating a galactic butt shaking experience that embodies the spirit of their name.

On this particular night, I was worried that not many people would be able to experience the soul quenching vibrations Future Rock had to offer. The Stache, formerly the Front Room at The Intersection, was nearly empty when I arrived. However, heads started to trickle in during opener Luke the Knife’s DJ set.

Future Rock brought with them a large cascade of lights, making me know I was in for a treat once their show started. As late-arriving heads continued to roll in off the streets, Future Rock’s set began with an incredible rendition of the Gorillaz tune, “Glitter Freeze,” along with a hypnotic live light show programmed by Alex “Herm” Schneider.

The excellence continued through the night, with the music and the light show battling for supremacy and igniting a dance party among the tremendously enthusiastic crowd.

On their website, their shows are described as being able to force “even the palest and most resolutely hard-to-impress hipsters to call up their inner dance monsters.”

I can attest to the truth of that statement. While there weren’t many hipsters to be seen at this show, possibly because they are so good at hiding, the ones who chose to come out of the corner could be seen shuffling their feet and bobbing along to the best of their abilities.

This foot shuffling, booty shaking and trance inducing sonic and visual display continued long after most people had left for the night, which is actually a testament to how hard their futuristic funk jams make you dance. Future Rock is one of those rare bands that makes the crowd dance so profusely that they stumble out of the venue while the band is still playing. But the band didn’t seem to care, continuing to play hard for the folks in the crowd who still needed more.

Future Rock deftly combines guitar, synthesizer and drums with the finest bleeps and bloops that would probably make R2D2 feel like he was among family. Unluckily for me, I am no droid and don’t live long ago in that far away galaxy, but the genre-defying sounds and inspiring light show of Future Rock made me feel, just for a night, like I was partying with the Wookies on Kashyyyk.

Future Rock will be back in Michigan for Electric Forest Festival June 27-30.