Vice Cooler Couleur

We were so excited to hear that DGAFavorites Yelle were returning to the Echoplex after their hilariously entertaining DJ set back in April. We were FINALLY going to see their live set as we'd missed at least one other opportunity when they'd come to LA. It was nice to see the place packed because we knew it was going to be a good show.

We'd never heard of Hawnay Troof before but we definitely won't forget him. Vice Cooler is the definition of DGAF. I mean, holy shit. I rarely see performers give it their absolute ALL like that: raw, genuine, and real as shit. While some performers are too cool for the crowd, he actually connects, interacts, and engages with the audience. He's confessional, grateful, and humble; it's his dance party and everyone really is invited. His music is fabulously fun and inspiringly energetic, and we would LOVE to catch his next show.

We couldn't find any videos of him from that night, but here's one from this past September at the Echoplex which will give you an idea:



After the rocking warm-up, Yelle all took to the stage in denim shirts and a phenomenal set of new material. This is probably the most talented and underrated band out there right now. If you can effectively play live drums to dance music, you've got some epic skills. Yes, we're talking to you, Grandmarnier. And you've got to have epic skills to play in a band with Julie and Tepr, for sure. Their new songs were as polished and catchy as ever. There were parts where all three of them played live drums, and it was a nice touch. If you want to see live pop genius, check them out. I'm waiting for them to take over the world.



For such positive vibes from the stage, the crowd certainly was a buzzkill. Fucking hell, you can be obnoxious on your own time, so if you come to see music, try to enjoy it. You're not there to start fights, feel people up, or heckle anyone... or are you? Put down that next drink unless you REALLY don't want to remember the show the next day. Try going up on stage yourself maybe and see how your audience reacts to you. Bet you can't do it. Especially in a denim shirt. You know who you are.

OH AND ONE MORE THING. IF GRANDMARNIER STAGE DIVES, YOU FUCKING CATCH HIM. I couldn't see well from where I was standing, but I didn't see him crowd surf at all after he dived off the stage. I'm thinking he just sank into that apathetic sea of douchebags. Back in April there was less than half the people, and they were all wasted and on rollerskates, and Grandmarnier still managed to crowd surf.

So we'd like to say that we're thankful for acts like Yelle and Hawnay Troof, for playing in LA and keeping it real and DGAF. Or real DGAF. We'd like to show our gratitude with a mash-up. But this is also dedicated to all the cheap garçons that night and the ones we've met throughout 2010.

Cheap Garçons by cmykdgaf

Yelle Kills! And kills it every time...

GRANDGAFMARNIER

WOW! It's been quite a hectic 2 weeks. Sorry for the delay. We won't be caught up for a bit.



But let's go back to April 15, shall we? It's the dreaded income tax filing deadline here in the US. Now don't get me started on that... but I'm referring to the Down & Derby Roller Disco to the Echoplex that night where we had the honor of seeing a Yelle DJ set. We had NO idea what we were getting ourselves into, as usual.

Now I personally don't understand why you would want to rollerskate inside a club (ok, most of it has to do with the fact that I can't actually skate, but it would also drive me nuts not really being able to dance) but I found it surreal and hilarious. I didn't even think roller discos were real, or at least in these past few decades. There was nothing more amusing than being in a crowded club where everyone was extra tall and rollerskating and occasionally eating shit. Alcohol not only causes drunkenness but slippery floors so I guess that's why they make you sign a release before going in.

This proved how good of an idea it was not to bring Shimosh's camera inside. This is why there are no photos, sorry.

Everybody knows that Yelle is DGAF. We don't really need any more evidence. Julie is incredibly sassy and quite the badass. She's cute but at the same time has got way too much swagger for her own good. She's got the skills to both sing and rap about whatever the fuck she wants, including small dicks. And let's face it, songs in English are getting boring. If she's not DGAF, I don't know who is. Shimosh talked to her before their set and she was really nice!



It was a Yelle DJ set, so Julie only performed a few short but sweet songs. "Cooler Couleur" off Crooker's "Tons of Friends" album was a completely unexpected opener. But you had no idea (or probably do, if you know me or follow the blog) how fucking happy I was. They KILLED it with "Je Veux Te Voir", which had the whole place dancing and probably falling over on their skates. Julie's delivery is spot-on, she's got flow and a deceptively pretty voice spiked with a dose of attitude. You can tell she's a genuine performer.



But what I wasn't expecting at all was Grandmarnier. Holy fuck. I had no idea. I could tell he was a dope DJ, he was dropping some pretty sick tracks like Sidney Samson's "Riverside", M.I.A.'s "Pull Up the People", Mr. Oizo's "Flat Beat"... but I had no idea that I was about to get my mind blown. Ok, haha, he was dancing a little bit, that was cute. Whatever, Julie was getting the crowd way more pumped with her energetic moves and she even went into the audience and danced with everyone in the front, which was a fun, awesome surprise.

It stared getting ridiculous when he grabbed a mic and started to tell everyone in the audience to imitate a sound effect that was in a song. Nobody was really getting it, but he kept persevering until people eventually did.



I was cracking up. Suddenly he was doing shit like spinning around slowly while clapping and swinging his arms around and making Tecktonik gestures and playing air piano and he was even doing butt dances where he bent over and started shaking it... I had never laughed so hard during a DJ set in my life. There were seriously times I could not get myself to dance despite the tracks being good.

Things were getting out of control, Grandmarnier was singing along to tracks and generally not giving a fuck. He ran over and picked up Julie and swung her around and started tapping a beat on her. He would get on the mic to say random shit, like he somehow felt compelled to ask the crowd if we liked Lil Jon when he started playing one of his tracks, and then another time started asking everyone if they had water bottles???

He once psyched the crowd into thinking he was going to climb on the table, but I almost thought I was going to die when he did a stage dive. I don't think he gave a fuck that there were not enough people, and that most of them were on skates!!! The expression on his face was priceless! I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. For a second it almost looked like he was going to get dropped on the floor, but luckily enough people came to his aid and he got back on stage safely. But then he decided to celebrate by doing Tecktonik moves across the entire stage. At this point I couldn't take it anymore and thought I had to go home.

The set ended with him telling us a new album was coming out this year... and I was done for the night. I didn't know if I was more tired from all the dancing or all the laughing. I had no idea what had just happened, except for the fact that Grandmarnier had won DGAF for the night. Or for the year. We've seen some pretty DGAF DJ's... but this was on another level. I also don't remember see Grandmarnier drinking anything but water. He was probably completely sober. I really don't know anymore.

All I know i that Yelle is DGAF and DGAF <3 Yelle! Thanks for making us dance and laugh!