Electronic artists perform at Bishop

Neon Indian blended electronic and rock to impress a packed energized crowd Thursday at The Bishop.

Lead singer Alan Palomo said anything goes on stage, including beginning a song with a greeting card playing a song by Earth Wind & Fire.

“It lends me the opportunity to include unusual impulses,” he said.

Freshman Trevor Chrzan said Neon Indian was his soundtrack of the summer.

“They capture the essence of youthfulness. It is a vibe of nostalgia where you think of old Polaroids and your childhood,” Chrzan said. 

Palomo, who initiated the project of Neon Indian, recruited the other three band members in his hometown of Denton,Texas.

“It took me no more than two days to write a track, three weeks to record the album and before I knew it we had 12 really good tracks,” he said.

Palomo and keyboarder Leanne MacComber both dropped out of college to pursue their music endeavors and go on tour.

“We really enjoy touring, but this is Alan’s project, so we’ll just keep performing until he gets sick of it,” MacComber said.

Spirit Spine, sophomore Joseph Denney, opened for Neon Indian.

“One of the reasons I chose to go to IU was because of the Bloomington music scene,” he said.

Denney played his melancholy lyrics and intensity driven beats to a video backdrop that was filmed at an aquarium in Cincinnati and edited by his friend at Arizona State University.

Denney said he thought of the idea for the video after seeing Pink Floyd’s projections from the late ‘60s and ‘70s. However Denney said his music is more influenced by a combination of Panda Bear, Atlas Sound, Thom Yorke and New Order.

Freshman Jordan Poyner said Denney’s voice sounded almost identical to his favorite band Joy Division’s lead singer Ian Curtis.

“It is hard to be electronic like him and still be original, but I haven’t heard anything like him before,” Poyner said.

He added he said liked the contrast between Denney’s hype beats and atmospheric melodies.

“The secret to success is to make music you would want to listen to,” Denney said