Tycho
Photos By: Summer Luu
Last Tuesday, North Park Theatre hosted the amazing Tycho, and his awe-inspiring visuals. If you haven’t had the chance to see him live yet then you better catch him next time around because this isn’t just a show, it’s an experience.
The whole thing kind of reminds me of ‘Soarin’ Over California’, the simulation ride at Disney’s California Adventure Park. In the ride, you basically sit in a rollercoaster seat that hovers over an enormous panoramic screen that plays incredible video footage of flying over iconic parts of California, such as Big Sur or Napa Valley. You feel the wind blowing in your face, smell the grapes all around you, and feel the spray of the ocean on your toes, as the rollercoaster sways back and forth in sync with the camera. Now if only Tycho could team up with Disney to get the special smell effects going during his show then he would be set!
But apart from that, they do have a high-powered projector that they tour with, which projects stunning images onto the band members and the floor-to-ceiling screen behind them. You see everything from surfers gliding across the face of an 8ft wave in slow motion to desert planes and the silhouette of a beautiful seductress in the distance.
With most bands one might say that these intricate visuals are just a ploy to compensate for a lack of activity and interest coming from the stage, but with Tycho that’s not the case. It’s almost as if his music was written as a soundtrack for these visuals because the two go perfectly hand in hand. The musicians in the live band are very much a part of the performance as you see all of the sonic elements come to life right in front of you. The visuals don’t replace the musicians but merely accentuate them, and create the ambience that you might imagine if you closed your eyes and listened to the CD at home. And since Tycho’s music doesn’t have lyrics, the visuals really help to tell a story that might otherwise be conveyed by a singer.
The music and visuals come together to send the audience on an amazing journey of sight and sound. The show was gripping from start to finish and is definitely a must see for next time!