SHOW REVIEW: The Dare @ The El Rey

Photo Credit: Maya Tauber

What IS wrong with Los Angeles?

Or New York, for that matter? A question that seems to be eternally unanswered was yet again pondered at the El Rey Theater on September 27th by rising star, Harrison Smith, also known as The Dare.

While his 2019 EP, “Sex”, garnered underground hype at the time of its release, The Dare has recently shot to fame in the mainstream for his recent collaboration with Charli XCX on her hit album, “brat”, in which Smith helped to produce and is mentioned by name on the track “Guess”. His small yet proactive cameo in the music video featuring Billie Eilish has sent the internet into a quirked-up white boy frenzy. 

Despite these criticisms, The Dare was self-aware and proved himself to be quite the original performer on Friday night, providing all the party sleaze that Los Angeles and I needed.

Opener Taylor Skye, one half of the British pop-duo Jockstrap, began the night with a lower BPM yet intense set, seamlessly mixing Bob Dylan, Runaway by Kanye West, and Pink Triangle by Weezer to stark strobe lights for an enthusiastic and eclectic crowd. 

However, the energy lifted as the one-man show stepped on stage. There is no doubt that The Dare is an enigmatic, captivating, and passionate performer. The seemingly minimal stage set-up, with stacked wall-of-sound-esque Marshall speakers, a microphone stand, and two mixing boards, proved that less might actually be more. Even his minimal get-up proved to be eye-catching, and dare I say sexy, as he sported a humble and sharp suit with a skinny black tie and black wayfarer sunglasses.

The Dare came out of the gates ready to race. The opening song, promptly titled “Open Up” went into “Good Time”, with its hard synths, and kickstarted the night of raucous, early 2010s energy. I shamelessly danced and yelled along lines such as “I’m in the club while you’re outside”, and “Free your eyes and you might get laid”. 

“I Destroyed Disco”, the crowd chanted back as disciples at The Dare, as he stood atop a speaker toward the front of the stage like the second coming of the sleaze messiah. He banged against the only analog instrument, a symbol on a stand, and kicked around the stage as the audience roared for more. His performance of “Bloodwork,”, a wordless rave-like track, solidified his talent as a DJ and producer as the strobe lights flashed red. 

While “Elevation” seemed to be a lull in the set, the vulnerable performance of The Dare crouching down on the stage was necessary for the rest of the high-energy night. The closer, “Girls”, a song that will forever be associated in my mind with my time in college, sent me along with the crowd into a frenzy. The somewhat satirical and unapologetically crass lyrics had me gasping for breath from shouting so loud. The Dare knew the power he had over the audience through his electronic and passionate performance, as he left it all on the stage and dove into the crowd to which the disciples gladly lifted him up.

I have to mention in this review, as just an odd association, that The Dare and I share a radio past. He is a graduate of the college that I transferred from, Lewis & Clark, and the former general manager at their radio station, where I also got my radio start. There may be hope for us liberal arts radio freaks after all.

The Dare is simple, but not in the colloquial sense. The formula just works. Banging music, an energetic performer, some lights, speakers, and that’s it. His return to the form is intoxicating in a live setting, placing just a little dash of hope into the chaos in the state of today’s music. In the words of Ms. XCX herself, I think The Dare is with it. 

-DJ chelsea drugstore, AKA Maya Tauber