Artist: Active Child?
Venue: El Rey Theatre, Los Angeles
?Date: Nov. 23?
Active Child is the alter ego of musician Pat Grossi, but it’s hard to tell that from his grandiose live show. At his recent performance in Los Angeles, he enlisted a string quartet and choir to bolster the tracks of his recent EP, “Rapor.” Grossi himself alternated between plucking a harp and playing the ethereal synth tones that form the foundation of his ambient electronica. On tracks like “Feeling Is Gone” and “Hanging On”—which Ellie Goulding turned into her own hit in 2012—Grossi and company created vast layers of sound, all connected by his operatic vocals. The musician got caught up in the moment himself, exclaiming partway through his set, “It feels good up here!” The stage, hung with false flowers and shrubbery and ornamented with two white sculptures, mirrored the music’s otherworldly intensity, leaving a lingering emotional ache after the show finished.