Dawn Richard, River Tiber, Starchild & The New Romantic At The House Of Yes

Red Bull Sound Select, pretty much the only game in town when it comes to cheap but good shows, throw a cool event on a hot and humid NYC night at the infamous House of Yes with an R&B and danced filled lineup. First up was Starchild & The New Romantic. Flanked by a laptop playing classic 80’s drum machine beats (Vanity 6’s “Nasty Girl” got a warm reception) Starchild played a solid set of 80’s pop influenced R&B. While he spent part of his set playing the melodies live from his keyboard, he came alive when he was able to step away from his instrument to strut his stuff on stage.
River Tiber was up next and his stripped down guitar and drum programmed soul had the crowd immediately at attention. With his laptop serving as the de-facto drummer/DJ, Tiber let his voice and his guitar skills do the talking and played a set that was sultry and sexy. C Secret guest Maluca Mala came out next hitting the ground running flanked by two dancers with “Black Lives Matters” t-shirts. Her heavy Latin influenced beats served as a turning point from the softer acts before her with a gigantic wig bouncing up and down along with her heels to the bass.
Finally the guest of honor, Dawn Richard appeared in full dance goddess mode to an enthusiastic crowd. She climbed on speakers, strutted on her knees and prowled across the stage. The crowd of hardcore fans gave back the energy in spades with everyone jumping and grinding on beat.