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As a dancer, I have had to find lots of creative music over the years to use in conjunction with my art form. One artist I always looked to for great music to dance to is Elliot Moss, an artist I would describe as alternative, indie-electronic, or some mix of the two. Elliot Moss is such a unique musician in this world with his creative instrumentals and captivating lyrics.
Moss jumped into the music industry with his debut album Highspeeds (2015), which contained the single, and Moss’ most popular song, “Slip.” “Slip” went viral in 2015 when So You Think You Can Dance star Phillip Chbeeb choreographed a dance to the song and posted it on YouTube, garnering over 18 million views as of today. Two years after he went viral, Moss released his sophomore album Boomerang (2017). Moss partnered with Chbeeb for the music video of Boomerang’s lead single “Without the Lights,” where Chbeeb and his dance partner, Erica Klein, told a very powerful story to accompany the song. After the release of Boomerang, Moss took some time to write his new record and in 2019 he released “Barricade,” the lead single to his third record. That record, A Change in Diet, was released on January 17, 2020, with 11 tracks of absolute bliss.
Elliot Moss // Photo by Samantha Carter
Releasing an album typically means a tour for an artist, so when he announced in November of 2019 that he would be coming to the Subterranean in Chicago at the end of February, I knew that this was something that I couldn’t miss. On Thursday, February 27, 2020, I finally got the chance to see this amazing musician perform live for the first time after being a fan for almost 5 years. Moss opened his set with the song “Bodyintoshapes,” which is the most recent single from his new record. This groovy track opened the show with a bang, setting the mood for the rest of the night. Immediately after, Moss grabbed his guitar and proceeded to play “July 4,” the opening track off of the new record. Just like the fireworks he sings about in the song, there were definitely sparks between the audience and the musicians on stage during this song.
Straying away from new material briefly, Moss jumped back to play the title track from his debut album Highspeeds. The audience definitely loved the older music, as I saw so many fans singing the words to this track. However, Moss didn’t stray from his new album for too long, as he returned to play the songs “Rabbit Roads,” “Off by One,” and “Smile in the Rain,” the latter of which Moss stated is one of his favorite songs he’s ever written. “Smile in the Rain” also features his friend Danielle Marien Turano on the violin, who also co-wrote the song with Moss. Danielle stayed on stage for almost the rest of the night, playing the violin whenever needed. Continuing with his new album, seeing as this tour was for the new record, Moss performed “Barricade,” which is the lead single for the album, released on October 1, 2019.
Elliot Moss and Danielle Marien Turano // Photo by Samantha Carter
Transitioning from the most popular song on A Change in Diet, Moss decided to then perform his most popular song of all time – the viral song “Slip.” Hearing this live after seeing the viral video pop up on my Facebook feed 5 years ago was something so special. I, among so many other fans in the crowd, was pretty emotional finally getting to hear the amazing lyrics and beautiful instrumental that makes up this song. Just when I thought it couldn’t get any better, I saw what was probably my favorite song of the night. While this next song isn’t my favorite of all time, I found a new love for the track “99,” off his 2017 release Boomerang. I have always loved the song, but now I love it even more after hearing it live. I have also always known that Elliot Moss was a talented guy with a fantastic voice, but this song really showcased his musical talent and vocal ability.
Sticking with songs off Boomerang, the opening track “Closedloop” was played next. Once again, like the previous songs, I was blown away by how great this song was live. The synths in the bridge/breakdown after the chorus have always been an amazing part of the song, but it just hit different live. Even though it was the exact same song and same notes, it somehow just sounded so much better hearing it in person. But as much as the older songs love to be played, Moss returned to his new album to play my personal favorite off the record, “Silver + Gold.” What I really loved about hearing this live is that Moss added a grungy guitar part to the song that isn’t played in the electronic-heavy original mix. It was something too different and unexpected, yet it fits so well in the song.
Elliot Moss // Photo by Samantha Carter
Elliot Moss closed his main set with his second most popular song “Without the Lights,” an extremely powerful and emotional track about domestic violence. With the lyrics so eloquently written and the emotion in Moss’s voice, this song always targets the feelings of the listeners, and hearing it live was no exception. In fact, hearing the raw emotion and power in his voice with minor instrumentation backing him led me to feel even more connected to the song and Moss as an artist.
Oh, call off the dogs // We found her in the woods // That girl never stood a chance // After that dark dance with the waves… “Without the Lights” (2017)
For the encore, Moss played the song “Falling Down and Getting Hurt” off of Boomerang. This was super cool to hear because of the upbeat sound and pure energy radiating within the music. Moss even performed a full guitar solo after jumping onto a monitor to close out the song, as well as the whole performance.
Elliot Moss // Photo by Samantha Carter
Overall, I was thrilled with this performance. Having been a fan for as long as I have, I had high expectations for this performance, and every expectation was completely exceeded. Elliot Moss may perform electronic music, but that man is a musician through and through, and an extremely talented one at that. Go support him and his music by following him on social media (@ElliotMossMusic) and streaming or buying his latest release A Change in Diet on all your favorite music platforms! Keep reading below to see the full setlist for the performance as well as some other pictures I took.
Bodyintoshapes
July 4
Highspeeds
Rabbit Roads
Smile in the Rain
Off by One
Barricade
Slip
99
Closedloop
Silver + Gold
Without the Lights
Falling Down and Getting Hurt
Elliot Moss // All photos by Samantha Carter
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