NICOLAS JAAR at Revival, Friday, March 23. Rating: NNN
Chants of “Jaar! Jaar! Jaar!” and “Nico! Nico! Nico!” filled Revival’s rowdy dance floor minutes before rising underground electronic star Nicolas Jaar took the stage for a cerebral late-night set.
The rock star welcome and coked-up club vibe was a confusing contrast to the 22-year-old’s anti-club anguish and low-key stage presence.
Fortunately, this crowd seemed up for anything – which was a good thing because what they got was a nuanced, post-modern dance party.
As a guitarist and saxophonist worked up a jazzy haze of freeform ambience, Jaar sculpted it into arpeggios, building and then dropping satisfyingly thick techno beats only to cut the bass just when you started to think his music might qualify as catharsis.
