U Street Music Hall was the hottest place to be in DC Tuesday night. London’s sparkling electro-R&B pop duo AlunaGeorge attracted a massive crowd to the venue, adding another sold out date to their first ever headline tour in North America. With the release of their debut album “Body Music,” AlunaGeorge has been a rising sensation all summer long.
The gig was a late show with acts scheduled to start around 10 p.m. The club transformed into a raving ‘90s house party as Supreme Cuts shook up the crowd with their fresh, heavy hitting electronic beats. It was the ultimate pre-game for the evening. In-between the sets, U Hall DJs slapped on some ‘90s hip-hop and pop music to keep the energy high and ease into the main act.
When AlunaGeorge emerged from the darkness, the audience went off into an overzealous hysteria. Fans squealed and jumped with delight as George took his position behind the keyboard and Aluna began to sing “Just A Touch.” Aside from Aluna and George, the duo performed with a full band, which included a drummer and a bassist.
Standing by and watching AlunaGeorge was out of the question— Aluna danced around the stage, enticing the crowd to groove along with her. Positioned on stage right, George focused more on the keyboard production and nodded to the beat, but he maintained a genuine grin all throughout, mouthing the words as Aluna sang them front and center in high-pitched perfection.
“You Know You Like It” had people bumping and grinding to the beat like the freaks that they were destined to be. The crowd was constantly in motion, dancing full out to every song. Everyone was soaked in sweat, but it was grossly glorious.
AlunaGeorge cooled things down with a slower version of “White Noise,” their collaboration with Disclosure. The track was an unexpected delight to hear live, especially since no one had requested it, but Aluna’s delicate voice was completely overpowered by the instruments and became background noise.
“You don’t understand what it’s like to come from London and see you guys,” Aluna said as a transition, closing with their most popular song, “Your Drums, Your Love.”
Considering the fact that AlunaGeorge only has one album to their name, most fans expected them to play “Body Music” in its entirety and return with an encore, but this was not the case (their set only lasted 45 minutes). After the show, Aluna and George stayed around to interact with fans and sign merch.
Regardless, AlunaGeorge provided a fun night for all. (It was a much needed pick-me-up after the leisure of Labor Day weekend.) Anyone who skipped out on this opportunity might have possibly missed one of the best gigs to pass through D.C. this year.
