By: Carissa Aguirre
EDM duo Slander announced the Chimera tour in mid-July 2023. After performing at White Oak Music Hall in November of last year, I’m sure Houston was excited to have a date on this small tour. I am a head banger, so I was super excited to cover this show! With melodic intros and heavy drops, Slander will get any bass head in their feels. I still didn't know what to expect from the show, so I asked someone on the way in. “Have you seen them before? What should I expect?”. He responded, “Good vibes and a lot of head banging,” which, after the show, I thought were the perfect words to describe it.
The crowd was already hyped from the openers, A Hundred Drums and Space Laces. As soon as I stepped into the photo pit, the lights went down, and I knew things were about to go crazy. During the intro, I Wish That I Could Forget played as rapidly changing visuals flashed on the screen. Then, the lights cut out, and like magic, Derek Andersen and Scott Land appeared with their hands in the air. They yelled, "Houston, are you ready?” and they dropped with Kneel Before Me. Flames spewed from the stage with each hit of the bass. Imagine being inside a space video game and getting attacked by enemy ships, but in the best way possible.
The crowd went absolutely feral at each drop, and I couldn't help but do the same. I spent the last five minutes in the pit head banging with people at the rail while also trying not to get my eyebrows burned off by the massive flames going up every second. The show wasn't entirely head banging, though. Of course, they slowed it down with songs like First Time and Love Is Gone. It was funny, though, to see the rowdy crowd sing along to songs about love when they were just punching each other in a mosh pit. I think we all needed those small breaks, though.
Overall, the set was so much fun and definitely worth getting tickets to if they are stopping in your town. For me, the Lost Lands FOMO was kicking in pretty hard, but this show definitely cured it.
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