Four Tet at the Cow Palace

On Saturday October 28th, Four Tet played at the Cow Palace in Daly City in an event created by Do LaB. Do LaB has previously worked on stages in Coachella, and built a lot of the set around the elements of that festival. Four Tet played for nearly five hours on his own. He has recently furthered into much more EDM focused music, collaborating with the likes of Skrillex and Fred Again…

Before we went to this show, we weren’t sure if Four Tet would be playing his earlier IDM sound or his most recent endeavors. Neither of us have really listened deeply to his catalog so regardless of sound it would most likely be a surprise to us. 

We arrived at Cow Palace early just to find a dark and moody stadium with Four Tet already playing and headed straight to the front and center of the crowd. This first part of his set was otherworldly. The bass was so physical we could hear our heart rates being reprogrammed and our legs buckling at each pulse. You could also hear massive reverberations bouncing off the stadium walls, blurring kicks and ambiences together turning this techno set into a very beautiful ambient experience. Lights began to enter as the energy rose and more people began filing in. Shortly after the stadium was filled, Four Tet played a riser. This wasn’t just any riser, however, but a 10 minute Shepard tone followed by intermittent drops leading right back to the riser. We never expected such an unconventional sound to be so danceable. Four Tet shifted the spacious atmosphere into a more rave focused sound. The room lit up further and created these beautiful picturesque scenes as seen in the pictures taken by Stories By Say below. It was a very entrancing leg of the set, completely separated from time. We didn’t even notice the first two hours go by. Regardless, we left the set legs sore but spirits high. If we had the chance to experience this otherworldly show again, we’d take it without question. 

Do LaB, who as mentioned earlier put on this event, will also host the great festival Lightning in a Bottle next year at Buena Vista Lake in Bakersfield on May 22-27. You can learn more about Do LaB ( @thedolab ) and Lightning in a Bottle ( @libfestival ) in their respective media links.