Article and Photos by: Rachael Smith

PHOENIX – Monday night started the last week of Twin Shadow’s Night Rally Tour. Twin Shadow, or George Lewis Jr., has kept the momentum going since his song, To the Top, was featured in the film Paper Towns. Shortly after the movie came out, he released his mixtape Night Rally for free and then later started a Fall tour accompanied by his girlfriend Zoë Kravitz’s band, Lolawolf.

If you’ve never heard of Lolawolf then you should definitely give this R&B/electropop band a listen. Not only does Zoë Kravitz have a presence on screen as an actress, but she can also grab a whole venue’s attention while she’s performing on stage. She was backed by the very talented drummer/producer Jimmy Giannopoulos and keyboardist James Levy. Together, this trio made the crowd literally sway as one as they kept playing hit after hit and it was a pleasure seeing Zoë playing a drum during a couple songs as well. Lolawolf’s live performance, in my opinion, was even better than their studio recordings because of how raw and heavy they sounded.

Twin Shadow brought out a bigger crowd than I expected on a Monday night. He was accompanied by a three piece band and an impressive light show. I believe it was the most extravagant light show I’ve seen at Crescent Ballroom. It created the perfect atmosphere for the crowd to let go, dance, and sing together. The show started with Five Seconds, an upbeat 80s number to get people moving. Most of his music has a new wave sound that you can’t help but dance to.

There’s no denying that To the Top is currently Twin Shadow’s biggest anthem and he sung it with the crowd as if they were all on top of the world. I loved how his entire performance was so grand that it made me feel as if I was in a venue that could fit thousands of people, yet it was so intimate at times that I felt as if I was one of ten people he was singing to. The last two shows of the Night Rally Tour are in California tonight and tomorrow so try and catch these talented musicians together for what might be the last time this year.