People from around the Midlands met up with friends, grabbed a beer and found a spot to stand on the floor of The Senate in downtown Columbia on Saturday night. At 8:30 the lights dimmed, the chatter in the crowed softened and for two seconds the building reached nearly silence.
The stage turned blue, Dizzy Fae walked out on stage, the crowd began cheering and so the show began.
Dizzy Fae opened for Toro y Moi in the last performance of their 2018 tour on Saturday. Along with hyping the crowd with her dancing, she performed songs like “Booty 3000,” “Baby Pills” and her newest single released in August of this year, “Lifestyle.”
Dizzy Fae’s amazing performance set the stage and hyped the crowd for Toro y Moi.
The amount of cheering, clapping, screaming, and hands being thrown in the air as Toro y Moi took the stage only confirmed that this crowd was full of not only fans, but friends of Chaz Bear.
Bear was born and raised in Columbia; he graduated from Ridge View High School and received his bachelor’s degree in graphic design at the University of South Carolina. His time living in Columbia contributed to his interest in music through working on indie and electronic sounds with friends, which is still reflected in his sound today.
Bear has been making music since 2001, starting with collecting smaller recordings and finally presenting his debut album Causers of This in 2010.
Though Toro y Moi’s style has developed beyond chillwave and a dreamy pop sound, the crowd on Saturday definitely heard the smooth indie electronic sounds Chaz Bear has been coined with.
The show on Saturday began with one of his more recent songs, “Mirage,” from his seventh album Boo Boo, released in 2017; the steady retro, dreamy electronic vibes opening in soft, retro colors was the perfect way to begin the night with Chaz Bear.
The crowd got to hear his newest single, “Freelance,” which was released on October 23rd of this year. This song seems to reach out to the style of older songs and go beyond with the indie meets rhythmic electronic sounds.
Chaz Bear sang songs from a few of his older albums as well; some of his work performed includes “Grown up Calls” from his 2013 album Anything in Return and “New Beat” from Underneath the Palm, his album released in 2011.
“Rose Quartz” from Anything in Return was the song Toro y Moi ended on, leaving the crowd with the perfect representation of his indie electronic sound.
As he wrapped up the tour, he thanked Columbia, and his proud hometown threw up peace signs and cheered for him long after he had left the stage.