AVAN LAVA: Prince meets MGMT with Ironic Early ’90s Look

From Khelan Bhatia. Follow Khelan on Twitter @KhelanB or email him at khelan[AT]borderstan.com.

Featured image by Khelan Bhatia.

Hi there, Borderstanis. Yes, it’s me, Khelan, the resident contributor to the BorderStyle column for Borderstan. No, you don’t need to adjust your screens or smart phones. I’m just pinch hitting for the music column till we get a regular. Don’t worry though, you’re in good hands. I’m probably slightly more passionate about music than I am about fashion/style.

So, the other day, I invited you, and your friends, to come to an intimate concert at DC9’s Liberation Dance Party. The group: AVAN LAVA. The sound: Prince meets MGMT. The look: Early 90’s, only Ironic.

If you blew it off, no worries. They’ll be back soon. In the meantime, let me tell exactly how awesome the show was…and I go to a lot of concerts. In fact, my homes away from home are the 930 Club, U Street Music Hall, Rock & Roll Hotel, and, of course, DC9.

AVAN LAVA began their set with an infectious beat that was reminiscent of 1991’s “Get Off” by Prince and the New Power Generation (this is a good thing btw). What followed wasn’t so much a concert as it was one of the best parties I’ve been to in ages.

Their 45-minute show was pretty-damn-close-to-flawless. Their stage presence and energy matched the music and you really can’t say that about many mainstream acts (Rihanna, I’m looking at you).

The two highlights from the show were “Slow Motion,” a wonderful little slow jam in the style of D’Angelo’s “How Does it Feel” (Check it out here on SoundCloud and “It’s Never Over” which was the perfect capstone to their show. A friend of mine who showed up to DC9 right after AVAN LAVA got of stage said he could feel the manic energy lingering in the room, which is exceedingly rare. He wasn’t wrong.

So next time, promise to come?

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