{"id":43641,"date":"2024-10-19T15:14:48","date_gmt":"2024-10-19T19:14:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/?p=43641"},"modified":"2024-10-30T16:04:24","modified_gmt":"2024-10-30T20:04:24","slug":"ginger-root-royale-10-15","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/2024\/10\/19\/ginger-root-royale-10-15\/","title":{"rendered":"GINGER ROOT @ ROYALE 10\/15"},"content":{"rendered":"

Photography by Ashley Hernandez<\/p>\n

Review by Catherine Langworth<\/p>\n

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The energy was eclectic and charged as Ginger Root took The Royale stage on Tuesday, October 15th. The rain had produced a low-hanging fog outside the venue, the din of excitement from the crowd filled the room with a buzz, and the sensual strobe lighting lit everything in their changing, glowing hues. Everything about the setting was dreamy, perfect for the music that was about to follow.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Ginger Root is an American indie soul music project that pulls immense influence from Japanese electronic style and psychedelic funk. They are derived from Huntington Beach, California, and originally started as a separate band called Van Stock. In the studio, the entity that is Ginger Root consists solely of Cameron Lew, the producer, instrumentalist, songwriter, and visual artist of the project. However, on stage, he is accompanied by high school friends Dylan Hovis (bass) and Matt Carney (drums). From their cohesion and chemistry, it was evident to everyone in the crowd that they had spent many years jamming together.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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The reason for the tour \u2013 Ginger Root\u2019s newest album SHINBANGUMI \u2013 was the focal point of the show. The album marks a new maturity for the project and demonstrates Lew\u2019s multifaceted talents.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Amaiwana, a Japanese indie pop princess, opened for Ginger Root. Her style was clean cut and camp, fit with blue eyeshadow and a killer bob, largely reminiscent of Japan\u2019s retro Showa Era. She showcased music from her latest EP, NEW SHIBUYA, which is a dynamic blend of Shibuya-Kei, new wave, dream pop, and technopop. Her music was delightful and fun and brought an air of joy to the steadily filling room. I witnessed a gaggle of brightly dressed girls bopping to her songs, their bows and frills jumping along with their movements. Her dreamy instrumental and dynamic melodies set the stage nicely for the main act. However, as her set dwindled, the crowd was ready and eager to see Ginger Root in action.<\/span><\/p>\n

I was first introduced to Ginger Root during my freshman year of college. Their song \u201cLe ch\u00e2teau\u201d had come up in the new release playlist for the radio show I was working on, and I was immediately captivated by their fresh sound. I had never heard anything like them and was eager for more. So, when Ginger Root finally took the stage, I was excited to hear their set in full.<\/span><\/p>\n

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As the self-proclaimed frontman for the \u201caggressive elevator soul\u201d sound, Ginger Root\u2019s set was to be expected. In tandem with the content of their music, the group’s presence on stage was also tame. Lew took to the mic with ease and finesse. As the night progressed, however, the energy had a crescendo, and the crowd picked up in fervor, resulting in a collective movement.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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While dynamic, the unrelenting synth and staccato notes that makeup Ginger Root\u2019s discography did have the tendency of blending into one another. This is why their songs \u201cCity Slicker\u201d and \u201cBetter Than Monday\u201d stood out to me most. \u201cBetter Than Monday\u201d is straight from SHINBANGUMI and opens with a killer and captivating bass line. Lew\u2019s voice is light and airy, contrasting nicely with the backing instrumentals. It created a perfect contrast of sound and vision, and though I had not previously heard the song, I couldn\u2019t help but get lost in the music. The crowd seemed to agree with my sentiment, as the song was met with cheers.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cCity Slicker\u201d was my personal favorite of the set. Ginger Root\u2019s funk roots really shone through with this song. It opened with a saxophone solo and continued with a robust brass sound. Lew\u2019s lyrics are cheeky and catchy. The lights matched the energy of the song in full, alternating between dark undertones and glimmers of golden light.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As the show concluded, the members of Ginger Root took the time to thank everyone who came out to see them, mentioning how they enjoyed their time playing in Boston. Though the set finished, the crowd was left with lingering feelings of excitement and satisfaction, which I think truly marks a good show.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u00a0The house lights came on, and regretfully, it was time to go. I left The Royale with sore legs and pounding ears, but the melodies were stuck in my head, and my throat was rough from singing them. Overall, I enjoyed my time with Ginger Root immensely and spent the T ride home adding their songs to my Spotify playlists. Catch me walking down Commonwealth Avenue this fall, listening to City Slicker and enjoying Lew\u2019s dynamic voice. <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Photography by Ashley Hernandez Review by Catherine Langworth The energy was eclectic and charged as Ginger Root took The Royale stage on Tuesday, October 15th. The rain had produced a low-hanging fog outside the venue, the din of excitement from the crowd filled the room with a buzz, and the sensual strobe lighting lit everything […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24057,"featured_media":43689,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1895,1525,1523,15,1530,1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43641"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24057"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43641"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43641\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":44146,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43641\/revisions\/44146"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/43689"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43641"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43641"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43641"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}