Review: Above & Beyond’s Group Therapy Takes Over LA

Tony McGuinness and Jono Grant brought Above & Beyond’s Group Therapy tour to Los Angeles with a three-night stint at USC’s Shrine Auditorium.

Support for the boys came from Anjunadeep progressive house hound Davi followed by Anjuna darling Andrew Bayer for the first two nights and James Grant replaced Davi the last evening. Los Angeles native David Khangian, better known as Davi, got his start with the Anjuna family last year when his remix of Underworld’s “Two Months Off” was featured on Anjunadeep 03. On Thursday, the first night of the Los Angeles leg, Davi played to a half-empty auditorium around 9 PM. Although, most attendees came late, Davi performed as if he was in front of a 50,000 person crowd. His energy and seamless mixing was more than enough for everyone to warm up their ears, mind and of course, feet. Tracks like 16 Bit Lolitas’, “The Return” and the Davi original “Labyrinth” paved the way for none other than Andrew Bayer. Bayer’s presence for Group Therapy Miami was such a crowd pleaser, Above & Beyond had no choice but to ask him to join them on another monumental event on the west coast. His contributions to the label and his debut artist album (which released last year) helped dictate his techno-glitch-hop-progressive set. “Monolith(s),” “Counting the Points,” “In and Out of Phase” and quite possibly one of the catchiest tunes to ever come out of the Anjuna vault “Keep Your Secrets” were all present. Bayer’s humbleness and almost innocent performance last Thursday was a reminder of how much of an asset he truly is to the Anjuna family.

The event was much like all their Group Therapy events (see our Group Therapy Miami review for more specific details) – an attendee pushes the button during “Sun & Moon,” text is displayed on LED screens behind the booth and a playlist full of abundant club mixes. Despite the repetition over the last year, why is Group Therapy still so special?

Is it because the Group Therapy concept has been tried and tested for a year and it turns it that the events are actually a group therapy session? Could it be the sing-a-longs that vocalists Richard Bedford and Zoe Johnston provide? What about the fact that Grant goes wild behind the decks and McGuinness blows kisses at the audience? Is it the sometimes heartfelt images displayed behind the booth that subconsciously connects us with the music being played? While all of these things certainly contribute to the success of this tour, the answer friends, is none of the above. In truth, the reason why so many of us continually purchase tickets, plan our vacation days around, put together our most Above & Beyond approved outfits, countdown weeks in advance as a distraction from the often mundane every day life and even imagine lineups and set lists in our heads, is because for one night we actually feel like we belong.

Article by Mark & Meryl Luzzi