Dillon Francis in Oakland, CA. December 2014
Dillon Francis
w/ TJR, Hoodboi
December 18, 2014
The Fox Theater
Oakland, CA
These days, it seems to be a right of passage for emerging EDM artists to play a series of headlining shows at The Fox Theater in Oakland. Zedd was one of the last artists to take on this feat back in 2013, playing two nights of sold out shows at the historic venue. The next time Zedd came through, he was the co-headliner of the Treasure Island Music Festival, playing to thousands and thousands of fans.
Dillon Francis may be the next artist to truly breakout, and he proved this on night one of a two-night stint at The Fox last night. Originally only scheduled to play one show, a second was added by overwhelmingly popular demand. While the show did end a bit earlier than most EDM fans are accustomed to (11:15 P.M. is still pretty early, folks), it didn’t seem to phase anyone based on the intensity of the set.
Francis entered his giant stage setup at 9:55 P.M. (I don’t even know what you’d call it at this point; think the “Aggro-Crag” from the Nickelodeon show GUTS, but on steroids). From that point on, Francis powered through an energy-filled, powerful dance set.
One of the strong points of Dillon Francis’ set is the fact that he has an uncanny ability to keep energy going, even when the songs are more toned down. Last night, there were moments when the songs would get more slower or quieter, yet the energy never faded. The song choices were anthemic and just downright fun.
Francis’ song catalogue spanned a lot from his debut album, entitled Money Sucks, Friends Rule. The album featured collaborations between Francis and artists like Major Lazer, Martin Garrix, and even non-EDM stars like Brendon Urie of Panic! At The Disco. At the same time, he threw in many other hit tracks that proved to be crowd favorites. The floor was packed throughout the entire night.
I feel fortunate to have attended this particular show because, next time, I think that we’ll be seeing Dillon Francis headlining a much bigger venue. Does Bill Graham Civic have any dates open on their schedule in the next year? We’ll see you there, Dillon.
This has been another Shameless Promotion.