Tritonia 200 at the Showbox Proved Tritonal are Still Masters of the Feel (Review)

There are very few artists that capture the carefree, all-is-love, arm-in-arm singalong emotion of EDM’s heyday quite like Tritonal. Tritonia has long topped lists of the best electronic music podcasts, and Tritonia 200 at Seattle’s Showbox Sodo was no exception. Even as their style evolves, Tritonal stay true to their greatest strength: The feeling.

Tritonia 200 was a loud, bombastic pronouncement that emotionally-driven dance music is still very much alive and growing. Seattle has been very lucky to host Tritonal many times throughout the years, but hosting the recording of #Tritonia200 and spending an evening with their closest artists is a special honor for our city.

The Supporting Sets

Apek began the night with a tech- and electro-inspired house set. This wasn’t your typical empty floor performance though. Tritonia 200’s energy was apparent moments after the first track dropped, and Apek should be especially commended for spinning one of the best opening sets we’ve heard in some time.

When Brklyn took the stage, the vocally-driven and emotional progressive house and electro came out fast. In a night full of extremely energetic stage presences, nobody worked the mic or the crowd like Cameron and Cody, and the Showbox absolutely loved it. The Brklyn set was a solid preview of what was waiting for listeners during Tritonal’s set.

It has become very clear, since Hung Up, that Sj is heir-apparent of the Tritonal empire, but it’s worth noting — he is a tremendous DJ with his own unique style. His set blended tech house, deep house, trance throwbacks, and even some chiptune, kawaii mid-tempo stuff for all you Porter Robinson-loving shufflers. Keep two eyes on Sj, there’s a ton of altitude left in his engine.

#Tritonia200

Photo credit: Tyler Hill Photo

Man, what can you even say? Nothing feels more like dancing yourself clean than a Tritonal set. Chad and Dave are high-energy performers, and their love of the music always shows. Tritonia 200 was a pleasing mix of their post-Painting With Dreams sound, and the classic hands-up progressive music that made them famous. Pair that with well-crafted visuals and lyric videos, and it’s amazing how fast an exposed-beam, concrete-floored venue in south Seattle felt like the hillside of The Gorge.

It was also fun to see Sj joining on the decks during the set. To us, he represents a lot of where Tritonal has worked to grow their sound into, and as a briefly-existing trio, the brotherly camaraderie was clear. As a dyed-in-the-wool Tritonal fan, it was pleasing to hear so many of the classic Tritonal tracks layered into the mix — often in remixed format.

It’s also worth throwing a shout-out to Tritonal fans. Moving through the crowd was easy and friendly. Venue staff looked happy and interacted positively with fans. In general, the “don’t be an asshole” vibe was alive and well. Everyone just wanted to sing, dance, and be together…everything dance music should be.

At the very best electronic music shows, the music, visuals, stage performance, and crowd interaction meld into a euphoric type of interactive theater. Tritonal finds this special balance as if they were born with the skill, and Tritonia 200 was an incredible showcase of that talent. We felt it, and we’ve been feeling it our entire life. We can’t wait to keep feeling it for another 100 episodes and more.

Were you at #Tritonia200? What did you think? Share your Tritonia experience in the comments!