Review: Space Mom touches down in Wynwood as Rezz brings down the (ware)house again – Creative Loafing Tampa

By LJ Hilberath on Sun, Mar 25, 2018 at 9:54 pm

Less than five hours after playing the Worldwide stage at Ultra Music Festival, and two weeks after absolutely melting the Float Dean at the Buku Music + Art Project, REZZ took her talents down to South Beach’s artsy district of Wynwood to headline her own afterparty put on by BLNK CNVS.
Headlining alongside house DJ Malaa, the Canadian-born REZZ was booked to play her second show of the day after just touching down in Miami earlier that afternoon.
While we had no interest in wading into the masses across town at Ultra, which celebrated its 20th anniversary this past weekend, this headlining afterparty was too much for us to pass up after witnessing her close out the Buku Music + Art Project earlier this month.
Despite resoundingly positive reviews from attendees who made it out to both sets, Friday night’s late show served as a showcase as to why she’s better suited for these warehouse-like gigs, despite being deserving of such main stage billings.

For the uninitiated, the 22-year old Isabelle Rezazadeh, who has been performing under the REZZ alias since 2015, has taken the electronic world by storm with her otherworldly take on techno house, enrapturing visuals, and her hypnotic pair of spiraling LED goggles.
The ascension has brought REZZ from daytime sets, like her performance at EDC Orlando in October, to headlining spots at night, where her sound and visual components can further overwhelm — but in a good way.
Soho Studios — a venue that more so resembles an abandoned warehouse, adorned with Wynwood’s iconic graffiti art — was a perfect fit for the event which, in addition to Malaa, hosted a special B2B (Back-to-Back, joint-set) with Mija and Justin Martin, who some of you may have caught at last month’s Dirtybird Campout.
A nearly sold-out crowd continued to pack the warehouse throughout the night as more and more filtered in from Ultra.
The early set’s production were mainly comprised of lights and strobes, while a more elaborate production came alive for the co-headlining sets.
Giant LED-walls both behind and fronting the mixing tables were activated for Malaa, wearing his trademark black ski mask and puffing on a cigarette throughout much of the set.
This merely served as a tease to what we experienced at 2 a.m. when REZZ finally took her rightful place on stage.
As the spiraling red visuals and vibrating melodic beat of “Edge” kicked on, the silhouette of the 22-year old poked up from behind the booth, calling out to the sweaty crowd, “What up Miami?”
She wasted little time casting her spell over the crowd; when she wasn’t hypnotizing with enigmatic originals, she would re-ignite the audience into a head-banging frenzy with heavier mixes of songs from RL Grime, Porter Robinson, and more.

The ability to completely captivate a crowd in an indoor, enclosed venue like Soho Studios is what makes these intimate shows so special for both the fans and artists alike.
Shortly before her sound was cut at 3:30 despite wanting to play further, she lauded the crowd for the energy, going as far as saying it was, “probably her favorite show of the year.”

Whether it’s her affinity for reminding fans to stay hydrated or yearning to play beyond her set time, her maturation in the music industry and lovable personality encompass her potential — which is why we’re booking it to Chicago next weekend to catch her open the first of Bassnectar’s annual events, the Spring Gathering.
Look for that coverage and more from REZZ, who we hope to see orbiting back to our Sunshine State in the near future.

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