As The Jam’s doors opened at 9 p.m. Friday, people poured in to grab a beer as they waited patiently to see Archnemesis and Bells and Robes take the the stage.
Bells and Robes, who are signed to UF’s student label, Swamp Records, describe their sound as ambient, psychedelic, electronic dance music. The group consists of Luke Sipka, who plays live keyboard, and Dean Spaniol, who deals with percussion and sampling.
“I think in a university setting, people are a lot more open-minded to something a little bit different,” Sipka said. “A lot of people in college are discovering what they like and what they don’t like and not necessarily closed off to anything yet so you can be a little more out there.”
The pair hyped up the crowd in preparation for the Archnemesis performance that followed.
“Bells and Robes was awesome,” said Heidi Hanson, a 20-year-old UF political science student. “The Jam is the best venue in town.”
At about midnight, Archnemesis took to the stage, and that’s when the party really started.
During his performance, he provided for all kinds of music tastes, playing everything from hip-hop to rock to electronic-based tracks and offered up remixes of popular songs.
Rooted in electro hip-hop soul, Archnemesis said he gets his sound from studying jazz, being classically trained in the upright bass and growing up listening to all types of music including punk, heavy metal, hip-hop and ‘70s funk.
He said people should keep an open mind about the type of music people listen to.
“If I had to say anything, it would be just keep exploring music,” he said. “Don’t limit what you’re listening to to what people say is popular.”
Archnemesis performed for about an hour and a half. During the performance, he was moving around to the rhythm of the bass and having as good of a time as everyone else in the crowd.
The night concluded with a bang when Miami-local Ruby and Friends took to the stage, where they collaborated with Grant McLeod from Flat Land and the whole place erupted into a full-blown dance party.
“Doing something positive with music is important to me because it’s such a powerful thing,” Archnemesis said. “I do what I love for a living, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything else in the world. I’m so blessed to be able to do what I do.”
Archnemesis performs at the Jam on Friday night. Bells and Robes and Ruby and Friends also took the stage for a special performance.
