By Mary Catipay
On Saturday night, the white walls of the Edison Theatre were transformed into colorful, kaleidoscopic patterns as local bands performed an assortment of genres ranging from rock to drone music.
Presented by the Be Here Now organization, which hosts creative showcases around the Long Beach area, the Trip Out event on April 27 enchanted attendees with an eclectic mix of visual artists and musical guests for a psychedelic experience.
As attendees stepped into the Edison Theatre’s entrance hall, they were instantly immersed in projections of multicolored bubbles against one wall, which many used for mind-bending photo opportunities.
As attendees entered the Edison Theatre for the Trip Out event curated by Be Here Now, they were greeted with psychedelic projections and a photo gallery by Carlos Garcia. Photo credit: Mary Catipay
On the other walls, photographer Carlos Garcia displayed a gallery of his work, spanning from concert photography to experimental photo manipulation.
“It’s nice printing things out again. It’s online all the time. Photography, graph—people forget there’s actually the graph part,” Garcia said. “A lot of these [photos], some of them are kind of old, but I’d never printed them up. But seeing them out, it’s like, ‘Oh!’ It’s pretty cool.”
Photographer Carlos Garcia displayed his photos in a gallery at the Edison Theatre, showcasing his concert photography, photoshoots and other work as attendees entered the venue. Photo credit: Mary Catipay
Garcia felt drawn to showcase his work at Trip Out considering his background shooting in creative musical spaces.
“A lot of my stuff is live music, so just growing up, taking photos of shows, then showing at shows is a nice experience,” Garcia said.
Stranger Liquids projected a liquid light show onto the walls of the Edison Theatre Saturday night, creating a kinetic backdrop for the event's musical performances. Photo credit: Mary Catipay
Inside the event’s main space, artists Moirebender and Stranger Liquids projected visuals of computer static and multicolored dripping liquids onto the walls and musical performers, building a lively, frenetic energy.
Throughout the evening, a wide array of musical performers took to the stage, including Healing Gems, DJ Rumpershaker Maker and Pleasures.
The first performance on the event’s lineup was Soundfrom, a Long Beach-based band with experimental, otherworldly music that set the tone for the night.
“We’re really into drone music and krautrock,” Eden Berg, the band’s guitarist and vocalist, said. “We definitely try to capture tension. It sounds so basic to put it that way, but just kind of a dissonant feeling.
The Long Beach-based band Sound From performed at the Edison Theatre on Saturday night. As the opening performance of Be Here Now's Trip Out event, the group set the mood for the night with a setlist comprised of drone music and ambient noise. Photo credit: Mary Catipay
“It’s funny, I feel like we’re way heavier than all the other bands. Everyone else is bringing a very peaceful kind of vibe, and we’re very angsty,” Berg said.
Much like the dynamic projections on the wall, the energy in the room constantly shifted, transforming with each musical performance. By the end of Southern California-based band Little Sister’s set, their upbeat final song “Ven Aqui” had the entire theater dancing along.
Jasmin Mizen, a sociology major and senior at Long Beach State, came to the event with friends to enjoy a night of live music.
“I felt really inclined to just be in a creative space, and it’s really, really sick,” Mizen said “So far, I feel like I’ve just been through an entire acid trip and back.”
“It was really awesome to see just, like, art and music being combined. I really liked the visuals on the wall. That was an added element that really made it come alive.”
For more information and updates on future events, Be Here Now can be found on Instagram.
