SEVEN LIONS LIVE!! | RITZ MUSIC VENUE

Seven Lions performed at the Ritz Music Venue in Raleigh on May 3rd 2023 and we were there to cover the show. Seven Lions is the stage name for Jeff Montalvo who is a DJ, record procure and remixer based out of California. He has been creating his style of melodic dubstep, drum and bass and electro house music since 2010. He has released multiple singles over the years and most notably, his second EP released in 2012 was listed as Vibe Magazines top electric album. Jeff Montalvo released his most recent album called “10 years of Seven Lions” in June of 2022. It featured two new tracks and ten perviously released tracks plus an acoustic version of “Rush Over Me'“. You can check out his four part documentary series on his youtube channel links below.

Lets talk about the show!

I have been to a few EDM, dance/rave style shows over the course of the years and it is always a unique experience. Fans of this genre of music are passionate about the way the music makes them feel and show that during an EDM performance. There were lots of people dressed in really bright colored clothing, wearing glow in the dark bracelets, hair pins and or shoes. Some fans were using brightly colored hula hoops spinning them around their waste as the music played. When Seven Lions (Jeff Montalvo) came out, I and many other people honestly did not even know he was on the stage until the music started playing. This was the thing that bothered me about this particular show. Though I understand it is about the music and the feel the music gives but a lot of music fans go to a show to see the artist perform their favorite songs, regardless if it is a DJ or not. That is the point of a live show right? You are essentially paying to see the artists or musician you admire perform their music in front of you instead of just listening to it at home or in a club. I have been to several EDM style shows and a good portion of the time the person or persons on stage never engage the audience or for that fact ever come out for the audience to even see them. They sit in a dark shadow occasionally raising there hands in the air when the beat builds up, then drops. I find this to be irritating due to the fact that these fans are paying good money to see them perform the music they love in person. If you, the artist, are going to just stay in a dark shadow behind an obscenely large prop then I might as well save my money and just listen to your music at home or in a club. Even though Seven Lions sounded great, and had this incredible light display, if you were up front hoping to see him perform you were shit out of luck. The booth style prop he was behind was ridiculously as well as comically huge which meant those fans on the floor got to basically stare at a large prop for the entire night. The best seats in the house were actually the ones on the second floor balcony which gave you a birds eye few of Seven Lions performance instead of being on the main floor staring at a large prop all night long. I don’t know if they do this on purpose because I have seen in most cases the DJ not really do anything and just hit a button on the board and dance, maybe its a way to hide that? Not sure, but, regardless, if people are paying good money to see you “perform” live then you should be able to engage them and let them see you.

The music did sound great, the light show was incredible with a mixture of different colored lasers shooting over the crowd while spinning around lighting up the venue. The crowd was energetic and excited throughout the night. It really was an incredible light show that blended well with the music being played.

If you are interested in paying $50 or more dollars for one ticket and want to watch an interesting laser light show with music playing in the background while staring at a large prop, then this is the show for you. If you are expecting a bit more of an experience or hoping to see Jeff perform on stage in person, then you will be disappointed. I would just play a seven lions album from your stereo at home or go to a club with a small entrance fee and dance the night away. It is going to be the same experience either way.

Editor Chris Sturk