Concert Review: Beats Antique Bring Spectacle and Energy

Saturday night, Beats Antique took the stage at the House of Blues bringing together an entertaining mixture of belly dancing paired with tribal beats. The Oakland-based trio lured in the jam-packed dance floor with their fusion of world music, jazz, hip-hip, and dubstep that has a a Middle Eastern sound.

Beats Antique's Zoe Jakes at the House of Blues, by Elle Maloney

David Satori (guitar, saz, viola, and percussion), Tommy Cappel (keys, drums, percussion, and toy piano), and Zoe Jakes (belly dancer and composer) entertained the crowd until the wee hours of the morning during their late night performance. The moment Jakes graced the stage adorning a traditional bedleh and an intricate mask, the crowd came to life, swaying side to side and dancing to the fast-paced rhythms. At first, it seemed like the band was dependent on Jakes’ hypnotizing dancing to keep the crowd engaged and entertained, but when she left the stage at the third song, the band compensated for her energy by rocking more intensely.

The band gained momentum when guest performer Sylvain Carton came out to add baritone sax, which was particularly appreciated by the New Orleanian crowd. Beats Antique added an element of spectacle when, during “Beauty Beats” from the album Collide, two dancers emerged from underneath Jakes’ dress, popping out in skeleton costumes and lying on the ground to follow Jakes’ every move with their eyes. The crowd lost all control and began chanting, “Zoe! Zoe!”

When the band left the stage, the crowd insisted on an encore. When Beats Antique reappeared, the members were wearing the heads of a bear, a penguin and a zebra. They looked animalistic as they jumped around and further raised the energy. Jakes jumped on Cappel’s back and yelled for the audience to make more noise. After two encores, the show finally came to an end at 5 a.m., leaving the audience with a full night of intense dancing and a couple of fans with drumsticks.