Shared Energy: Galantis and their fans give it their all at Franklin Music Hall

Galantis | photo by Emily De Hart for WXPN | dehartvisuals.com

Despite the rainy and dreary night, hundreds of people were welcomed to Franklin Music Hall on Friday with blue fog bellowing from the stage. Considering Galantis had sold out the venue that night, no one wasted any time making their way to the front row immediately as soon as doors opened.

It was no surprise that the Swedish EDM duo of Christian Karlsson and Linus Eklöw sold out the 2,700 maximum capacity venue: they frequently appear at some of the most well-sought after festivals in the U.S. including Coachella, Electric Daisy Carnival, and Hangout Music Festival. Upon hearing the initial fairy tale evoking notes paired with the video game-esque woman’s voice of “Runaway (U & I)”, the audience acted as if the beginning notes were the drop of the song itself. They knew precisely what was to come, and knew that the energy had to be perfect for the climax of the song. And let me tell you — the audience and Galantis absolutely brought all the energy they had to the table.

When watching the drops from the balcony, two confetti and six CO2 canons lit up the backs of thousands of concertgoers packing the room. Despite the ‘little’ space relative to the impressively-sized audience, people had no trouble making friends with the strangers surrounding them in order to dance and sing in unison along to their favorite tracks, like Gold Dust” and “Peanut Butter Jelly.”

This type of energy stayed constant throughout the night, regardless of the range in age among listeners. Of course there were the typical EDM concertgoers, but they were certainly not the only ones bringing the sparks. Along the rail was one young nine-year-old girl, not just singing, but screaming the lyrics along with her mother.

And in case anyone couldn’t make it to the sold out show or simply wanted to live in the festival atmosphere for a few more hours, they could head a few block downtown to NOTO after the performance, where Galantis was scheduled to play the afterparty. Ending the show around midnight at Franklin Music Hall gave them just enough time for them to swing on by the smaller venue for a more intimate but equally energetic performance for Philly fans.