The Satellite: Sumeau

I occasionally head off to venues not knowing what to expect. Usually, that means I'm heading off to The Smell, Harvard and Stone or Silverlake Lounge. On this particular night, it was off to The Satellite. A band called Sumeau was playing. The place was packed, which meant good things in my mind. Why else would so many people be there if it wasn't for the band.

One might think that a group that sings dreamy pop tunes wouldn't have such a memorable set, but you'd be wrong.

First thing I noticed was that everyone in the band was dressed in white. So my first impression was, "This reminds me of HBO's The Leftovers and the Guilty Remnant." Okay, the Guilty Remnant wouldn't talk, but my first impression was emphasized when the lead singer said, "Do you want to joint the cult?"

Then there's just something wonderfully addictive about lead singer Kat Primeau. There is this bubbly joy that she has while singing. She even got the audience to join in various arm motions during a couple songs.

Finally, they had a group of dancers at the front of the stage. Initially, it wasn't anything that wasn't done before, but then the dancers started going into the crowd. They sort of just moved around, seemingly following directions provided by their smart phones. Interesting. Then it just blew up. Folks in the audience started joining in the dancing. Soon there were circle dances and Congo lines. I doubt that Kat was expecting it, because during most of that you could see this surprised amazement across her face.

I left after the set with a sense of awe.