Song Spotlight: Robert DeLong's Fool Me Once

I came across Robert DeLong by chance in 2011. There was an event called Art Cycle LA that year. It was a combination of both biking and art. I personally don't own a bike, but I went anyways to participate in the art portion of the event. I happened to come across DeLong and I remember that he had his fans out. Jump to 2017 and he stole the show at the Sunstock Solar Festival. I wrote the following about the party atmosphere around his set, "The festival organizers brought out the balloons and a balloon party went on throughout the set. Some of the balloons would end up in the photo pit and various photographers would toss the balloons back into the eager crowd."

Robert DeLong at El Cid

I noticed that he was playing a show at El Cid to celebrate the deluxe release of his "PLAYLIST of DOOM: After Dark" album. A few years too many had passed since I last caught up with his electronic driven music so off I went. 

Playing in front of a devoted fan base, the set started off with a countdown that had many in the audience joining along. Then a late night TV announcer introduction came over the speakers and out walked Delong. 

Robert DeLong at El Cid

He kicked off the set with "I BELIEVE!" from his current album release. He got the crowd into a religious frenzy by having them chant, "I BELIEVE!" He then became a one man maniac show by jumping between his synth gear that was middle of the stage and two drum sets that were setup on oppositive ends of the stage. So just imagine him jumped from one to the other. 

He had a number of guest musicians joined him throughout the set. One was Ari Tibi, who like DeLong, I hadn't seen perform on stage for a number of years. I noticed on her Instagram Stories that she described DeLong as a Mad Scientist. I think that works to describe his performance during "I BELIEVE!" as well as other songs. Other Mad Scientist moments occurred when he would jump to the front of the stage where laser lights shot up to the venue ceiling. He picked up a paddle and "played" the lights to the beats of his music.   

Robert DeLong at El Cid

Later in the set, he allowed the fans to select between "Acid Rain" and "Jealousy". I decided to cheer for "Acid Rain", but "Jealousy" won out by a mile. "Long Way Down" and "Favorite Color Is Blue" were the final two songs of the set and kept up the crowd energy for sure. The crowd was arm waving throughout both and when it came to the final note of "Favorite Color Is Blue", DeLong ended it with a middle finger. 

I have to go with "Fool Me Once" as the song spotlight. The song was re-arranged into an Americana-folk tune with three long time friends being brought up on stage (I failed to catch their names) to join the unique arrangement. "And this is a banjo" is how he introduced the song just in case his electronic fanbase was a bit mystified by the non-electronic instrument. 

Robert DeLong at El Cid

It is a song about being head over heels in love with someone:

Fool me once, yeah, it was nice.
Please, fool me twice.
Yeah, I want to be a fool if that's what it takes to see you.

One other guest artist during the set was drummer Sheldon Reed who has a long history in the Los Angeles music scene. For example, playing in Gothic Tropic. 

Setlist: I BELIEVE!, SWITCHBLADE, Global Concepts, Change (How You Feel), PLAYLIST of DOOM, Religious Views, Fool Me Once, DARK Future, Somebody Watching Me, soft boy, SLOWLY, Jealousy, Long Way Down, Favorite Color Is Blue.