The Drive Tour at Branx (08/03/12) / College x Anoraak x Electric Youth x DJ Heatesca / The Superslice

On one of those perfect summer days, another nameless Friday evening in Portland, rolling deep with a birthday crew in tow (+newly-minted member of the talented Superslice photography staff and friend, Nathan Sanborn), we checked out The Drive Tour at Branx, in the über-hipster, Brooklyn-esque East Industrial District of the city. The tour which was inspired by the cult-hit film, Drive, is headlined by College aka David Grellier, a French electronic music composer. Backing him up is fellow Frenchman and producer/singer/multi-instrumentalist Frédéric Rivière and his band Anoraak; also on the tour is the Canadian duo Electric Youth, who collaborated closely with College for the EP, A Real Hero, which appears on the Drive Soundtrack.

Opening for the trio of electro acts was Portland-based spinster and producer, Heatesca. My mom always said, “Don’t judge a book by its cover,” Laura Lynn Murphey aka Heatesca has the skills to pay the bills. When the knockout wasn’t soaking in the cool vibe of the show, she was mashing mind grapes with killer mixes of Lana Del Rey‘s Blue Jeans and Crave You by Flight Facilities, looking classy and stylish while doing it. She had me dropping stupid moves on the dancefloor in between sets.

The entire show itself was a lengthy and enjoyable one; a hearty bang for the buck and definitely worth the price of admission. A couple of my favorites were Electric Youth’s performance of Right Back to You, Anoraak’s Nightdrive With You, and College’s performance of The Drone. Though, the crown jewel of the night was when Bronwyn, the beautiful Toronto chanteuse from Electric Youth, joined College for the live rendition of A Real Hero (above at header), the anthem of the film Drive and the cornerstone of the soundtrack.

A chill yet enthusiastic crowd was coupled with a great aural display that night; a good time was had by all (Even the dude who was rocking the flashy, silk racing jacket with the gold scorpion. I shit you not! Portland hipster Ryan Gosling?). I urge you to check out the tour (not to mention a nice venue in Branx). They’re nearing the end with a couple stops left in the south; with El Paso tonight, followed by Dallas, Austin, Orlando, Atlanta, and ending with Chapel Hill on August 17th. GO! But if you drink…don’t DRIVE…

–@teemunny