They were both part of the theme of the evening, which band manager Annie Geimer described as "'70s retro space-apocalyptic. We're launching off."
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Geimer made sure the theme extended to the merch table, which at one point included a giant triangle with what seemed to be smoke coming out of it. But it wasn't working exactly the way she wanted it to. Frustrated, she took it apart. "So we got dry ice. It's not very eloquent," she said. "It's a pain the ass. It evaporates quickly, it's very expensive, and it's high-maintenance." Even though she gave up on the triangle, the dry ice she laid out did add a spacey feel to the table. "I try to take my time at the merch table, because that's something I feel is dead right now," Geimer said. She feels that is often a neglected detail.
This isn't the first time Rubedo has stuck to a theme. The trio wore military-style outfits for its January show at the Bluebird. "It was representing us starting our own kind of army that represents our own values," said drummer Gregg Ziemba. "And now, we are getting ready for outer space, for when we make our first billion dollars and when we buy our spaceship."
"We think our guitarist has discovered time travel, and through doing so, we were able to get on this planet called Europa," said singer Kyle Gray. "We made it our mission to come back here and create a Vortex to make a bridge to that planet. That's why we had everyone bring crystals. We channeled the energy of that planet for our show, and you can see it out in the audience." The band entered to the theme from 2001: A Space Odyssey. There definitely was great energy going on in the crowd. The venue was packed. There was a lot of dancing and positive interaction with the band. The area by the stage smelled of some pretty ripe body odor, which is an indication that crowd-goers were really getting into it. And, perhaps, something else. "Everybody was just in the fog amid the aura of Europa," said Gray.The bandmembers were wearing matching long-sleeved, '70s-looking shirts, which were red and black. Guitarist (and time traveler) Alex Raymond came up with the concept for the costumes. He was inspired by attire in the 1976 science-fiction film Logan's Run. Cassandra Aguilar executed his idea by making the clothing. She picked up some red fabric at a fabric shop on Sante Fe and added it onto three basic black tee shirts. Each bandmember's outfit took around four hours to make.
The band likes to concentrate not only on the music, but also the bigger picture of what a concert is, incorporating performance art and connecting to the community. It shows in the response. In keeping with the theme, one fan named Tommy brought a hoverboard to share with the band. It was a skateboard with a remote control and a battery-powered engine, capable of going 30 miles per hour.
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