Pretty Lights

The Set List

By Brian Washburn

A venue can make or break a concert. If the venue is crowded, hot, sweaty and cramped, then it’s probably not going to be enjoyable — unless you are the fanatic in the front screaming at the top of your lungs, which we have all been guilty of a few times.

If the venue is too big and the fans don’t get the intimate setting that makes for a truly remarkable experience, the concert can be a bore. George’s Majestic Lounge has proven to be the go-to place for Fayetteville’s concert scene. However, at times, it has been a bit of a downfall for some artists who stroll through the area.

The last time Derek Vincent Smith aka Pretty Lights played Fayetteville, it was at George’s. Even though the show sold out and the place was packed from wall to wall, the atmosphere and show in general was a bit of a letdown compared to the usual sets produced on George’s backroom stage.

Because of the great number of area music fans who flock to see Smith and his extraordinary DJ skills, George’s booked Pretty Lights again, but this time at the Fayetteville Town Center. At first I was skeptical about the Town Center. The only concert I’d been to there was more party/orgy than music — the Three 6 Mafia concert there a couple years ago.

But the Pretty Lights show was different. As the night grew on and the Town Center quickly filled up with more than 1,000 Fayetteville music junkies, my worries were put to rest. The show and atmosphere could not have been any better. Even though the Town Center definitely has a much more formal vibe than the backroom at George’s, workers did their best and turned the Town Center into a home-away-from-home for George’s concert regulars.

Bars were set up at the back, and people could smoke on the balcony overlooking Fayetteville. However, it was the music and the environment by the stage that really set the night off. Last time Smith played Fayetteville, for some reason, the set did not translate into one of those one-of-a-kind shows you find yourself feeling nostalgic about the week after the concert. This time, it nailed it on the head.

Dancing was happening from every corner of the Town Center, and Smith, along with a live drummer, put on a fantastic show going through his back catalog of popular tracks as well as testing new material from his latest release. Though the music provided the night’s entertainment and kept the crowd dancing and raving until the place shut down after midnight, it was the atmosphere and the environment that truly made the night special.

More concerts of this caliber at the Town Center are needed to provide the Fayetteville music scene with the big-name events and acts potentially heading this way — although the cleanup crews might not be apt to this idea.

Derek Vincent Smith, with the change of arena, provided the Fayetteville music scene with the phenomenal concert that all in attendance this time and last time know he is capable of.

Brian Washburn is the founder of DBW and is currently working on a way to revolutionize the music industry.