BANKS A Fallen Angel | Live Review | The Beacham | September 20 2014

BANKS – A Fallen Angel with an Incomparable Dark Intensity | Live Review | The Beacham Orlando | September 20 2014

by Martin Cardenas • October 1, 2014

Growing up I can vividly remember my first crush being Lydia Deetz from Beetlejuice. Her long dark hair, red lips, and porcelain skin intrigued my young boy mind. That combination still stays true today; gloomy girls always capture my gaze. When I first heard the dark diva BANKS, I was immediately intrigued.

I came across BANKS in August 2013 thanks to Yimmy Yayo’s blog when her single “Waiting Game” (Prod. by SOHN) was gaining some major attention on the internet. However, her rise to radio stardom seemed to be blocked out by Lana Del Rey and Lorde. BANKS could easily be considered a cooch child between the two artists. Given that all three musicians share similar musical styles, BANKS sticks out in my opinion (Lana, if you are reading this we can still go out sometime 😉 ). BANKS has a certain incomparable dark intensity.

BANKS has gained quite the following now, and the Beacham was pretty packed. The Beacham was host to her first night of the “Goddess” tour and, knowing she isn’t a rookie (BANKS opened for The Weeknd), I had fairly high expectations for her. Perhaps that’s why I was a bit disappointed. I was expecting more from her. I tried my best to chalk it up to tour-opening kinks but everything just seemed a bit off. Especially the sound at the Beacham, which was overly reverberated and distorted, making it was extremely difficult to even hear BANKS stage banter, which I was especially disappointed about.

BANKS had two backing musicians – a drummer, who was also mixing on a laptop, and a guitarist, who was simultaneously playing keyboard. Within the crowd no one seemed to be really dancing. I found myself surrounded by Tumblr tweens, goth chicks with studded leather bracelets, and queens crying glitter. BANKS on the other hand was slithering her hips to each sultry song. She moves like a fallen angel searching for her wings.

Singles like “Drowning” and “Goddess” garnered the most screams in the massive group, but the majority of the other songs were simply swayed to. Every time I looked up from taking notes, I was staring at a sea of cell phones. Not to say people weren’t interested in the other tracks she played, but perhaps her album hasn’t been out long enough for people to really know them. Goddess was released on September 5th.

BANKS played a pretty short set due to it being a Saturday night and the Beacham’s change-over to a club. I learned I wasn’t the only one who felt the show was lacking something after running into Connor Smith, founder of Studio 18 in Orlando, who voiced to me that he was also a bit disappointed: “The stars aren’t aligning. Something is off.” He said.

Despite the off-sound, it’s still clear that BANKS is a mesmerizing artist and she certainly has what it takes. Her voice is enchanting, her looks could drive any man crazy, and I want to be a part of her darkness. This may not have been her best show but, when she and her sound engineers get their shit together, I will be here.