Within the haziness that hovered over a crowd that filled the capacity of Webster Hall’s Grand Ballroom, electronic musician Boys Noize was performing, which should not be noised about.
Boys Noize In His Usual Attire of a Tee and Cap
Using Twitter as a reference, Boys Noize has no less than 75,000 fans and has accumulated his following since merging on the scene in 2005 with his launch of BNR, BoysNoize Records, which allowed him to release his music the way he wanted it.
In front of Webster Hall, there was a sizable group of loyal electro fans standing outside in the misty rain by 10 p.m., when the doors were scheduled to open. It was the night of Good Friday, but the German native Boys Noize, real name Alex Ridha, would not hit the stage till early Saturday. Still, the long wait was not to build anticipation since he tweeted that his performance would begin at 2 a.m. ahead of time.
This was not a regular concert, for, every Friday at Webster Hall, the popular Girls & Boys Electro Party is thrown; Boys Noize was just headlining. There were festivities going on in The Studio, which was more enjoyable than Ridha’s show in the Grand Ballroom. Though the music played by The Studio’s disc jockey was outdated hip-hop songs for the most part, it was actual music with lyrics.
The Studio
After partying at The Studio, Boy Noize’s performance became less painful to one’s eardrums and more bearable to one’s upbeat mood. If not for The Studio, one would be burdened to listen to the Boys Noize’s annoying noises that echo the sound of one’s doorbell being rung at a supersonic frequency at one end and a neighbor pounding one’s thin wall at the other. Even so, some managed to enjoy it, including MTV’s reputable Sway who was there and tweeted to Ridha, “Man I had a great time! Lmk know when ur back in NY!”
Aside from Sway, the timing appeared inopportune for Ridha’s performance in New York. The show was the 22nd of April, and Brooklyn rapper Fabolous released The Soul Tape April 21st. The record is brimful of peerless lyrics rapped over nothing but soulful instrumentals. The following day, Boys Noize performed his overbearing electronic sounds that are meant to compliment his toneless bass, and, after listening to The Soul Tape the day before and on the way to the show, Ridha was prejudged as disappointing.
One agreeable thing about Boys Noize is that the alias gives the indication that he produces noise rather than music, which is rational and beneficial. The benefit was for that particular Friday audience. Since it is noise and not music, they did not have to dance, which they could not. Their best moves included: moving their heads, in haste, in one direction with their lower body moving in the opposite direction, jumping jacks, and fist pumping. All the same, they had fun.
Within the electro fan base, Boys Noize is someone to noise about, yet people have voiced outlandish opinions before.
