Fun Fun Fun Fest: Hudson Mohawke

It’s happened to all of us, hasn’t it? Every now and again, you just don’t have it – and you know it. Nevertheless, you and your comrades slog through anyway. So went Hudson Mohawke’s middling, but respectable Friday night Fun Fun Fun set.

Making his bones in recent years with crowd-friendly indie trap, the Glaswegian producer remains best known for his work on Kanye West’s Yeezus. His latest release, Lantern, repositioned the onetime Ross Birchard with booming electro-pop. Bracing himself with two capable sidekicks, keyboardist Redinho and Two Door Cinema Club drummer Ben Thompson, should’ve elevated his newer material, which begs live instrumentation.

Instead, it truncated the build, live elements never jelling.

Confusing portions of the bro-heavy crowd with blinding Close Encounters lighting simulation didn’t create the best set-up for space thumper “System,” paradoxically. After a decent go-round with military chanter “Goooo,” the trio followed with a chintzy, soda pop jingle version of “Brand New World.” “Ryderz” failed to get the train moving despite its D.J. Rogers’ “Watch Out for the Riders” sample garnering some drunken ‘fuck yeahs.’

By “Shadows” and “Scud Books,” the pack’s growing indifference became apparent, with only the blunted and inebriated dancing offbeat.

Rallying hard with the vibrant “Chimes” and “Fuse,” the stumbling trio tripped into gear. The crew closed triumphantly by kicking out the trap jams – “Higher Ground” and “Thunder Bay” – given the source material’s intrinsic strength and rigidity.