The DJ Takeover sponsored by Level Up is a program for listeners to discover their favorite artist's favorite artists, working to foster connection to the music and makers inside and outside our city. For the entire hour, we go down the rabbit hole of stories from their past, experiences of the present and goals for the future.
In the Instagram Age, the art of a remarkable live performance holds even higher value. While theatrics and optics are art forms of their own, shock value is king when it comes to digital platforms. To see a live performance in which the music speaks for itself has become, for me, a very refreshing experience.
This was the feeling I had watching in shining armour live. The relatively newly formed two-piece’s sheer wall of balanced sound gave me no choice but to surrender to cathartic head banging and profound foot tapping. It was then I realized I could only see two people on stage: drummer Aidan Hoppens and singer/guitar player Seth Kaplan.
I turned to the person next to me and asked, “Wait, are there only two of them?”
To which they replied, “yes.”
Shock.
Sitting down with Hoppens and Kaplan for this DJ Takeover a few short weeks later, I realized what matters to the pair most of all: playing songs they enjoy and sharing them with others.
The sincerity of in shining armour is paramount. After receiving incredibly positive feedback from new crowds celebrating the release of their debut EP, Spirit Hound, the two framed it as, “People are being too nice.”
In my mind, being nice is holding a door open for someone or silently not eating the last Cool Ranch Dorito. In other words, doing something one does not necessarily need to do. I’m of the opinion that, in the case of in shining armour, people aren’t simply being nice; they’re truly enjoying the emergence of an excellent band.
The sentiments of their listeners have motivated the pair to continue improving their work with every step forward, almost as a way to pay it back to their fans. It brings things full circle, in a way, because the pair’s success is a product of their artistic relationship with each other. I asked what happens if they disagree on a creative choice, and Kaplan answered, “I trust Seth’s intentions enough to know that any compromise I make will be worth it.”
The two musicians drove to Colorado to record their EP with another of their ilk: Corey Coffman, lead singer of one of their favorite bands, Gleemer. They felt a trip to Colorado was worth it to work with someone whose artistic vision was deeply trusted, and that’s reflected in the songs that in shining armour introduced during this DJ Takeover — Coffman having worked with Prize Horse, Downward and Trauma Ray.
Their visit also left enough time to cover such hard-hitting topics as their first Hot Topic t-shirt. Aidan’s was the tastefully classic My Chemical Romance Black Parade shirt, and Seth’s a yellow Invader Zim Gir shirt. Mine? A black-and-white-striped Cage The Elephant tee.
In shining armour will take their own band tees to a number of shows coming up:
- May 16 — The Sugar Maple (with Ritual, Honor Choir, Lana Leone and 12th House Sun
- May 23 — Pillar Forum in Minneapolis
- June 11 — Linneman’s (with Mouthful and Shoobie)
- June 13 — The Sugar Maple (with Human Ant Farm and Forktail)
DJ Takeover: in shining armour playlist
- in shining armour, “shield”
- trauma ray, “Hannibal”
- Wulfer, “Bad Dream”
- Prize Horse, “Know Better”
- Downward, “Line”
- Gleemer, “The Body's Worth”
- Women in Peril, “No Fun”
- Jet Fuel Soda, “Pain (The Funk)”
- Frantic Repair, “Suffocate”
