Cash Cash

A LocalBozo.com Concert Review
Atlantic Records, New York, NY
March 31, 2014

Inside the downstairs lobby of the Atlantic Records office on West Broadway sits a massive wall mural that overlooked the erected makeshift stage on Tuesday evening. In carefully designed red and white lettering, it reads “We started Atlantic simply because we wanted to sign a few artists whose music we liked and make the kind of records that we would want to buy.”  It’s that sentiment that led to the record label’s immense growth, storied history and one that’s paved the way for it’s new and fairly regular live concert series; one that hosts special performances for the record company’s staffers, members of the media and some special VIPs. Tuesday evening’s showcase would highlight Roseland, New Jersey’s Cash Cash, under normal circumstances, considered an EDM group led by two brothers Alex and Jean Paul Makhlouf. On this night however, the pair would be joined by four string players and a female vocalist amid an intimate and exclusive acoustic setting.

Taking the stage shortly after 5pm, the brothers, joined by longtime bass player Samuel Frisch, would perform just two songs in front of the assembled crowd but certainly made the most of their minutes.  Though typically fronted by the likes of Bebe Rexha and Julia Michaels, fellow New Jerseyian Maria Dontas filled in admirably on the group’s singles “Take Me Home” and “Surrender.”  The laid back atmosphere allowed the room to really soak up the confluence of sounds from Dontas’ impressive live vocals to the array of backing instruments to the arrangement of strings- all of which worked incredibly well given the acoustic setting. Following the brief performance, the trio fielded some audience questions, listing Red Rocks, Madison Square Garden and a slot at the Coachella Music Festival on their collective bucket list of concert performance venues and revealed Bruno Mars as the artist they’d most like to collaborate with. Despite a relatively abbreviated appearance, the stripped down setting allowed Cash Cash to show a different side to the typically raucous party music that they’re used to unleashing. The most surprising aspect of the show however was how well it actually worked.

- Jane Van Arsdale