Black Tiger Sex Machine presents their industry altering show 'Portals' to the world [Review]

Black Tiger Sex Machine is currently changing the game with their newest tour, ‘Portals,’ as it is completely reimagining the way live events are thought of.

There are shows, and then there are experiences. While both are worth the price of admission, being fortunate to be a part of an experience is something you can’t find every day, and Black Tiger Sex Machine’s new ‘Portals’ tour show is an experience of the highest tier. While it is commonplace in the dance industry to pack your sets with captivating visuals on LED panels, you would be hard-pressed to find anybody currently touring in 2023 that is doing it to the standard in which Black Tiger Sex Machine is with ‘Portals.’

This show is much more than your normal 90-minute performance with a rotating set of graphics. In just its current short run, the ‘Portals’ experience is already arguably resetting the status quo when it comes to the thoughtful crafting, detailing and execution of what it means to present a live show.

The current duo, made up of Julien Maranda and Patrick Barry, usher in a completely immersive story for the audience that features rendered visuals that are more complex and beautifully detailed than anything that is currently out there. What makes ‘Portals’ so special and raises it to a level above the rest is the care that went into perfecting the small things.

The LED panels in the front of the table and behind Maranda and Barry are positioned perfectly to give the illusion that they are actually in the worlds they are depicting. After a moment, you will forget you are even on Earth. The number of lasers and lights will have your jaw drop to the floor as they are programmed to do incredibly complex movements. It is truly captivating. And what might be the most impressive fact of all? The ‘Portals’ production is all captured in real-time, so all visuals (lights, animation, lasers) are triggered and timed perfectly to the music being played.

On top of that, the setlist for the tour is a heart-thumping ride, as you would expect. Not only are the visuals behind Black Tiger Sex Machine taking you on a journey, but the music does too. This set is not just a dubstep show for an hour and a half, ‘Portals’ (as you could suggest from the name) transports you across multiple dance genres including dubstep, melodic bass, house, techno and others. One thing you will notice is that ‘Portals’ seems to have certain chapters within the storytelling that explore different worlds throughout the set, and at the same time, that is when Black Tiger Sex Machine switches up the genre of music.

‘Portals’ is an expertly crafted show that is calculated down to the smallest detail and is, safe to say, a moment in time that everyone needs to experience live. The tour has already made stops in Miami for Ultra Music Festival, Kansas City, Minneapolis, Chicago, Albuquerque, and now Dallas, with Brooklyn at the Brooklyn Mirage and two shows in San Jose set to take place in July before the highly anticipated conclusion at Red Rocks on October 22nd, where third member, Marc-André Chagnon will join the show for one night only.

There is no other event like this currently in the industry, and Black Tiger Sex Machine are putting themselves in a class of their own as we speak. This is an event worth traveling for, and if you have already experienced ‘Portals’ once, it is more than worth experiencing again.

Check Black Tiger Sex Machine’s ‘Portals’ tour date poster below and purchase tickets to the remaining events here.

Listen to their latest sing, ‘Eclipse’ with Dion Timmer and RUNN below.

Featured Image Credit: Karel Chladek