We Went There: Jamie XX at the Armory
On a frigid night in Minneapolis, where even a few minutes outside could cause frostbite, Jamie XX brought the heat to the Armory in Minneapolis. Touring behind his 2024 release In Waves, the DJ best known for his work with the 2010s indie darling The XX (or has he surpassed them?) drew a crowd that mixed balding hipsters, kids in rave gear and even a few children who were doing cooler things as a six year old than I was.
Following a nearly two hour opening set by Numero Group DJs, who spun the good shit as you’d expect from the best reissue label in the land, the pretty full Armory got amped for the seamless handoff at the DJ deck as Jamie XX came on right around 9pm.
I hadn’t been the to Armory before, so not sure what the usual setup is, but I assume the full floor lighting rig was all Jamie XX, and there were lush waves of colors washing over the crowd throughout, and seizure inducing strobe lights that only upped the intensity of his tightly curated set. Blending his own songs (many snippets of which I caught) with songs that were undoubtedly bangers (that I very much didn’t know but you can get a sense of from his setlist.fm page), he gave the crowd a near rave experience for nearly two hours.
I wasn’t totally sure what to expect coming in, not sure if it would be more song focused like his LP or more like a classic DJ set, with the latter being the answer. If I’m being totally honest I had a strong “this is awesome and I’m too old to be here” moment about an hour in, but I loved seeing the energy from the crowd who was eating up his intricate mix. I may lean more towards “enjoy his music at home” going forward, but I’m glad I saw his live set and appreciated the encaustic joy he brought to an otherwise cold and bleak night in Minneapolis.
Writer / co-founder
