Eric & Than of Black Gold were handed a pretty rough time slot for their All Points West performance. Their set time on Saturday was 12:45pm, and the majority of festival goers were still making their way on to the Liberty State park grounds. But that didn’t stop the Brooklyn duo from throwing down a heluva show. The Brooklyn duo (signed to Red Bull Records) came through with a complete supporting band – including a back-up singer section and more. They even had a group of about 5 bikini-clad girls painted in gold from head to toe throwing black and gold beach balls into the crowd.

The highlights of the set were the performances of two of their hit tracks “Plans and Reveries” and The Come Down” – two joints that work equally well as danceable tunes or those songs you just sit back and zone out to. Oh and lest I forget, each of the band members was dressed in one variation or another of an all-black outfit contrasted with a classy touch of gold; this group is totally cohesive in every sense of the word.

“This is just the beginning for us,” Than says during a quick interview in the Black Gold lounge later that afternoon. “We’re just working really hard every day to try and get the music out there, and it’s just really early for us. We’re trying to take this all the way.”

When asked about the well-oiled show they put on earlier, Than responds, “For larger shows, we like to pull out all the stops, but for smaller gigs, it’s usually just four guys, like The Beatles, and the impact is pretty much the same – but even then, you’ll still get some surprises.”

The Black Gold song that seems to get the most instant response everywhere is the aforementioned “Plans and Reveries” and it was no different during the live performance. The song has the perfect mix of subliminal emotions and murky underpinnings, and it’s instantly addictive. “That song was written about a friend of mine who was experimenting with Heroin for the first time,” Eric offers, “so that explains the dark and dreamy feel of that song.”

One remarkable show completed, many more to come. One thing’s for sure, Black Gold is for real. They make music you can feel, and expect to see a lot more stellar appearances from them in the years to come.

Words by Geo Hagan, Photographs by Kwaku Kufour