BT Shows a Stylish New Profile While Mostly Pleasing His Fans

Smoke and lights shrouded the stage at the Hollywood club Giant on Saturday, leaving performer BT silhouetted behind banks of keyboards and sequencers as he bounced to his thumping electronic beats. But increasingly as the set went on, the haze lifted at times to reveal Brian Transeau (his real name) with his new, Brad Pitt-ish styling, beaming with a huge smile at the exuberant crowd.

That’s a pretty good metaphor for BT’s career right now. He’s long been a star in the American electronic dance music underground, where a certain amount of anonymity is valued. Now he’s emerging as a public face--literally, with the new “Movement in Still Life” album his first to feature his photo on the cover--and reaching beyond the confines of the genre with the album a hodgepodge of hip-hop, house and alt-rock elements. Moby has made it to the mainstream, so why not BT?

Saturday he mostly rewarded the loyal fans, though, downplaying the stylistic skitters in favor of the booming beats, lush textures and tinkly interludes that have been his calling cards. On new pieces, the album’s guest vocals (played back from digital recordings) were downplayed in the mix.

Still, he’s walking a tricky line. “He started out all right [tonight],” one fan remarked toward the end of the show. “But now he’s playing that crowd-pleasing [expletive].” Wonder how the fan will feel when BT returns soon with his first real band?