Baauer Is Bringing More Than the "Harlem Shake" to LIV This Thursday

The lyrics of one-hit wonders' songs get stuck in your head. The names of the artists who recorded them usually don't. Admit it: You don't know who recorded "La Macarena" or "Tootsee Roll." Some songs inspire dance crazes that seem to pop out of the cosmos, belonging to us all equally and democratically rather than associating them with a particular person.

If you remember 2013, you might recall "Harlem Shake." It's the uptempo song with samples of shrieks of "con los terroristas" and growling lions. It was a viral sensation and a number one song, practically uploaded into the consciousness of the time. But you are likelier to associate the track with LeBron James and the 2013 Miami Heat than with the song's creator, Baauer.

Born Harry Bauer Rodrigues, the New York-based music producer was in his early 20s when the "Harlem Shake" phenomenon grew so big that Billboard had to recalibrate how it calculated the number one song in the America. With so many people making "Harlem Shake" videos, YouTube views became a real popularity measure. The megasuccess opened doors for Baauer, giving him the opportunity to work with stars such as M.I.A. and Future on his debut album, 2016's Aa.

You can expect something out of the ordinary from Baauer at LIV, where he will perform this Thursday. His live show will likely be beyond what people typically expect from an electronic music artist. "If it’s a performance, you want to see a band," he told Complex in an interview last year. "Any time you’re trying to make electronic music live, it’s tough, so we were trying to think of how to make it cool and exciting. We wanted to be honest about it too, because what I’m doing is on the computer.”

Curiosity seekers will be able to view Baauer pushing the boundaries of electronic music performance. And if it doesn't work out, he can always appear as a clue in the "One-Hit Wonders" category of Jeopardy!, right above Los del Rio's "La Macarena" and just below 69 Boyz' "Tootsee Roll."

Baauer
11 p.m. Thursday, May 4, at LIV, 4441 Collins Ave., Miami Beach; 305-674-4680; livnightclub.com. Tickets cost $30 via tixr.com.