Marc Rebillet’s REBEL show was an action-packed performance filled with silliness and a love for music

18 November 2022 / by Alex Andersen
Marc Rebillet live
Concerts
Marc Rebillet’s REBEL show was an action-packed performance filled with silliness and a love for music
From stage diving with a bursting bottle of champagne to stripteasing on one of REBEL’s poles, Rebillet put on quite the show

Marc Rebillet lit up REBEL’s stage with an energetic variety of electronic music and his authentic crowd interactions, leaving fans with a memorable experience at one of their first in-person encounters with the artist. 

Marc Rebillet, also known by fans as Loop Daddy, is a French-American electronic musician and YouTuber from Dallas, Texas, currently based in New York City. He is known for his improvised funk and hip-hop electronic music with free flowing, humorous lyrics. Rebillet distributes his work primarily through YouTube videos and Twitch live streams using a loop station, keyboard, vocals and percussion instruments to produce his songs in his apartment. He has released three studio albums and two extended play records (Loop Daddy and Loop Daddy II). 

I became familiar with Marc Rebillet through his live-streamed improvised DJ sets on YouTube that grew quite a following after the first lockdown in March 2020. While most of his improvised grooves simply disappear into the ether, he does record all of his sessions. Some of my favourites from his NYC apartment sessions and on tour are compiled into streamable albums.

As I approached REBEL at around 5:45 pm on Oct.23, I remember feeling strange as it was alarmingly early for a DJ set. The sun was setting, and concertgoers were giddily hopping out of their Ubers clad in bathrobes of all kinds—terry cloth, silk, flannel, fleece, felt. The crowd was remarkably diverse with groups of college-aged kids and gaggles of women in their 50s—all there to let loose, straight up vibe, and bear witness to Marc Rebillet do his thing. The said “thing” is not just improvising loop-based grooves, but his comedic charismatic persona and crowd interaction. I would soon realize that similarly to his online streams, the crowd interaction and input would directly affect the content and sound of the music he mixes live. 

The opening DJ, The Kount, had a traditional yet crowd-pleasing DJ set with an Outcast-heavy rotation. Just before 7 p.m, Rebillet, sprang on stage in brown loafers, red boxer briefs, a floral patterned silk robe, and his signature glasses. He darted from one end of the stage to the other strutting and posturing, soaking in the hollering from the crowd. He then positioned himself behind his keyboard, plug-in mic, computer, and loop station, and step-by-step began to compose a bass and foghorn heavy track with lyrics like, “It’s 7 pm and we’re in the motherf*cking club.” With a lingering bass loop going, Rebillet stepped down from the stage for some hands-on crowd work, where he was asking around for people who had showered before coming to the show. He brought up two audience members on stage – one who had a shower before coming, and another who impressed Rebillet with his answer that they are “never clean, always dirty.” They danced on stage for Rebillet’s new set of loops, and quickly they were twerking side by side in their robes, which inspired the simple theme of Rebillet’s emerging song—butts.

The purpose of Loop Daddy’s lyrics is entertainment and humour—the more absurd, the better. One of his top-streamed songs is about a human-eating flamingo, who will have light croutons and baby spinach for dinner, “but first your sister.” Marc Rebillet has a wonderfully varied voice to boot, from gentle crooning, wholehearted belting, skating, to growling. No two shows are ever the same. “Do you prefer this bass sound… or this one?” He prompts the audience, waiting for which one gets more enthusiastic screams. 

The music in the rest of the show ranged from steady jazzy piano-based grooves to full-on dubstep. He shows musical and technical finesse, but that’s not what his sound or performance is about. In any form of improvisation, you have to let loose, trust, not second guess yourself, and above all else, not take yourself too seriously. This is expressed not only in Rebillet’s music, but in the audience members—many of whom I saw were so overtaken by the loop taking form in front of them they simply closed their eyes, bowed their heads down and bobbed their heads in enjoyment.

It was an action-packed performance, including stage diving with a bursting bottle of champagne, and a striptease on one of REBEL’s poles, removing a G-string he received from one of the audience members and had worn on top of his boxers for most of the set. Toward the end of his set, he explained a robe-trading tradition on his tour and sought to trade his floral patterned robe for one in the crowd. He settled on a white terry-cloth robe with the phrase “get chuffed” embroidered on the back. He then proceeded to compose the last improved loop of the evening based on that phrase. 

Finally, he asked the crowd what songs they wanted to hear. The crowd hollered several fan favourites, but the resounding consensus was “Girls Club.” The song is not even two minutes long, but there is a strong bouncing synth melody and a narrative of someone named Gary locked out of a bedroom where a password-locked girls club is happening. Gary is convinced “there are a bunch of people having sex in there,” and a goofy moan-based rhythmic loop commences.  

Marc Rebillet’s show didn’t just feel like a concert, but a lively one-time-only celebration of life, silliness, and love for music that makes you want to move.