Photos by Alex Schelldorf. Words by DCist contributor Annie Bartholomew

As Toro Y Moi walked out to cries that drowned out Curtis Mayfield’s “Diamond in the Back,” Chaz Bundick made a kiss and a promise he would uphold for the rest of the night. A promise that it was gonna get funky and that we were certainly going to hear some guitars.

Toro Y Moi made a surprise dance party out of a night where the crowd otherwise might have stared at their feet or watched performance through their iPhone screens. With help from his 5-piece rock setup, Bundick transformed the sold-out 9:30 Club into a boogie wonderland, elevating the crowd to a place acts like Chromeo and Tuxedo only dream of taking audiences—but there weren’t gimmicks.

Bundick reworked his infectious electronic arrangements to emphasize the band, putting the drums and guitar work at the forefront to showcase a part of his music that even careful listeners can miss on the record. In a plain white t-shirt and matching Stratocaster guitar, Bundick captured the essence of rock without indulging in the rock star aesthetic or self-worship. He even positioned himself on the right side of stage, where he transitioned between a guitar and synth station, cheerfully thanking the audience, “DC, you’re always amazing.”

It was obvious that Bundick loves what he does, and the audience mirrored his enthusiasm. Men and women with their hands in the air were overcome with joy, screaming as he played hook after hook and swaying to each sexy breakdown. As an audience member, I look forward to the moment I can stop paying attention to what’s happening onstage and drop into the energy of the people surrounding me. Last night, that happened pretty quick. The whole show went by too fast.

The best part of the performance was during the encore, when Toro Y Moi dropped “So Many Details.” Over the PA, the audience grew louder than Bundick, layers of voices singing together, “You send my life into somewhere I can’t describe.” We were one audience united under a single groove.