For almost 20 years, David “Dave 1” Macklovitch and Patrick “P-Thugg” Gemayel have been making sweet, sweet electro-funk as Chromeo. Along with their blog-house peers in the mid-2000s, they brought synth-driven pop music to the forefront of H&Ms and house parties everywhere. Fast forward to 2023, and the self-proclaimed “Funklordz” have collaborated with great artists like Cory Wong, Toro Y Moi, Solange, Amber Mark, and Ezra Koenig throughout their five (soon to be six) albums. They also now run their own record label, Juliet Records, where they nurture acts like their 930 Club show openers, Chicago-based funk artist Ric Wilson (who enlisted Chromeo on production duties for some of his tracks), and Virginia-based Stevedreez.

They’re unafraid to teeter on the edge of fun and corny. Look no further than the early-quarantine track “Clorox Wipe,” off of their Quarantine Casanova EP, or in the way they hold a back-to-back pose while they tear it up on the guitar and bass on the stage’s edge. They’re a guilty pleasure that a sold-out 930 Club still can’t get enough of after all these years.

Their set highlighted memorable tracks from throughout their career. They induced a club-wide two-step for 2004’s “Needy Girl,” a cellphone-waving sing-along for “Old 45s” from 2014, and they also performed four songs from their upcoming 2024 album Adult Contemporary. With Dave 1 on synths and guitar and P-Thugg on bass and vocoder, both got their share of time in the spotlight. Which, speaking of, Dave 1 literally had all of the spotlights shining on his reflective guitar during “Night by Night,” bouncing the intense light beams back into the crowd.

They know how to ham it up for the crowds and the cameras, but none of it would be effective if their music wasn’t as catchy and danceable as it is. For all the times they’ve come to DC, it never gets tiring to watch them get the dance floor moving with a wink, a nod, and a funky synth bass line.

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