Timeflies brings viral music to life at Cat’s

Fans of Timeflies closed their laptops Thursday night to watch the YouTube-famous group perform crowd-pleasing covers at the Cat’s Cradle.

The New York-based duo features producer Rob Resnick and vocalist Cal Shapiro who play electronic pop dance music. They’re now performing around the country on their After Hours tour.

The two met as students at Tufts University, where they created their weekly YouTube series, called “Timeflies Tuesday,” through which they built their following.

The duo releases covers of popular songs, remixes music and freestyle raps about random topics.

“It feels so good to be back in North Carolina,” Shapiro said during the show.

Shapiro filmed the crowd as he and Resnick performed their encore, promising to post the video to YouTube.

Paul Sievert, a lighting technician at the Cat’s Cradle, said their setup was intricate.

“It’s totally sold out,” he said before the show. “I think it’s going to be a really good time, and kids are going to have a good time. The music is definitely amped enough to get everyone moving.”

Timeflies performed covers of Miley Cyrus’ “Party in the U.S.A” and Kesha’s “Die Young.”

“I love watching their Timeflies Tuesday videos,” said Duke University student Natalie Geisler. “I am really excited to see them. The videos they put out of their concerts are so exciting and have a lot of energy.”

When they performed Old Crow Medicine Show’s “Wagon Wheel,” the whole crowd sang along.

“I have been a big fan of Timeflies since the very beginning, and I am definitely hyped up for what they have in store tonight,” said UNC sophomore Jean-Claude Dallies.

At Thursday’s show, the duo freestyled about Kim Kardashian, NASCAR, UNC and pizza — to name just a few topics.

The Heydaze, a pop group, warmed the crowd up.

“We like to describe it as windows down, stereo up music,” said lead singer Jesse Fink.

Heydaze, a New York City-based group, is touring with Timeflies for the entirety of the After Hours tour.

“Heydaze was pretty good. They got the concert hype,” said N.C. State University student Haydn Flores.

Cat’s Cradle sold out to a crowd of about 700 — mostly college students — for the rave-like performance.

UNC senior Jordan VanBeek said he likes going to Timeflies concerts to have a good time.

“I feel like all the songs were designed to appeal to a certain crowd which was us,” he said.

atrs@dailytarheel.com