It was a simple enough introduction from a 13 year-old local musician, but what followed was far from child’s play. After months of showing love and support for the music scene through his blog, Drew Smith introduced the scene to his new musical project. Performing singularly under the name “Theo’s Mystic Robot Orchestra,” Smith performed with just a guitar and a few machines, basking the venue in his experimental sounds and droney rhythms.

At one point he knelt on the floor to mess with some of those noise-makers. When he wasn’t playing guitar, his machines made throbbing space noises. This is what one might hear in their mind when looking at pictures of the Mars Rover. The music was so deliciously experimental, it very soon became apparent that someone ought to hook this kid up with the folks in Pizza Power (a DIY label in Lawrence). In fact, some of the Pizza Power kids were in attendance, eating it up.

This was an incredible inaugural set for Smith, and he was often met with a loud round of supportive applause. At the end of the night, we heard more than a few local musicians say “this was better than MY first show.”

Here’s the rocking video featuring Theo’s Mystic Robot Orchestra and Many Moods of Dad. You can view a full photo gallery from the show here.