Clocking In to CTRL ESCAPE with John Summit

Jillian Turley

Music Journalist

This past Thursday I visited my accountant; would recommend for the music, although he did have some questionable professionalism, and absolutely no taxes were filed. 

My accountant for the night was none other than DJ phenomenon John Summit, who brought his CTRL ESCAPE Tour to Houston’s Toyota Center. Instead of spreadsheets and a quarterly report, the night was spent dancing to electronic music, laser visuals, and a crowd of finance bros (and girls) ready to clock out. After making the drive from San Marcos to Houston earlier that day, I walked alongside fellow concert goers to the Toyota Center, where everyone had seemed to have gotten the corporate theme. Everywhere I looked, people were dressed in button downs and suits in ties clashed with leather and rave outfits, which I think helped embrace the tour concept of “escaping the matrix” of an everyday nine-to-five routine. 

When Summit came on stage, the theme also seemed to carry in his stage presence and overall production. Walking on stage dressed in a suit and tie himself, Summit started with “SHADES OF BLUE,” where he performed in front of a backdrop of office cubicles where backup dancers played roles of employees stuck in their mundane office routines. While an office setting might seem like the last aesthetic you might want to see at an EDM concert, I thought it was very articulate how Summit incorporated his own personal experience into his actual performance. As the night went on, Summit ditched the suit jacket and eventually his tie, while the employees behind him broke free from their cubicles and joined him on stage.  

One of my favorite details came from when mock employee performance reviews dropped down from the ceiling during my favorite song “LIGHTS GO OUT.” With these branded as “Summit CPAs,” the reviews helped show the contrast between professionalism and fun in this unconventional workspace, with questions poking fun at Summit’s performance ability while being a DJ. It was something that I saw in place of confetti, and thought this unique detail helped tie moments in the concert back to the tour theme.  

The transition from stage production to visuals was impressive on a stadium scale, but my favorite part of the night was actually when John left the main stage and made his way to a pop-up DJ booth in the upper levels of the arena. Rather than remaining on the mainstage, Summit brought his energy and music directly to the nosebleeds, giving fans in the higher sections a performance up close. To me, this was when the energy really kicked off; with a venue as big as the Toyota Center, I thought it was unique and refreshing to see an artist including fans that didn’t have access to the main stage area. Without the elaborate stage production and access to all the effects, this section of the show definitely felt more spontaneous and personal, which also reminded me that some of the best concert moments come from just the connection between an artist and their audience. 

As he came back to center stage, he played remixes of songs including “Sweet Disposition” and “Where Have You Been” that helped bring energy back to the room altogether. While the show started to near towards the end, the back screen displayed a video montage reflecting on Summit’s journey and growth as an artist. Through clips of uncertainty and excitement, the video showed different stages of his career; here, it showed not only how far he had come, but how his leap of faith from a secure future as an accountant to a now performing in arenas filled with thousands of fans had paid off. I thought this was such a meaningful moment as John was seen watching this with the crowd, and reminiscing on just how far he had come; as he brought the entire CTRL ESCAPE theme together, this segment ultimately showed how escaping the traditional nine-to-five wasn’t just a concept for his tour and album, but something Summit had accomplished himself.  

To close out the night, Summit took a moment to thank the Houston crowd before ending with his song “DON’T BELIEVE IT.” After a night of full production and beats, I thought this song brought a fitting end to the night, with Summit even saying after playing in Houston for seven years, it was the “lit-est night of all time.” While I left with no taxes filed, and an even more unclear position on what exactly an accountant does, I have to say this concert was definitely worth clocking in for.