A mass of curly, wild hair, she dances fluidly as the gems adorning her forehead sparkle. Her waist dips and drops in time to the high-pitched peaks of house music. Wearing hot pink tights beneath destroyed black tights and a top that bears her stomach, she moves freely and shamelessly: a true rave girl.
Factory Nightlife and After Dark Entertainment brought Dim Mak's Deadmeat Tour, and like a meat warehouse, Town Ballroom was packed Tuesday night. It was a mixed crowd of traditional ravers, house heads, 'dubsteppers' and others who joined the scene since the mainstream sucked it in.
Solidisco, comprised of Buffalo's own talented DJ Dstar and DJ Biacco, opened the night. The 22-year-old Indonesian native, Angger Dimas, followed with an incredibly impressive performance. He demonstrated his amazing skill at working the crowd with pure DJ mastery rather then using gimmicks.
The moment of his set I was most looking forward to came when I heard the crisp drums and chopped, repeating vocals of "My Feelings for You" by Avicii and Sebastien Drums. It exceeded what I imagined it would be earlier in the night as I lined my eyes with black liquid liner. His remix of the track has a perfect build, and I finally was able to see the effect it has on a crowd in a packed venue; many open hands were raised high, motioning with the beat.
With a fidget, house and electro induced couple of hours, his set was pretty impeccably executed. Not only were his track selections flawless, but his stage presence was high energy and welcoming. By the end of his set, my only disappointment was that it was over. I not-so-secretly wished Angger Dimas was the headliner for the night.
The stage set-up per DJ grew in extravagance, and throughout the night, the professional lighting that came with the tour was phenomenal. When the pre-determined intermission background music ceased, the black, raised set that adorned Datsik's logo glowed and seared the crowd with a blazing, bright red haze. This Canadian dubstep DJ is growing in popularity as the genre itself becomes better known.
His set was ideal for those who craved only intense and forceful transitions. Sporadically throughout, he dropped a few tracks that varied the grating, heavy dubstep - a few of them very hip-hop influenced. At one point he even took a moment to bring it back to the beginning of the 2000s as Dr. Dre's lyrics from "The Next Episode" sounded throughout the venue.
Datsik too often jumped on top of his set to shout to the crowd through the mic. Gigantic floor-to-ceiling banners advertised the sponsor of the tour, Rockstar Energy Drink. Periodically throughout Datsik's set, a woman would come by and toss full cans of energy drinks into the crowd. The concept of a free Rockstar is a wonderful idea. But the thought of throwing a 12 ounce can into a crowd seems even more dangerous than the routine stage diver.
Before Steve Aoki went on, I had no idea what type of bizarre performance I was in for. His stage set-up was reminiscent of a gigantic glowing nest. When the lights shone on him, a girl nearby screamed as if she saw The Beatles, no exaggeration. Guys sprinted down from the upper tiers to the floor, and one even sat upon the shoulders of another man; that was just one of the first of many odd sights that night.
The minute his set was illuminated, I noticed he had neither turntables nor CDJs. Mixing internally off of Ableton was not what I had expected from the world-renowned Los Angeles DJ. His mostly house music set was interrupted briefly by a heavy metal segment as Aoki stepped down from his set and ran back and froth on stage, screaming the lyrics into the mic. His lengthy set allowed for all of his well-known tracks to be heard.
What caused my jaw to drop was the use of theatrics. In the time I have been part of this scene, I can say that I have seen a lot, but I have never seen anything like this. It was the most I have ever seen a DJ leave his equipment, but there were also random things that happened throughout the night that truly left me speechless. The first occurrence was when the lights dimmed, and suddenly Aoki was sporting a sailor hat. It was a little strange, but I didn't think much of it - until the champagne, half-gallons of orange juice, the inflatable raft and the multiple sheet cakes came out. As Aoki sprayed the audience with champagne and then proceeded to spit the excess sticky liquid into the crowd like a sprinkler, all I could think of was how happy I was to not be on the receiving end of the squirting spectacle.
He'd tend to the music again and then come out with a jug of some type of juice. Teasing the crowd and walking to and fro, he proceeded to dump the entire half-gallon onto a girl in the front row. It was only after the show that I realized it was orange juice, when a friend of mine came up to me drenched and reeking of citrus.
Just when I thought the night couldn't get stranger, Aoki approached the crest of the stage once again, this time with a sheet cake in hand. I stopped dancing and watched intently, wondering what the hell was happening. The inscription on the cake was the least of my curiosities as I watched him tempt the audience with the cake. Thank goodness I didn't take my eyes off of him, or else I would have missed one of the weirdest things I have ever seen at a show – and I've seen some strange happenings. A guy in the front row was hit in the face with the full impact of the cake, and like the recoil of a shooting gun, his head knocked back. He was slammed in the face with a sheet cake.
The inflatable raft was used as a means for stage diving, which was a relatively cool idea regardless of my bias against stage divers. To a 5' 2'' girl not always surrounded by the most reliable hands, stage divers can become a thing of terror. Toward the end of the night, one of Aoki's original and classic tunes "No Beef" had everyone crazed. The crescendo ending of the song brought high spirits. His closing track was his remix of Kid Cudi's "Pursuit of Happiness," and everyone sang along with the lyrics, most likely flashing back to memories of times with friends when the song first released.
The after party took place at Noir Ultra Lounge on Chippewa; it was dope. Buffalo DJs Bigski, SwaggleRock and Roboroc spun for those who attended. The crowd was decently packed with people still wanting more.
Overall, the night was interesting. Happy that I got to see these huge names perform in my own city, I was also left with a bizarre story to tell.
