Bright lights and big bass on Thanksgiving weekend: Fall Massive wrap up
On November 28th, throngs of neon-clad EDM fans descended on Lot 8 at RFK Stadium for eight straight hours of heavy hitting, unapologetic bass. Bass so loud that nearby neighborhoods buy generic levitra
-fall-massive-volume-has-consequences/2011/11/28/gIQAtqAl5N_blog.html”>filed formal complaints with the police. While many of last summers festivals were defined by their scope and eclectic lineups, Fall Massive threw caution to the wind and booked a lineup that was heavily skewed towards the heavy electro and dubstep crowd. Make no mistake, this was a rave, plain and simple. Glowing dancers performed on stage while lights bounced and reflected off the walls and ceilings of the massive, heated tents. Mesmerized, the artificially euphoric concertgoers wobbled and swayed to the screaming dubstep and electro breakdowns.
Don’t forget your pacifiers – read on after the break.
Mord Fustang
The first act we saw was Mord Fustang, whose set – much to our disappointment – nearly mirrored the one that we saw back in September at Webster Hall. That’s not to say we didn’t enjoy it, Mord is a production genius and his energy on stage is top notch. His multi layered and intricate tracks set the tone for the rest of the evening. The unique mix of dubstep and electro house that Mord is so well known for felt right at home amongst the other 54 dubstep and electro artists on the bill.
LMFAO – Sexy and I Know It (Mord Fustang Remix)
Morgan Page, Sultan + Ned Shepard, and BT – In The Air feat. Angela McCluskey (Mord Fustang Remix)
Mord Fustang – Milky Way
Zed’s Dead
Ducking out of Mord’s set a bit early, we navigated our way through the labyrinthian set of tents and tunnels (it was actually a fairly simple circle, but that didn’t stop us from getting hopelessly lost amongst the deafening noise and gyrating bodies) and made our way to the DubNation tent where Zed’s Dead was laying waste to the crowd with their off-tempo drumstep and incredible remixes of the Rolling Stones “Gimme Shelter” and The Beatles “A Day in the Life.” It was our first time seeing Zed’s Dead and they absolutely blew us away; we have heard the hype for months but just assumed they were another run of the mill dubstep act whose sole mentality is to go as hard as they can for as long as they can. This was different — the set ebbed and flowed from eardrum-destroying wobbles to off-tempo breakbeats — the next time they come to NYC we will be sure to catch their entire set.
Rolling Stones – Gimme Shelter (Zed’s Dead Remix)
Zed’s Dead – Coffee Break (Original Mix)
Jason Falkner – Only You (Zed’s Dead Remix)
Sidney Samson
Sidney Samson brought an hour of the dirty dutch flavor when he took the stage at 9:15 at the Majestic Palace tent. The high energy bleeps and top 40 remixes were in sharp contrast to the low end wobbles that made up a majority of the evening. Understanding that the crowd needed a reprieve from the heavy bass, Sidney played a party friendly set that inspired the crowd to jump and dance rather than flail and grind (Editor’s Note: If anyone has come up with a good way to describe the dubstep “dance” style, please let me know – it baffles me)
Sidney Samson – Riverside (Original Mix)
Sidney Samson – Mutate (Original Mix)
Martin Solveig
To say we were disappointed back in August when Martin had to cancel his Electric Zoo due to injury would be an understatement. As electropop junkies this crazy Frenchmen was one of our must-see acts of Labor Day Weekend. Naturally when the opportunity arose to see him at Fall Massive we hopped in our beat-up Corolla and drove five hours out of Manhattan down to DC just to catch him spin. When Martin is behind the decks his charisma is infectious. He bobs, sways and grins ear to ear every time he cues up his next track. Some DJs stand around idly, going through the motions and collecting their paychecks… but not Martin. He is just as much of a fan as he is a performer, singing along and engaging the crowd at every opportunity. Opening with his collaboration with Dev, “We Came to Smash,” Martin lit a fire under the fading crowd. He flawlessly mixed Knife Party’s remix of Nero’s “Crush on You” with the huge Bingo Player’s track “Rattle” before jumping into Doctor P’s “Watch Out,” whose dubstep squeals felt right at home amongst the electropop of the Les Bros remix of “Big in Japan.”
At one point during his set, Martin jumped out from behind the decks, made his way to the edge of the stage, borrowed an LED hula hoop from a nearby dancer and showed us his skills as the crowd cheered and applauded.
Dev ft. Martin Solveig – We Came to Smash (Original Mix)
Nero – Crush On You (Original Mix)
Bingo Players – Rattle (Original Mix)
Martin Solveig feat. Dragonette – Big in Japan (Les Bros Remix)
Doctor P – Watch Out
Diplo
Diplo is fucking incredible. Go ahead, attack that statement all you want — but when it comes to unique, high energy sets no one can touch him — he is in a league of his own. Diplo sets himself apart as a DJ because he takes risks and challenges the norms of what tracks are acceptable in a festival set. Seeing Diplo live is always an experience, his on the fly mixes and bootlegs coupled with 90s hip hop classics and insane moombahton originals make for one hell of a show. Even the heavily dubbed out crowd ate up everything he threw at them and then came back for seconds. If there was one performance that defined the evening at Fall Massive, it was this one. Gorgeous dancers peppered the stage accompanied by a handful of fans who were personally invited up to dance and jump along with the charismatic DJ.
Major Lazer – Original Don (Crookers Remix)
Major Lazer – Jump Up (Original Mix)
Rusko – Hold On feat. Amber Coffman (Sub Focus Remix)
Armand Van Helden
One half the funky disco duo Duck Sauce, Armand Van Helden brought the nu-disco, hip-hop infused element to Fall Massive. The funk was infectious as Armand playfully spun an array of Duck Sauce classics, including the omnipresent “Barbra Streisand” and the Dada Life remix of “Big Bad Wolf.” Despite his energy and track selection, Armand’s two hour set could barely revive the exhausted crowd, whose buzzes had almost completely worn off due to the immense heat. As the ceiling of the tent dripped, many of us thought that it was raining outside, only to realize that the droplets of water was actually sweat condensing and dripping down from above us.
Armand Van Helden – The Funk Phenomena (Original Mix)
Duck Sauce – Big Bad Wolf (Dada Life Remix)
Rogerseventytwo – You Take Me Higher (Original Mix)
Excision
GOD DAMN were we unprepared for Excision. The sharp contrast from Armand Van Helden’s upbeat, funky basslines and Excision’s deafening wails nearly knocked us unconscious the moment we stepped into the DubNation tent to catch the final set of the evening. Excision created a wall of sound so immense and hard hitting that you could feel the ground shake with every low end growl that emanated from the speakers. This was heavy. It was no longer dance music, it was moshing music – visceral and angry. An endless wave of crowd surfing bodies flooded the front of the stage while unamused bouncers grabbed and tossed the concertgoers out of the pit. It was pure pandemonium as Excision dropped his metal influenced electro. The mayhem was well suited as the perfect send off to the evening – it’s almost a week later and our ears are still ringing.
Excision and SkisM – sEXisM (Original Mix)
Excision & Downlink – The Underground (Original Mix)
Excision – Execute (Original Mix)
Excision – Sleepless feat. Savvy (Original Mix)
Excision and Downlink – Swerve (Original Mix)
Photos by Andrew Spada
To see the entire Fall Massive album, check it out here.
Categories: Music