LED takes over Los Angeles with inaugural OMFG! LA [Review]OMFG14 18

LED takes over Los Angeles with inaugural OMFG! LA [Review]

There’s a reason I’ve spent my past two New Years’ Eves in San Diego, and it boils down to a three letter acronym: LED. The event promotion and production company, also referred to as myLifeEveryDay, has consistently conjured up fantastic New Years’ Eve events for the past three years. While I spent the last two in San Diego at the hands of Porter Robinson, Hardwell, Zedd, Dillon Francis, Nero, and more, this year I was intrigued by their inaugural Los Angeles edition of OMFG! NYE. With the likes of DJ Snake, GTA, Boys Noize, Madeon, and a late addition of Feed Me on the bill, it was simply an event I could not miss.

I arrived at the colossal Shrine Auditorium as DJ Snake was turning the place upside down with his old school mixing skills and riotous remixes. From a slowed down version of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller,” to the Parisian producer’s bombastic remix of Kanye West’s “New Slaves,” DJ Snake had the audience in the palm of his hand. Aside from a few hitches (he was on turntables to be fair), the Parisian DJ’s mixing skills were damn impressive. Throughout his entire set, Snaked flawlessly sampled hip-hop and 90’s classics, working the songs in with his own productions (he transitioned from “Turn Down for What” into Dr. Dre’s “The Next Episode” for instance).

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GTA kept up the intensity, sustaining a similar vibe to Snake by opening with Heroes x Villains popular remix to “Bugatti.” The duo showcased their repertoire of brazen productions from the past year moving through their famous festival tracks like “Turn It Up” and “Hit It.” Call it personal bias, but the set got a bit stale for me. I was more than ready for an hour and a half of Boys Noize by the end of the set.

Alex Ridha had a fantastic 2013; it was evident throughout his entire set. Opening with “Middle Finger 2” and later playing “Chella Ride,” I was reminded of the rampant success of Dog Blood in 2013. As Ridha introduced his own originals like “Starwin” and “Go Hard,” I was further reminded of his own accomplishments throughout the year as Boys Noize.

My curious reflections were interrupted only by the abrupt silence of a stalled CDJ-2000. The bass from the enormous sound system had apparently rattled the machine so hard that it activated the play button, or at least that was what Boys Noize irritatedly muttered over the mic. Regardless, Ridha got right back on track, dropping Bro Safari and Space Laces’ rambunctious “Fang Banger,” followed later by  Disclosure’s “Latch.” This sort of unconventional approach to his set was epitomized best by his ending. Closing his set, Ridha looped Nirvana’s “Lithium” while sampling Green Velvet’s iconic “La La Land:” a curious, yet intoxicating combination.

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Though he vowed to temporarily give up DJ’ing in 2013, it seems that Feed Me simply can’t stay away from the decks. Following Boys Noize’s set was the mischievous Mr. Gooch, who dawned his beloved alter ego for an hour and a half performance. With Calamari Tuesday still fresh in everyone’s mind, Feed Me tore through the tracklist, showing off the appeal of the album in a live setting.

Just as he did on his debut LP, Gooch began his set with the entrancing “Orion.” As if it were a phoenix shedding the ashes and reincarnating before our eyes, Feed Me’s set slowly came to life, growing stronger with each ascension of melody. When the dark, engrossing beat finally arrived, the crowd sprung into action, joyously marauding away. The adrenaline rush was compounded by Feed Me’s feisty ‘Matilda Remix’ of “Love Is All I Got.” While Gooch easily won over the crowd with recognizable album hits like “Rat Trap” and “Lonely Mountain,” I was most impressed by his ability to work in less-known album songs like the off-beat dub track “Ophelia” and the elegant progressive house piece “Dazed.”

Closing out the night, the indomitable Madeon took the stage just after midnight. The last time I saw Madeon was exactly two years prior, at OMFG! San Diego. At the time, Madeon was a relatively new phenomenon in the dance world. While “Pop Culture” and his “Raise Your Weapon” remix had propelled him into the limelight, the young Frenchman was still polishing his risky, avant-garde mixing style. This time around, Madeon’s abilities were well on point.

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Despite a few technical hiccups (CPU overload much?), Madeon delivered an hour and a half set of quick and diverse mixing. While his own beautiful originals like “Technicolor” and “Icarus” blanketed the set, Madeon included countless tantalizing tracks from his peers, taking us through a journey of emotions. At one point, the dark, snaking beat of Gesaffelstein’s “Pursuit” erupted on the dance floor, bringing a primal intensity to the set. Soon after, Madeon would have us all swooning to Dillon Francis and TEED’s “Without You.” His ability to seamlessly shift gears was compounded by tracks like The M Machine’s hefty remix to “The City” and A-Trak’s softer remix to “Trying to Be Cool.”

Overall, LED has proven once again their prowess when it comes to promotion and event production. I’ve spent my last three New Years’ Eves attending LED’s OMFG! and for good reason: their lineups are killer and their production is reliable. While the night featured a few technical difficulties, they were but minor stitches in an otherwise smooth and satisfying NYE experience, catalyzed primarily by the talents of Boys Noize, Feed Me and Madeon.

Photo Credit: Zachary Patino (Imagination Visions)

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