12/30/2012 - RPM Presents and Pacha NYC really outdid themselves with an event where all the artists could easily be considered headliners. Walking into Pier 94 on this chilly evening, I couldn't help but notice how the weather had little to no effect on New York City's EDM fanatics. It felt as if you were at a summer festival; girls barely clothed but still rocking their boots with the fur and guys in an array of rave wear. The morale was extremely high and you could feel it in the air, literally, a 133,000 square foot sauna. The venue is enormous with multiple bars and a VIP section lining the walls of the hall on risers, creating a clear view of the stage. Also, there was a giant futuristic vehicle of some sort in the center of the room that was used as a secondary dance platform. Atop were dancers in outfits full of feathers and glitter that you couldn't help but shift your focus to.
Diplo performing at Pier 94 on December 28, 2012.
Sazon Booya, a young moombahton duo with an insane hype man dubbed Mysterio, were the first performance to catch my eye. Blasting jaw dropping sounds artists wish they could have come up with flawlessly and setting the tone for the entire event. Sazon Booya's set came to a conclusion, but that did not stop Mysterio from crowd surfing and hyping up the ravers during the following artists performances. As per usual, the most exciting part was when Diplo took to the throne. The fans were hungry and Diplo fed them exactly what they were craving; a unique mix of hip hop favorites, moombahton, and the highly explosive new genre, trap music. Recently, Diplo has been erecting his own Twerk Wall within each venue to allow his fans to get their interpretive dance on. A place to take snapshots and post it to social media with the hashtags #TWERKWALL… but that is not the only place where all the twerking went down.
Diplo performing 'Express Yourself' at Pier 94 on December 28, 2012.
Shrieking girls eagerly reached out towards Diplo in the hopes of being selected to express themselves on stage. Diplo carefully picked a handful of the finest women from the front of the rage cage and brought them up onto the stage. Allowing the legendary 'Express Yourself' to commence. Right then and there I knew Diplo had stolen the show. After a nearly impossible set to follow, Afrojack was up at bat. He grabbed the mic and his unmistakable voice echoed throughout the establishment. He brought the excitement of the crowd to an all time high as he gave a shout out to the one and only New York City. Nick's label "Jacked" is a hit making army with hangers full of bass booming missiles. He gave an impeccable performance showcasing him and his posse's new creations. The show was remarkable, but I think RPM Presents and Pacha NYC need to bring Diplo to our city as a headliner… and fast. #FREETHEUNIVERSEE
Don't sleep on this people. Afrojack has just added a second NYC date including a show with Diplo at Pier 94 on Sunday, December 30th. Tickets go on sale Thursday, December 13th, at www.RPMpresents.com/pier94. Make the right decision and attend this event.
10/05/2012 - Recently, I have seen Porter Robinson & Zedd perform at Electric Zoo, Roseland Ballroom, and Pacha NYC, so basically every style venue respectively speaking. Although this review is only on my experience at Pacha NYC, I think it pretty much sums up all three shows considering their mixing style and song selection was outrageously similar throughout. My standards are higher then average and I know most concert goers in the greater New York area are spoiled with top tier DJs spinning at multiple establishments just blocks away on any given night of the week.
Porter Robinson & Zedd are both very capable of making massive house tracks, as we all know from previous productions. However, these two, along with so many other DJ/producers fall comfortable to producing music using the same BPMs and similar sounds, if not the same sound, in many of their songs. Sure, that whiney growling sound does make for a great drop in songs such as Unison or Shave It, but use the sound once and get rid of it, or at least don't use it again until people forget a little bit. Enduring four hours of the Pacha sound system growling at me got boring after a while, so I decided to venture down into the Pacha pit to spice up my night. The songs these two produce are just too similar which reflects in the sets they perform together. I liked how Pacha NYC held Erick Morillo and Chuckie at the same event because how different their music is from each other. There was something for everyone.
Although the night got off to a rough start as the night progressed the show got better. I got to hear a Gangnam Style Bootleg featuring PSY, a song you have heard in some form numerous the past few weeks if you listen to music. I also heard a remix to Porter Robinson's 100% in the Bitch that was nearly as good as the original, which I didn't think was possible. If you've seen Porter Robinson lately you've probably heard the song Believe Me (Botnek Remix) by AC Slater & Xaphoon Jones, which is a tune sporting a jungle vibe definitely worth downloading. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed numerous tracks within the duos set but was just expecting more then what I got. Some of the best tracks I could not identify during the night are probably Porter Robinson or Zedd productions. Overall, I think Porter Robinson & Zedd are great producers that need to spice up performances along with some other DJs and add a little more variety in production style of their songs.
Porter Robinson and Zedd did work at the Electric Zoo After Party at Roseland Ballroom. This tour is dead on. Seeing both of them perform together was pretty cool and I can see a lot coming from this partnership. Friday, October 5, 2012 is the date Poseiden The Back to Back tour touches down at Pacha NYC! Going to be one of those nights for sure.
After Size In The Park transformed into Size In The Water Park… Pacha NYC's After Party never looked so good. I figured it would be a safe bet to sit the day party out and grab the after party by the horns fully rested. It seemed to be the best decision of the weekend. Steve Angello and fellow BroBot, Junior Sanchez, played the dirtiest sets I've heard in a minute from both of them. Steve Angello took to the decks pretty late on the count between Size In The Park and Pacha NYC Steve actually detoured to New Jersey's 4Sixty6 for a quick set as well. 3 events in one day… triple booking it or working hard? Either way I don't think anyone got the performance like Pacha NYC did. The music was cranked and Steve played some dark ass tunes, a complete 360 from what most people must of been expecting. A tech house bonanza. Steve Angello controlled the heart of Pacha with a steady pulse serging through all levels of the clubs and occupants. AN21 & Max Vangeli even stopped by for big bro's/labelmate's shindig. Pacha is huge and must have been close to its capacity on this night, the entire establishment was overflowing with people doing it BIG… Why? Because Size Matters.
