Shawn Russell Johnson
Halloweekend has come and gone, and it was certainly one for the books. New York City (the center of the known Universe), once again shone bright with an eclectic selection of events sure to appeal members of every fanbase imaginable. My time was spent roaming the completely transformed Knockdown Center in Maspeth, Queens at BangOn!NYC’s Warehouse of Horrors and as per usual, they did not disappoint.
Friday night’s festivities began a bit delayed. Although the schedule expected the opening to commence at 10pm, attendees weren’t actually able to enter the building until closer to 10:30 (much to their chagrin). Once through the front doors, the spaced opened up and displayed a thrilling collection of Halloween decor. The delayed opening didn’t keep Beat Kitty from throwing down, however, and those who were blessed enough to get in before her set finished at 11pm certainly got an incredible performance. Throwing together a whirlwind of trap and dubstep, she killed the time she was allotted and certainly helped set the tone for the rest of the night.
Before long, the building was packed to the brim and ghosts and ghouls of all kinds spent their time bouncing between stages, dancing to an incredible assortment of artists, and getting lost in the countless interactive installations that BangOn!NYC always provides at their events. One of the most popular attractions of the weekend was the communal pole-dancing station that had guests of all shapes, sizes, costumes, and umm… skill levels, lining up to get a chance to show off their moves.
Upon exploration of the space, I was a bit concerned about crowd control when I realized that the rooms orbiting the mainstage warehouse were exceptionally small. But this simply made raging out with fellow attendees that much more exciting, and surprisingly never grew to sardine-can levels. It was nice to escape the masses for more intimate sets all weekend.
The production throughout the night was top-notch, creating a dynamic environment that kept a majority of attendees going until the final seconds of music rang out around 5am. The notable acts of Saturday included Beat Kitty, Ivy Lab, Christian Martin, The Glitch Mob, Phrisky, and Cyber G. I must say, that the moment Cyber G stepped onstage, he unleashed an onslaught of bass music that gave myself (and most of the rest of the crowd), an exceptional energy boost when it seemed that all of us were losing steam.
After only a bit of resting Saturday, it was time to get back at it and make my way back to Knockdown Center for round 2. I got to the event around 11pm, and caught an exceptional house set by an artist by the name of Diskull. Taking place on the Horror stage, his set of raucous bass house was an exceptional way to get back to the energy that sustained me through the previous night.
While a majority of fans were present at the mainstage for the wildly popular Dirtybird players, I found myself more enamored by the incredible auxiliary acts taking place in the surrounding rooms. I (surprisingly) spent a good portion of time watching Mashrik as he entranced guests at the Alchemy stage with his smooth and worldly deep house vibes. It was an incredible break from the madness and while most of my night was immersed in bombast and heavy bass, the calming danceable beats that took over that hour of my night helped rejuvenate and prepare me for the raging that had yet to come.
From there, it was back to back bangers on the Horror Stage as The Librarian led into Dorfex Bos. The former threw down an incredibly treap-heavy set that had the whole room seem as though it was bouncing with the beat. People were going wild, and her exceptional ability to weave together an endless supply of booty-shaking tracks truly shined through the night’s experience. The Librarian leading into Dorfex Bos however, was the one-two punch that solidified Saturday night as the clear winner for best sets of the weekend. Dorfex Bos took the energy that the Librarian built and turned it into an atomic blast of perfection.
From start to finish, he created a set of pure filth and beauty that I’ve dubbed him the undisputed champion of Halloweekend, and I don’t even care what other events were going on. Working purely off an APC-40 and Ableton Dorfex Bos took the small-room they gave him and made it feel as though he was playing to an arena of thousands. We told you in our last article (and pretty much every article about lineups that he’s on) about this event that you shouldn’t miss Dorfex Bos, and he proved once again that there are no exceptions. Hands down, the best set of the weekend.
I know I’ll likely catch some flak for this next comment but after how blown away I was from the previous sets, I didn’t need much of Claude Vonstroke before I kept wandering the event space to make sure I took in all that it had to offer. Don’t get me wrong, everything I saw from the Dirtybird Head Honcho was exceptional, satisfying, and fun to watch, but it just didn’t have the same unrivaled energy that I had just experienced.
The rest of the night was full of friends, fun, and of course great music. Closing out the night was a dope set from VNSSA, as well as a fun BangOn!NYC b2b that continued until the clock struck 5am.
As the crowds dispersed and costumed freaks and fans spilled out into the streets of Queens, I looked back into the warehouse and smiled to myself for another successful weekend spent with one of my favorite brands in New York. BangOn!NYC continues to prove that they know how to throw a party, and I’m eagerly awaiting the announcement for their next event.