More photos can be found HERE
A little rain wasn’t going to stop the MMIBTY team from heading out to Quincy, MA for Ocean Club‘s opening night last Thursday the 23rd, featuring sounds by Knife Party and the Pegboard Nerds, as well as residents Bamboora and Voltran. Since this was my third Summer heading to Marina Bay, I had a good idea of what to expect, but nothing prepared me for the biggest game-changer to the venue: the huge visual screen placed directly behind the DJ booth. This may have excited me more than any other aspect of the night, as I’ve been exposed to Knife Party a lot in the last eight months after Electric Zoo and multiple sets on Holy Ship. Moreover, friend and one of the most talented artists in Boston, Jay Nightride of Nightride Visuals, was in charge of what was displayed across this screen. A little rain, some sick visuals, and a lot of bass combined with the good vibes in the air to kick off the night in proper form.
I had had a little knowledge of the Pegboard Nerds via some of their productions and knew they would compliment Knife Party very well. For those who aren’t familiar, the duo consists of Alexander Odden from Norway and Michael Parsberg from Denmark. Though they’ve only been active since 2012, they gained some notoriety with their remix of Krewella’s “Alive”. If you asked me what their sound was like live, I’d tell you they sounded like a Knife Party-lite. A healthy mix of Dubstep, Electro-House, and other Bass Music was played and it really primed the crowd up for what the Australian duo Knife Party would bring.
If my memory serves me correctly, Rob Swire and Gareth McGrillen opened up with “Power Glove”, which is the lead track from their new Haunted House EP. Talk about a crowd that was ready to rage – this one certainly exploded when the chords of “Power Glove” bursted over the speakers. Anyone who has followed Knife Party’s relatively short but successful existence may notice they’ve turned mostly to the world of Electro-House and Big Room House, while leaving their Dubstep and Moombahcore sounds in the dust. Personally I’m okay with this, but some of the fans in attendance last Thursday weren’t 100% pleased with the set. All the hits were played, including “Centipede”, “Bonfire”, “Internet Friends”, and their MASSIVE new track “LRAD”. Fans of Trap music (like us here at MMIBTY), were treated to a couple nice doses mixed in, including the heRobust Trap remix of “Internet Friends” (someone said it was the Ookay remix but I’m sticking with heRobust on this).
Overall the night was a great way to kick off the Summer, regardless of how the weather was acting at the time. I’m looking forward to the shows coming up at Ocean Club, like Eric Prydz this Sunday, Dillon Francis the following week, Dada Life with Dzeko & Torres, and many more (can you say Claude Vonstroke?!). If you were there, let us know what you thought – and as always thanks to the staff at Ocean Club, the guys and girls with Mass EDMC and NV Concepts, and James Coletta for the photo!