If you weren't at the Los Angeles Shrine Auditorium this past weekend for Q Dance third stand alone event, you should be kicking yourself. Saturday night was one for the books for the hard dance scene in North America as they brought upon an insane lineup. Walking up to the venue you could already feel the 150 BPM bass shaking the place.
As we walked in, we were amazed by the outstanding production Q Dance put on (which is never short than impressive.) The stage was constructed of a massive LED back drop as well as a full LED booth that spanned from wall to wall. Lighting was in place from the bottom of the stage to the ceiling then half way out on the crowd to make the entire venue engulfed in lights. LA's very own Skylapse opened the show setting the mood with upbeat hard house and incorporating live vocals into their set. As they closed out, MC Villian took the stage to welcome the crowd and get us ready for what's next. Audiofreq took the stage to really get the night going. Audiofreq never seems to disappoints as his high energy shows while playing. He ended his North American tour at Q Dance LA which made for an emotional set all around. Playing old tracks and new, such as his genre bending track Riot, the crowd seemed extremely pleased and ready to take on more.
Up next was the returning duo, Psyko Punkz. Rocking the crowd at the first Q Dance event in LA, they were no strangers to the crowd nor venue. Playing their massive hits like Drunken Masta, We Stay Up, and Trippy Hippy, they gave us a great set that had the crowd dancing from start to finish. Each artist got a full hour to give it their all and no doubt about it everyone did. As Pysko Punkz closed, the crowd started chanting for the next artist. No other than Technoboy rose from the stage and opened up with Digital Nation. The night was in full effect, production was at a high with lasers, fire, confetti and streams shooting from C02 cannons. A crowd favorite and a legend in the scene, Technoboy gave the crowd exactly what they wanted as he played old classics to new age hits. Coone soon took over who was also finishing his USA tour at The Sound of Q Dance. Going across North America for his Global Dedication tour, he ended his final stop with a bang.
The night took a turn as each artist got harder and the BPMs began to raise. Zatox began his set with Back In The Days, which is a new track from his first full length album New World Order. The crowd went wild as he began to debut his title song from the album for his first time live. Zatox took on the night and made it his as the crowd started chanting his name. He was definitely one artist that North America (LA especially) has been waiting for. As the night was soon to be over, the kicks got harder and faster. Q Dance has been known to end their events with full blown hardcore dance music, and they did just that. Evil Activities took over with E-Life for the final act of the night. Hardcore rattled the venue with BPMs going past 200 and a friendly mosh pit for the entire hour.
The night got to a close and the fans soon vacated the building. Q Dance Part 3 ended up one for the Books as expected. Hardstyle is here to stay in America and Q Dance is on the forefront for what's to come. We are all eagerly waiting for the next announcement and can't wait for what they've got up their sleeve. A big thank you to Q Dance for having us out!
