Photos by Steve Garfinkel Photography
A week ago, Philadelphia’s bass community flourished in a scene of rapid movement and sweat so intense the walls seemed to be perspiring. As always, the stage was set for another wild night at District N9ne provided to you by the Big 3: University EDM, EDM Entertainment, and Catharsis Collective. The three promotion companies have been featured on our site plenty of times for their talent of building lineups that make every other city in the United States jealous for a night. This week, another trio of major names brought with them the second installment of the Vicious concert series. With the first branded party, names such as Trollphace, Spag Heddy, and Squnto smacked Philly in the face with their heavy sets. This time around, the lineup seemed to even upstage the previously stacked lineup featuring Gentleman’s Club and Midnight Tyrannosaurus on opening duties. Headlining was Never Say Die OG Eptic who has continually impressed electronic fans with his constant stream of forward thinking bass music.
We entered the building with high hopes and major anticipation, being welcomed by a line stretching around the block. The cold didn’t seem to bother fans who were eagerly braving the weather with excitement. Upon entering the venue, the viciousness had seemed to already have begun. Walking in during the first song of Midnight T’s set, we were lucky enough to be able to catch all three major sets in full. Happily, we can report that there was no disappointment from any of the three artists. Midnight T brought his signature anger filled sound and filled his set with genre bending tunes while still focusing on the tunes made by his closest friends in the underground scene. With double drops hitting every few minutes, the crowd was riled up to say the least. The barrier at the front of the venue lasted a few minutes at best and never seemed to recover. We credit this to the rail squad who showed the railing absolutely no mercy as they properly should have! Eptic’s set was exactly what fans were expecting. While the mixing was on point and the track selection featured the best of the best from Never Say Die Records, there was a sense throughout the venue of repetitiveness. While dance music is based on repetition, this was not the necessary kind. The set felt eerily similar to the set that Eptic had played the last time he was in the city. While we were not disappointed in his technical skills whatsoever, we would have liked to see him take more risks, and hope that he does the next time he visits the city of brotherly love.
I know what you’re asking yourself, did he not even mention Gentleman’s Club? Arguably one of the most influential dubstep acts in the UK, the group has consistently impressed fans and critics alike, proving the close relationship between riddim and UK grime. Their fan base seems to grow more and more as each release tops the charts, and the dedication of their fans is impeccable. So why did we skip them? We didn’t, have some patience in us.
Gentleman’s Club last weekend showed Philadelphia what a dubstep set should look like. Drop after drop from the first song to the last, the group defied all already strikingly high expectations and savaged fans inside and outside of the venue. How could they have reached outside of the venue you might ask? Well, we’ll continue to tell you curious dubstep fan. Their set was so incredibly powerful, fans couldn’t stop dancing in the smoking section directly outside of the venue. Headbang circles formed in and out and attendees were losing it to the point of climbing all over the venue including the walls and pillars. If there was a way for a dubstep fan to show their ridiculously intense love for the set, it was done. Not only was the mixing as close to perfect as a group can get, but on top of that, we seemed to only be able to recognize 50% of their tunes as unreleased. About half the set was extremely rare dub plates which we have only heard rumors about. We dreamed about hearing them one day, and thanks to Gentleman’s Club, we had the opportunity to. Basically, for the love of all that is holy, dubstep gods please bring these UK masterminds back to our city as soon as humanely possible. We will be forever grateful.
