Holy Ship! Preparty Featuring Major Lazer
Revolution, Fort Lauderdale
January 5, 2011
By all known counts, only one out of the three people who usually comprise Major Lazer was on stage last night -- Diplo. Switch and hype man Skerrit Bwoy were nowhere to be seen. However, they didn't seem to be missed by many. Maybe that's because most in attendance were too jazzed for the four-day Holy Ship! cruise -- which will feature more minutes of beats than most mortals could even handle -- to miss anything at all. The vibe of the evening was crackling with excitement for the voyage ahead.
While the Major Lazer set may have lacked a couple of bodies, it did not lack an ounce of intensity. The set was primarily driven by an onslaught of well delivered dancehall, but veered quite a bit from that genre in various directions as well. A few highly recognizable, classic techno jams, and remixes of Blur's "Song 2," the Beastie Boys' "Intergalactic," and Toots and the Maytals' "54-46 (That's My Number)" were among the selections that made their way into the ferocious set.
Surrounding the music was more ferocity, on stage and off. The entire club -- stage included -- was filled to capacity with frenzied, young electro-animals. A pair of hyper-charged, hyper-sexed gals were thrusting wildly in front of the DJ table for the duration of Major Lazer, and fellow DJs joined in the hyping and gyrating motion. In the crowd, the motion was mirrored and every so often a representative from one group would hurl themselves across the non-existent line between performer and party-goer. Crowd surfing was nearly constant.
Leading up to the headlining set, many folks waited in line for close to an hour to enter the club while others rocked out with the fiery DJ Craze. Though some in line were antsy to get in, most chatted excitedly about what was ahead and where they came from. Canadians, many Australians, and folks from all over the U.S. were glowing with excitement and interesting electro-garb. In all, the night did what anything calling itself a preparty should do: create good momentum.
Critic's Notebook:
The vibe: Was dirty and excited. A very crazy ship is about to set sail.
Random detail: The best-dressed award goes to the guy in line with an actual technicolored dreamcoat.
By the way: Diplo expressed much love for Broward County, his birthplace.
New Times on Facebook | County Grind on Facebook | Twitter | e-mail us |
