The Sword Made of Glowsticks

 
I have been to my fair share of concerts and very few compare to what I experienced Thursday night at the Canopy Club. What might have been one of the most anticipated shows of the year, Sonny Moore (better known as Skrillex) literally killed it on and off stage.

After a long day in Chicago I got a pleasant message from Joe Castro of Positive Vibr8ions letting me know I was on the guest list. I immediately ditched my plans in the city and hopped on the next train to the suburbs.  From there I took a three hour car ride to Champaign, arriving with just barely enough time to jump out of my business casual outfit into something more appropriate for the show.

Upon entering Canopy Club, you could tell everyone was there to rage. The neon tank tops, pink furry wigs, blow pops, and pacifiers were just a few hints as to what type of night it was going to be. Let me preface the remainder of this blog by saying this: I was sober. Yes, completely sober. All. Night. Long.

One may ask “Why would you ever go to the Skrillex show sober?”. Well HC followers, I woke up around 5:15AM that morning, walked the streets of Chicago for an entire afternoon, sprinted to Union Station to catch the 4:20PM train, and almost fell into a deep coma on the ride back to Champaign. All of this, however, could not stop me from seeing what promised to be an epic Skrillex performance.

From start to finish, the show was top notch. Milk N Cookies started the night off with a high energy set, Roe Dee spitting straight fire, and all three guys wearing the new glow in the dark shirts brought to campus by AKAK senior Marc Blumenthal called “Wear The Party”.  Milk N Cookies played their newest track “We Are Illinois” and the crowd went crazy. The song is a rebuttal to Indiana University’s popular anthem “This Is Indiana”.  Next up, Positive Vibr8ions brought a whole new energy to the stage. As they dropped some grimey dubstep beats, the crowd became increasingly anxious to see Skrillex. DJ Solo was the last of the three openers and couldn’t have done a better job of getting the crowd fired up and ready to go for Skrillex to arrive on stage.

Skrillex started off his set with “My Name Is Skrillex”, an appropriately named song that got the crowd going nuts. I have never seen so many people just vibe to dubstep music harder than that night. The crowd’s energy rubbed off on Skrillex too as he become noticeably more excited to be there as the show went on. A guy in a green body suit was seen crowd surfing all night until the security pulled him onto stage with the intentions of kicking him out. Skrillex stopped the show and said, “Leave that guy on stage. He’s awesome!”.
Now here’s where the glowstick sword comes into play. Some genius crafted a beautifully structured sword out of glowsticks and was waving it around all night. Skrillex takes the sword and pretended to be a combination of King Arthur, Queen Elizabeth, and Luke Skywalker all in one. The crowd went crazy as he flailed the sword around.
 
One of the most impressive and heartwarming parts of the show was when Mark Harrison (Positive Vibr8ions) and Kurt Handzel rehydrated the crowd by bringing out pitchers and cups of water. Skrillex even paused the show to thank the guys for taking such good care of the crowd. Once again, no surprise that Positive Vibr8ions and Handzel would do such a selfless deed. The crowd left the show wanting more and Skrillex rewarded them with one encore song. By far some of the most fun I’ve ever had, and remember, I was sober!
 
In other music news, be sure to check out The White Panda’s new mixtape titled “Pandamonium”. This 40 track mixtape will keep your Unofficial party going all day long. Also, if anyone else felt violated while watching Lady Gaga’s new music video for “Born This Way” I am right there with you. Gaga has surpassed creativity and surprise and just went straight overboard with this one in my opinion.
 
In even more exciting news, I am thrilled  about WPGU Presents: The 312 Summer Camp Music Festival Pre-Party with Girl Talk  at The Canopy Club on April 23^rd. Tickets are $25 and go on sale Wednesday, March 2^nd at Wompdown Wednesdays. WPGU will be doing a live broadcast and yours truly will be mixing a live Girl Talk power hour in the studio and keeping you updated on how long the line for tickets is along with info on Wompdown Wednesday. Tune in tomorrow at 10PM!
 
With Unofficial just a few days away, these beats will bring you luck all day long:
1.     Give Me Everything –  Pitbull Ft. Ne-Yo, Afrojack & Nayer
2.     Drowning (Avicii Remix)- Armin Van Buuren Ft. Laura V
3.     Lover’s Carvings- Bibio
4.     All Black Everything- Lupe Fiasco
5.     Baby Roulette- Chiddy Bang Ft. Train
6.     Turbulence- Laidback Luke & Steve Aoki Ft. Lil Jon
7.     Rope- Foo Fighters
8.     Knock Knock- Mac Miller
9.     Sweat (David Guetta Remix)- Snoop Dogg
10.Shake It To Me- The White Panda
 
Unofficially wishing you happy listening,
Andrea