React Detroit unleashed with Freaky Deaky
I often find myself describing to people I meet, how it is to be in the EDM industry. Perspectives obviously change as one goes from being the entertained to the observer. I’ve been to a decent amount of shows, from the underground to the lavish, and I find myself constantly looking to be impressed further by a genre of music that I already love. Certain shows I’ve left with the thought, “well, that was another show, not too bad.” Saturday night’s Freaky Deaky however, goes down in my books as one of those show nights to remember.
There is something about Detroit’s vibe that I can never fully word or explain. I’ve mentioned this feeling before in prior articles. There is that expectation from the crowd for quality and talent – it’s unspoken but you can clearly feel it. These people don’t come out for any itunes playlist set, they come out for the real deal. They’re not afraid of hearing something new, something dirty, something extremely wompy or minimal. In fact, this crowd asks for it, and the harder the hit, the weirder the sound, the more excited they get. I can appreciate why Claude Vonstroke loves to play in his hometown, because he embodies that sentiment and applies it towards his sets, especially when he is here in Detroit.
For the Halloweekend Saturday, that same crowd lined up outside Bert’s Warehouse once again, dressed in their costume finest. Witches, fairies, zombies, and weirdly enough a bathroom shower came together knowing this was the only place to be. React Detroit presented Freaky Deaky as their launch party and definitely a few thousand had come out to be entertained. While the Avicii show a week earlier had been more of a test run, this Saturday was the real deal. I arrived already excited for the night with the anticipation of the well chosen line up: Claude Vonstroke, Tiga, Boombox, and Calvertron as well as opening artists Yos, Matt Clarke, and countless other local djs. Doors opened at 8 and the show indeed went on until 5am. Headliners started with Boombox followed by Claude VonStroke, Tiga, and closed with Calvertron.
In between Boombox’s set and vonStroke’s I was brought to the back area in back of the cafe where a table was set up and local talents entertained a much smaller, personal crowd. A perfect environment if you got perhaps tired of the crowd at the main stage and just needed a moment to either sit and dance without being overwhelmed. A great idea if you ask me, making use of the back area and enlightening the partygoers to who is their local talent. A lot of people tend to forget that djs have to pay their dues testing out their tracks locally before they hit the worldwide tours – and this was the perfect avenue to do so.
While Boombox’s set had a more funk, Tiga’s and vonStroke’s delved into the minimal with bass drops that literally shook the floor with good vibrations from the solid soundsystem that had been put in place. During CVS’s [Claude vonStroke's] performance, the chord struck home for the crowd who knew this was home brewed talent coming back to deliver something special. Front row, a Detroit flag was brought out, only to be lifted in the air by CVS seconds later on stage. After CVS Tiga took over with quite the set himself, running the crowd until 4am when you think the energy levels would be tapering off. As soon as Calvertron came on right after and played that first bass line, the crowd went wild with a second wind for the dubstep and drum n bass that ensued.
It seemed like I was floating around in a dream – perhaps one of my own. I often wish I was a clubgoer at the times of Twilo in New York City or Detroit in the earlier years of electronic music. I know I perhaps will never experience that now, since there has been a lot of development and advancement for the genre, but Saturday brought me pretty close. With an energy this raw and a strong pride of the Motor City present, how could I not be elated? Now after two extremely successful events, I look forward to what line ups React Detroit will bring next. My strongest recommendation is to keep watch on their facebook page and alway set their dates in your calendar, because this is one company that does not disappoint. I sit here impatiently, waiting for the next night React brings so that I can be wowed.
Vocal Chords by Claude VonStroke
Beat That Bird (feat. Justin Martin) by Claude VonStroke
FS & Reidspeed – Bass Monster (Calvertron Remix) (Clip) by calvertron
Pet Shop Boys – Minimal (Tiga’s M-I-N-I-M-A-L Remix) by TIGA
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