Our first sponsored event has come and gone, and it was a raging success. I couldn’t have scripted it any better. I have way more footage/pictures to sift through, but I wanted to give you a little glimpse of the magic from last night with the video above. I clearly was not fit to operate a motor vehicle, as the camera is pretty much just sitting in B-Roc’s grill-mix the entire time, but it gets the point across. Until the other footage comes, let this tide you over.
To read the rest of the recap, hit “Read More” below.
With The Knocks headlining, Capital Cities opening, and DJ B-Rob tearing up the decks, it was borderline impossible for the night to not turn into an absolute rage festival. There really wasn’t another choice. People from all ages came out to support — we had the 18 year olds, the young 20-somethings, cousins, aunts, uncles, parents, girlfriends — people from all different groups prepared to get wild. My pops showed up with one of the more dominating entrances in recent memory — strutting in with his leather jacket and jeans, with the jacket unzipped enough to reveal his sought after blue Chuckness t-shirt. Just took it to another level.
DJ B-Rob hit the stage right after doors opened, and he didn’t wait to start spinning gems. The ability to spin pure gold all night is not something to take for granted; and the kid set the bar high from the get-go. As the crowd increased, people started bobbing their heads more and more, and I consistently overheard people asking who he was/where he came from. Focusing on hip-hop and electronic jams, B-Rob was mixing and mashing fluidly between the two genres like it was no big deal.
Capital Cities hit the stage around 10:15-10:30ish, and the four-piece band was able to feed off of the crowd’s pre-established energy from B-Rob, and continue the party without skipping a beat.They opened up with the infectious “One Minute More”, and ripped through their EP to perfection — all the while maintaining the crowd’s energy. When their hit “Safe + Sound” dropped to close out their set, it was beyond obvious that these dudes are bound for long-term success. Recording original, high-quality songs is one thing, but the ability to perform them live with passion, energy and a great, unique sound is a completely different beast. Capital Cities have both down to a science.
The Knocks hit the stage to a raucous, lubed up (shout out to Tom Brady) crowd around 11:30, and their high-energy set only increased the excitement in the venue. From “Blackout” to “Make It Better” to their absolutely dominant, upcoming new single “Brightside”, they had the audience jumping. This is the second time I’ve seen B-Roc and Mr. JPatt live (the first time being when they opened for Ellie Goulding), and they know how to work a crowd. On a random note, I absolutely lose my shit whenever they bust out the drum solos during their brief remix of The Killers’ “All The Things That I’ve Done” — sounds a little something like this. Like an idiot, I didn’t capture footage of this at the show, but it was as legendary as I remember. As for “Dancing With The DJ”, it goes without saying that the scene popped off like you wouldn’t believe. Things were nowhere near tame — the primary evidence being the crazed fan/stage-dive move shown above. Whoever you are, hit me up and I’ll send you a t-shirt. Respect.
DJ-BRob jumped on again after The Knocks, and continued the mayhem with a late-night, inebriated set that I cannot accurately write on. Except for the fact that he did some personal remix of Mariah Carey’s “Always Be My Baby” and it absolutely burned the house down. Flames everywhere.
All in all, October 1st at The Middle East was just a massive party. It’s always great to see the musicians that I’m into actually be personable, funny dudes that you would normally like to hang out with. I can’t thank The Knocks, Capital Cities and DJ B-Rob enough for putting on a hell of a show. On top of that, a huge, huge thank you to the staff at The Middle East — who were beyond professional and helpful in getting everything set up and organized. There’s a reason that they’re one of the most prominent places to see live music in Boston. Finally, thank you to everyone who came out to support the bands and join the party. You made this initial idea turn into a full-blown reality, and I can’t thank you enough for that.
With the success of this first event, it’s only solidified the fact that there will be more to come. Stay tuned.
