Laidback Luke & Insomniac presents: Super You & Me 3/10/12 @ Hollywood Palladium
With a little bit of luck and a whole lot of persistence we were able to secure access to Laidback Luke's first Los Angeles presentation of his Super You & Me Party at the Hollywood Palladium. These infamous comic book dance events have been thrown primarily across the pond in many European cities. With less then a week leading up to the event I had to figure out the best person to contact for media access. Who better to ask then to ask Luke? So I tweeted him and he responded with who to contact. Who would of thought it was going to be that simple? [Sometimes the best way to break into this whole web of music industry personalities is to start w/ your favorite artist.] After a handful of tactful e-mail exchanges with a key emphasis of "If you tell us that same night of the event, even if it is a couple hours right before the doors open, we'll drive up to LA to review the show", we were in. Thank you Luke + Justin @ rephlektor + the comic book gods!
All photos used w/ this Concert Review by: Rukes | Big ups for the fastest turn around!
As we walked towards the Palladium there was a line from the doors of the venue snaking through the whole parking lot up until the sidewalk entrance. It seemed as if everyone was waiting in line for tickets to Comic Con. It may have seemed that way with various Superman, Batman, Robin [the female ones were visually appealing most definitely], Iron Man costumes, and the whole array of Marvel Comic character t-shirts. A group of friends showed up as the Planeteers and just so happened to bump into Captain Planet in the lobby. The excitement and positive vibes were definitely resonating through the air that night. It was as if everyone really took to heart what Luke has said repeatedly about his Super You & Me events, "I just want everyone to dress up as their favorite characters and have a fun night."
Congorock [Official | Facebook | Twitter ]
Being that our media access was literally confirmed a few hours before the event we had to somewhat scramble to take care of familial affairs + get geared up for the event. Eccentric dusted off his trusty Aquabats costume and I went for a Rocketeer type jacket complete with scarf and gloves. As we entered the venue to the rumble of sub bass frequencies we couldn't help but notice the trademark Super You & Me hanging decor as well as the massive LCD + stage set up Insomniac provided for the event. Due to our lateness we were only able to catch the tail end of Congorock's set. I was surprised to find out that he was playing that early, but later reminded myself that it had been quite some time since Congorock was fully on the circuit with new releases + tours. He had the crowd in a steady dance, which finally erupted as he played his remix for Swedish House Mafia's track, One. I haven't heard any DJ play that track in the last year and even though it one of THE tracks to play during the summer of 2010, those who did play it definitely didn't get the same reaction as Congorock did that night. He mixed One into his original mix of Babylon feat. Mr Lexx. This wouldn't be the first time we heard Babylon that night.
Zedd [Facebook | Twitter | Soundcloud]
The first time I saw Zedd was at Beyond Wonderland 2011. He was running late due to flight delays and only had enough time to play three songs. To be honest I was always in doubt of his DJ skills being that he is a "Sync user" w/ Traktor S4, but I've still kept up with him due to his exceptional production work. Being a Traktor S4 user myself who grew up with Hip Hop turntablism since a teenager, I've always been strongly against using Sync UNLESS you're juggling 3 or 4 decks. Keeping all this in mind, I was seriously speechless during his whole set. The number one task/goal/objective/skill set for every DJ whether they're spinning Hip Hop, House, Rock, etc. is crowd control. Believe me when I say he had the crowd in the palm of his hands. I've never seen anyone open up for Laidback Luke and had the whole dance floor jumping up and down for most of their set.
One of the first songs he played that got the whole crowd going was his remix of Skrillex & The Doors "Breakin' a Sweat" [Purchase @ Beatport]. He had everyone clapping their hands while he did filter sweeps to cue in the crowd to sing "I'm Breakin' a Sweat". The crowd didn't let up as he mixed into Dada Life "Kick Out The Epic Motherfucker" [Purchase @ Beatport]. A synonymous crowd reaction at many different house music events has become the "Woot Woot!". The Palladium didn't let me down as they went "Woot Woot!" during Zedd's hand gestures for the crowd to "Woot!" during the 4th downbeat. During his next track "Shave It" [Purchase @ Beatport], he invited out his special guest for the evening, The Shaving Bear. With the intensity of these tracks he just played, the crowd needed a break from all the jumping and dancing. They needed to rest during a crowd pleasing sing a long song. Having appropriately read the crowd correctly he chose to go with a remix of Swedish House Mafia "Save The World" [Purchase @ iTunes | Beatport]. Taking this level of energy with the sing along vibe he escalated into a tease of Justice's "We Are Your Friends".
Now here is where I became thoroughly impressed at the growth of Zedd as a DJ. He knew he had the whole crowd and when you're a performer that has won over the audience you can get away with pretty much any genre/song/bpm choice at will. Here he definitely threw a curve ball when he did a loop roll into a Drum & Bass track. No one saw it coming and to my surprise even I didn't think he would take things to that direction. I don't know what track it was, but it sounded like a Sub Focus track or even something from Netsky. As the crowd went bonkers to the bpm jump he took another calculated risk with mixing into an even more intense sonic build up. He dropped the build for Wolfgang Gatner "Ménage a Trois" [Purchase @ Beatport]. Having played a song w/ no lyrics he felt it was the right time to debut a new track featuring Ellie Goulding on the vocals. The song had a great response and the crowd was left wanting more.
The next block of songs that left a great impression on the crowd was his combination of Chuckie "Who Is Ready To Jump" [Purchase @ Beatport] into Reel 2 Real "I Like To Move It". Even as Zedd did filter sweeps to signal the crowd to yell "Move It!" my buddy tapped me on the shoulder and said, "You know this song is so corny and in any other venue or party it wouldn't work, but here, f)(ck it, MOVE IT!" Another thing I noticed during his set was his ease on the microphone. He commanded the audience and spoke during key parts in songs. I can only image he picked this up from hanging around Steve Aoki and Diplo during Holy Ship! As the Nintendo build up during his rendition of The Legend of Zelda, he instructed everyone to put their Triforce in the air. Here things went from a comic book music convention to straight up geek party complete with 1980s video game references. The best part was that everyone went along with it and had fun. I can go on and on about his fun tease of Daft Punk's One More Time + teases of Bloody Beetroots' Warp and the other fun mixing surprises he let out of his Superman Cape, but as you can tell he fully won me over.
Laidback Luke [Official | Facebook | Twitter | Forum]
"Laidback Luke! Laidback Luke!! Laidback Luke!!!" is what the crowd chanted as he got set up for his attack run. Having experienced extremely different sets from Luke ranging from the supersized stadiums of EDC LA 2010 + EDC LV 2011 all the way down to "smaller" club gigs at Avalon Hollywood + The Grove at Anaheim, I wasn't sure what type of set he was going to swing into action with. The venue's spider sense was tingling with excitement as he put into motion his first batch of songs. Being the experienced DJ he is, he knew he had to let the crowd mellow out just for a tad bit. Zedd had blown the doors off the venue and clearly had a mindset of owning it and not so much warming it up for the headliner. No biggie for Luke as he understands the flow of a DJ set like a seasoned veteran.
You can always expect a full on party set from LBL with energy levels always balanced out at a steady 100% (lowest intensity he'll ever go is 80% and highest 120%). Before one can do this you need to reset the roller coaster of house music with songs that aren't familiar. Luke hit reset and started things off with his latest release "Speak Up" feat. Wynter Gordon [Purchase @ Beatport]. I remember him debuting this song live w/ Wynter Gordon at Coachella 2011 and it's taken almost a full year for it to FINALLY be released. The track isn't widely known as "Dirty Talk" [not yet at least], but it set the tone for his set. Having started with a powerful intro song that got everyone's hands in the air grooving, he proceeded to tease us with a song of his that everyone knew, Turbulence. Lil John's "We hit Turbulence!" is enough to grab anyone's attention and in the hands of a skillful DJ it can be used to build the anticipation throughout the set. He proceeded to travel down the road of more familiar songs to further gain the crowd's trust. He played "My G*O*D - Guns on Demo" [Purchase @ Beatport] and the crowd began to articulate the staccato synth stab build up as Luke did his trademark finger to the sky. Right when you think he was going to go in one direction he grabs the yoke of the plane and does an aerial maneuver that makes the crowd go insane. What did he play?....
Oasis "Wonderwall". OMFG! is the best way to describe the crowds reaction. It was even crazier than when he busted out Bruno Mars during his set at Together As One 2011. Every single person was singing "Cause maybe, you're going to be the one that saves me. And after all, you're my Wonderwall!" I could not believe that he took that risk with that track. It just goes to show that despite Super You & Me being a house music focused party, everyone, I repeat EVERYONE loves musical diversity.
Continuing on with his set full of surprises and musical diversity, Luke shared a block of Moombahton songs. I wish I was fully versed in this growing genre to share with you which tracks he played. All in all it was met with two thumbs up by dancing comic book characters all around the venue. The next succession of songs display Luke's foresight into overall track mapping. The best way to describe a DJ set and the songs one chooses is how a pilot flies a plane at certain altitudes. The altitudes can be compared to the crowd's energy level, or a songs familiarity, or even genre of music. As a DJ/Pilot you are constantly reading the crowd deciding how high or how low to take the party. More importantly one must gauge the speed or rate one can take the party from a certain altitude to another altitude. This may not make any sense to you right now, but hopefully the following songs will illustrate Luke's veteran like piloting skills:Laidback Luke feat. Wynter Gordon "Dirty Talk" into a brief portion of
Steve Angello and Laidback Luke Feat Robin S "Show Me Love" into
Laidback Luke's more recent remix of Madonna ft. M.I.A. & Nicki Minaj "Give Me All Your Love" into
iSquare "Hey Sexy Lady" (Laidback Luke Remix) into
Laidback Luke, Arno Cost, Norman Doray "Trilogy (Original Mix)" into
Laidback Luke & Example "Natural Disaster" w/ loop roll into
Swedish House Mafia "Save The World Remix?" into build up of
Chuckie "Who Is Ready To Jump? Remix?"! into build up of
Chuckie vs. Busta Rhymes vs. Bassjackers vs. La Fuente vs. Jan Hartwig "Who Is Ready To Jump Jump Mush Mush Bang Bang (Laidback Luke Mashup)"!! w/ loop roll into
House of Pain "Jump Around"!!!
Above you can see how Luke starts off with a familiar crowd favorite and then teases briefly into an instant crowd pleaser. He then jumps forward in time to a few more recent creations of his. So far he's gone with hits that everyone knows and can sing along to. He's flying at a pretty good altitude. If he were to drop back down no one would complain. Instead of letting us rest he pushes our energy to even greater heights by using the theme of "Jump" with three consecutive tracks, the last being a crowd pleaser that's easily accessible by EVERYONE in the crowd. I mean even the old lady telling people to not stand around in the middle walk way was smiling and dancing to House of Pain "Jump Around".
Again, I can go on and on and paint a picture of your favorite Marvel and/or DC superheroes having fun at Super You & Me, but I'll just keep on rambling. Know this, he continued to tease us with "We hit Turbulence!" throughout his set. There was a sprinkling of skratching by Luke that illustrated his love for turntablism. He played out another instant crowd sing along pleaser, his remix of Alice Deejay "Better Off Alone" [Purchase @ iTunes]. Finally ,right when you thought he wasn't going to play it, he finally let his Super You & Me plane ride get super wild with "Turbulence" [Purchase @ Beatport]. The track was complete with confetti blasting out from the venue ceiling. Laidback Luke has continued to amaze, entertain, and educate me on not only music, djing, but just plain old having fun.
GTA [Facebook | Twitter | Soundcloud]
Unknown to most of those attending, the party was set to go until 5am with GTA fulfilling the closing DJ set duties. I've learned about GTA through their bootleg of East Coast 90s anthem "Bad Boys 4 Life" by P.Diddy [Free Download here]. I was curious to how their set was going to be. I could barely hang on as the Red Bull started to fade away from my system. I decided to hold out as long as I could and heard them start their set off with straight 4/4 rhythms. No build ups and no hooks. Finally when you'd think the remaining crowd had lost their attention they played a familiar tune that had not been played the whole night. Nero "Crush On You" (GTA & LA Riots Remix) is what they played. I had to sift through GTA's twitter page to figure out what the remix was. Right when we were about to leave they brought us back on the dance floor with a remix of Major Lazer "Original Don" [Purchase @ iTunes | Beatport]. The remaining left in the crowd experienced their second wind of energy to carry them onto the 5am hour. Unfortunately for me, I had work in about 4hrs and had to leave Super You & Me with a smile on my face and a shout into the night "Bumaclot!"
Comments + Suggestions:
1) No alcohol served past 1:30am?!: To my surprise they do not serve alcohol at the Hollywood Palladium past 1:30am. As I approached the really cool and slightly heavy handed bartender, I asked for my usual Jameson neat. He apologized and explained that he no longer can serve alcohol past 1:30am. It was 1:32am on my watch and back home in Long Beach they're barely calling last call. To take things a step further they usually serve alcohol right until 1:50am at most local pubs here in Long Beach. I was confused and went to all the other alcohol serving stations and it was the same story. Knowing that most businesses are hurting in this economy and that most of these businesses are desperately trying to stay afloat, you'd think they'd continue to sell alcohol until AT LEAST 1:45am. The concert went until 5am and after all that dancing I was pretty much sober after an hour at the most. I know my pain was felt across the board as many continued to step up to the bars only to be disappointed. How do we fix this? Utilize the MANY flat screens across the beverage area to display when alcohol will no longer be served. These screens listed all the drink prices to help further speed up the purchase process, but they failed to notify us concert goers what time they would stop selling liquor. If they had notified us we would have nothing to complain about other than our own inability to read words on a screen.
2) Repeat songs: We heard Swedish House Mafia "Save The World" | Congorock "Babylon" | Dada Life "Kick Out The Epic Motherfucker" | + a couple more multiple times throughout the night. We know and understand these are crowd pleasers. They grab everyone's attention and raise the energy level to new soaring heights. Yes, we did also take note that different versions of each track were played. All in all it's merely an observation that if we noticed it, we're sure there were others at the party who noticed it too.
Laidback Luke Tour Dates [via]:
13 Mar Buchannan’s El Paso (TX, US)
14 Mar Dadyo’S Cancun (MX, US)
15 Mar Lizard Lounge Dallas (TX, US)
16 Mar Mohawk Austin (TX, US)
17 Mar Stereo Live Houston (TX, US)
21 Mar Super You&Me - LIV Miami (FL, US)
22 Mar Mixmash Pool Party - The National Miami (FL, US)
24 Mar Ultra Music Festival Miami (FL, US)
26 Mar Coliseum Nightclub Tallahassee (FL, US)
27 Mar Vault Nightclub Gainesville (FL, US)
29 Mar Starlite Ballroom Philadelphia (PA, US)
30 Mar Glo Long Island ( NY, US)
31 Mar Terminal 5 NYC (NY, US)
31 Mar Pacha NYC (NY, US)
05 Apr Flash Forum Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates)
06 Apr Titan Lyon (France)
07 Apr Cocoon Frankfurt (Germany)
08 Apr Glam Nightclub Cardiff (UK)
08 Apr Ministry of Sound London (UK)
10 Apr Majestic Madison (WI, US)
11 Apr Necto Ann Arbor (MI, US)
12 Apr Hoxton Toronto ( ON, US)
13 Apr Beta Waterloo (ON)
14 Apr Barrymore’s Music Hall Ottawa (ON, US)
15 Apr Day Glo Syracuse (NY, US)
17 Apr Lupo’s Providence (RI, US)
18 Apr Toad’s Place New Haven (CT, US)
19 Apr Powerplant Plaza Baltimore (MD, US)
20 Apr University Of Delaware Newark (DE, US)
21 Apr Stage AE Pittsburgh (PA, US)
22 Apr Canopy Club Urbana (IL, US)
23 Apr Bluebird Bloomington (IN, US)
04 May The Wright Avenue Dublin (Ireland)
05 May Inox Festival Toulouse (France)
07 May Magnetic Festival Prague (Czech Republic)
Nativity
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