Dubstep is overtaking the music scene, reviving electronica and invading Baltimore. There is no better evidence than the sold out show that Skrillex, 12th Planet, Foreign Beggars and Nadastrom played last Wednesday at Rams Head as part of the Mothership Tour.
The venue was packed with a variety of people, including Hopkins students, but mostly with kids too young to buy themselves beer (the makings of a violently sober pit). Everyone came ready to spend the night on their toes, dancing to the music.
Nadastrom, fronted by D.C. natives Dave Nada and Matt Nordstrom, started the night with basic but dance-inducing beats.
Foreign Beggars, who originate from the birthplace of dubstep and consist of rappers Orifice Vulgatron and Metropolis, producer Dag Nabbit and DJ NoNames, drew more people to the stage with their snappy raps and water-throwing antics.
The crowd nearly doubled in size after the first two openers. Once 12th Planet hit the stage, everyone surged forward in anticipation.
John Dadzie, the man behind 12th Planet, did a fantastic job of pumping up the crowd and getting them ready for headliner Skrillex.
Dadzie played several favorites, including "Needed Change" and his mash up of Rusko's "Hold On" versus DJ Khaled's "All I Do Is Win" featuring Ludacris, Rick Ross, T-Pain and Snoop Dogg. During his performance, he braved a dive into the adoring crowd for a quick ride.
Later that night Dadzie took to the stage again for the concert's after party at Baltimore club Paradox, where he and Skrillex tag-teamed a set and played new song "Breaking A Sweat" to a more intimate crowd.
Fans didn't have to wait long after Dadzie finished. Skrillex took to the stage almost immediately and lived up to his reputation as dubstep royalty.
He blew everyone away with classics, an inexplicably lively stage presence and an over-the-top optical illusion lights show that played tricks on the eye all night.
Best experienced from the front, tall towers formed a cascade of columns around him, and spun and flowed in beautiful colors like a larger-than-life three-dimensional iTunes visualizer.
During some songs, they would rise and fall in time with the music, imitating a spectrum analyzer — an appropriate visual for the night of dubstep.
On a large screen behind him, the image of what looked like an alien robot with striated muscle mimicked Skrillex's movements as he bobbed his head.
When Skrillex raised his hand in the air or flipped his asymmetrical hair back, the figure did the same, creating a nice amplification effect for people further back in the crowd.
"Weekends" was met with uproarious approval from the crowd. Skrillex remixed his own work, lengthening favorites for the crowd and playing around with interspersing songs.
Skrillex's remix of Benny Benassi's "Cinema" featuring Gary Go was the highlight of the night, the crowd chiming in for every word of the chorus.
During the song, the columns around Skrillex liquefied and turned into molten metal and then water, flowing out and up the towers.
He nearly literally brought the house down, with kids on the top floor pounding on the air ducts and more than a few injuries among crowd surfers. The energy of the fans was epic, and no one paused for breath, including Skrillex himself.
Even for listeners who can't quite appreciate the genre, a dubstep concert is better experienced than criticized. The Mothership Tour continues until the end of year, taking dubstep cross-country and into Canada to one of the most enthusiastic fan bases music has seen in a while.
Skrillex ended the night with "With You, Friends (Long Drive)," walking off stage as the song bid his fans "bye-bye . . . thank you . . . love you . . . see you next time."
