Genres Matter! EDM at the Palladium...Dance Time Hardstyle
Genres Matter! Rave at the Palladium...Dance Time
By Just Jay
12th Planet (John Dadzie), better known by his stage names 12th Planet and Infiltrata, is an American DJ and dubstep producer from Los Angeles. As one of the first DJs to bring dubstep to America, 12th Planet has frequently been cited as the General of the Riddim Gang.
Source: Wikipedia contributors. (2023, July 4). 12th Planet (musician). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 09:58, September 8, 2023, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=12th_Planet_(musician)&oldid=1163299151
I purchased a ticket to see 12th Planet at my favorite night club (Exchange). At first, I was content with the purchase, even a bit excited. But I then recalled that Dubstep is not my favorite genre. Personally, I don’t like it because it’s hard to dance to, and a major reason I attend these performances is to show off my dance-moves!
So, I grabbed my phone hoping to find another DJ headliner. After all, it was Labor Day weekend- and everyone knows Labor Day weekend is code for party time. I checked my usual spots: Academy, Time and the Avelon. All these venues had DJs performing that I have never heard of (and I know my DJs!).
My choices were obvious: attending 12th Planet at Club Exchange, which would probably be a waste of time as far as my dancing goes. (Sorry John Dadzie. I just can’t dance to your genre; it’s not that you’re a bad DJ or anything like that.); or go to a show where I would not know who was spinning that would also prevent me from dancing. All I knew was that I was going to a party that weekend, even if I ended up at an awkward pool party up in the Hills.
I thought I was out of options; then I remembered a venue that I hadn’t checked—the Palladium in Hollywood. I clacked the term in my PC and “Basscon Presents...” popped up. Okay. I scrolled down where the headliner(s) was listed—Da Tweekaz. I then went through my usual research routine which involves simply looking them up on YouTube to see whether or not I like their music. Now, I have an excuse as to how and why I did not know these headliners; again, I point to the genre as the culprit. What I heard on YouTube was at best unimpressive. However, Readers, understand that YouTube plays a short clip of these artists spinning live, so it’s kind of like judging a book by its cover.
Next, I looked into (again) their genre. The first word in the description was Hardstyle! I don’t love Hardstyle as a genre, but I liked it enough that weekend to bail on 12th Planet. With that, I bought my ticket and pulled out my brand-new dancing shoes, which had arrived from Amazon that same day. What is Hardstyle? I couldn’t answer that question in a way that makes sense if I tried. This girl (the event was 18 and older) standing next to me characterized the genre and its DJs as “hard techno.” I like that description and it’s a lot clearer than Hardstyle or its sister genre “Happy Hardcore.” I guess the best way I can describe Hard Techno is to say it’s heavy electronic music with powerful, thundering bass. Best of all, it was easy to dance to!
All in all, I enjoyed the performance. Da Tweekaz was a two-man team, but they were nearly perfectly in sync throughout their entire set. They impressed me by “mashing” in a decent number of mainstreams, 1980s, etc., tracks. The set just worked; it was far from perfect but kept the crowd engaged. I always know whether I enjoyed a show by the way I feel when I exit the venue. Am I in a frenzied rush to call Uber so I can get into my warm bed and forget the night ever happened? Am I elated and thinking of the good things to say about the show to my roommate? That Friday night it was the latter.
There were, however, some notable flaws; mostly operational (and unavoidable) issues that I’ve been seeing for the last 35 years at these events. The music was not loud enough. In a venue like the Palladium with its infrastructure made for acoustics there was really no excuse for the poor sound. The way I see it, if you can hear your fellow partygoers speaking around you, the volume is too low. I mean it would be understandable if there was an orphanage next door with sleeping babies, but that wasn’t the case. I don’t know if it was an issue with poor equipment or nervous promoters who follow the sound specs to the t.
Next, a big thumbs down goes to the event staff for being over aggressive. Now, I’m not saying that they were dragging kids out the door for even the slightest infractions—which I’ve seen in Chicago too many times. But as I was peacefully dancing way in the back of the main floor, security kept tripping about it. Sure. I get it. They were keeping the fire lanes clear, which I commend. The problem was that the boundaries (personal and physical) were unclear. One part of the main floor had masking tape adhered to it to mark the “no standing here” area. I’m usually pretty observant (even without my eyeglasses) but I had no idea this tape was there until one of the event staff pointed it out. I then moved back into the safe area only to have the same guy shine a flashlight at me, which I had no idea what that was supposed to mean. So, I moved once again! This time he approached me and said, “you can’t stand there.” (Can I buy a vowel?)
As always, my dancing was the most important thing. The euphoric rush I get when I dance tingles my fingers and numbs my toes. On a smaller level, it’s like being on Dancing with the Stars, knowing there’s millions of people focused on you. The show was getting close to ending and I wanted to perform my “grand finale.” I posted up on one of the back aisles, where I immediately began my routine. The kids behind me were awestricken. One kid even worked up the courage to ask me my age (I told the truth). “You’re hero bro. Like my idol...” he said. He asked me where I learned to dance like that and I replied, “on the mean streets of Chicago!” Anyways, before long, even the event staff were watching my dance moves. The compliments kept coming. Not to brag but this routine plays out the same way at every event I attend. I guess in a lot of ways that’s the reason I become so fixated on choosing the right events, dressing up, and maintaining my weight. I know this sounds feminine but it’s my reality –and has been for many years.
I have to say, as a whole, the event had a rave vibe versus a club vibe. These are two completely different animals that take on the shape of a sports rivalry—ravers versus clubbers. To me, a good party is a good party whether it’s at the glitz and glamour of Hollywood’s premier nightclubs or in the forest preserves—where I got my start with the party scenes many decades ago.
As I reflect back to that Friday night, what sticks out to me most was how obvious it was that it was an 18 and above event, whereas all nightclubs are strictly 21 and above. This of course meant that the heavy volume of 18- to 20-year-olds were unable to (legally) consume alcohol. And the less one drinks the more one is lively, jumping and bumping to the bass. This younger audience brought back memories of my own raver days. As far as which I like more: clubs or raves? It depends on the genre and my dancing opportunities (of course)!
My night out was a tremendous success. As I told my roommate: “the event definitely exceeded expectations...even if the sounds reminded me of some of the car stereos I had back in the day.”
https://justwritejay.blogspot.com/2023/09/genres-matter-edm-at-palladiumdance-time.html
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