DJ Dan’cing The Night Away at Monster Bash 2012

October might just be our favorite month here at Independent Philly. As the month rolls on, the frequency of Halloween inspired events grow greater by the day.

This year we popped our Halloween cherry eleven days before All Hallows Eve. It was a no-brainer (you hear that Zombies? Nothing to see here, move along) that we’d be spending Saturday, October 20th at Underground Arts once we heard that ROC Promo, Adults at Play, and Decibel were bringing house legend DJ Dan to town.

DJ Dan has been one of our favorite DJs since the mid-nineties. We had the pleasure if interviewing him in conjunction with our coverage of Starscape Festival over the summer, and speaking to him as he arrived at the venue on Saturday, it was evident that he’s not only a scholar of the turntables, but a gentleman as well.

We’ve been listening to our screening copy of his new album Disko-Funk Odyssey (which drops tomorrow, October 22nd) for weeks on end, which only served to get us more pumped up to see him in person. If you like to shake your ass, buy this album. Allergy Warning: This album was produced in a studio that processes high quantities of funk.

The event, called “Monster Bash 2012”, featured two rooms of music and kicked off at 10pm as guests, many in costume, began to arrive. In addition to the music, there were visuals provided by VJ Static, body painting by bodypaint.me founder (and birthday boy) Matt Deifer, skulls, candy, fog, and even an electric chair (electricity not provided).

Opening sets by Davidson Ospina, Jeff Heart, and Deep C in the “Tech-House All Saint’s Escape” room and by Mchael Mythix, J-Me, and Gobs The Zombie (nothing says bass drops like blood and guts) in the Tech-Electro Grave-diggin’ Dungeon (main) room got the costumed crowd moving on the dance-floor and by the time DJ Dan hit the small stage in the main room at 1am, everyone was ready to get down and funky with some pure, unadulterated house music.

For the next two hours DJ Dan took the crowd at Underground Arts on a journey through decades of house classics infused with some newer gems. Forget big stage rigs, lasers, and other smoke & mirror effects; DJ Dan needs none of these tricks to treat his fans. This is his “house”, and like Monster Bash 2012, it was built on a strong foundation of quality over quantity.

It was a hauntingly great set that will be sure to stay with those in attendance long over this freakishly fun party ended at 3am.

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You can view an expanded photo gallery and some video of DJ Dan’s set below:

Tornado Time at Starlight Ballroom with Steve Aoki

Thursday, April 19th was a beautiful day in Philadelphia.

It was warm and sunny with a cool breeze. The skies remained clear as the sun set over the City of Brotherly Love.

Inside the Starlight Ballroom however, a storm was brewing as Mass EDMC, NV Concepts, and Steez Promo presented an evening with DJ Steve Aoki.

Although it remained cool outside, it quickly got hot and steamy inside the venue as opening sets from Jeff Heart and Bamboora got the crowd heated up.

By the time Steve Aoki took to the stage at midnight, it was sweltering hot, the perfect conditions for some severe weather.

Aoki wasted little time unleashing a auditory tornado on the crowd. It was quickly followed by severe champagne showers, hail the size of ice cubes, and thunderous booms of sheet cake.

Those in the front of the venue bore the brunt of the crazy weather. At one point it looked as if some fans had no choice but to ride out the storm in an inflatable raft.

It was sheer madness. Aoki dropped banger after banger, even mixing in a few brand new gems.

When 2am rolled around, the weather finally broke, the crowds parted, and only starlight was left behind.

You can view a full photo-gallery and some video from the event below:

Ferry Corsten Puts EDM Fans in a Trance at TLA

Good Friday and the first night of Passover too place last night in Philly but all the religions in the world couldn’t stop trance fans from packing into the Theater of the Living Arts to see DJ Ferry Corsten.

Corsten, who hails from Amsterdam, is credited with creating the sound known as Dutch Trance in the 1990’s.

The show, Corsten’s first in Philadelphia in the last seven years was presented by Mass EDMC, NV Concepts, and Steez Promo, and opened with support from local DJs Jeff Heart and David Vaux.

Playing on decks situated between two large digital screens, Corsten’s set kicked off around midnight to a roar of cheers.

From that point it was like a 2 hour work-out for the dancing TLA patrons, the smoke cannons on stage, and Corsten’s smile. His constant grin was a testament to how much the man enjoys thrilling crowds and whipping them into a trance.

The crowd enjoyed it every bit as much as the DJ.

You can check out a full photo gallery below:

 

All’s Well That Axwell

Starlight, Star bright, Axwell was the biggest star we saw tonight. Axwell is a member of the famed Swedish House Mafia, and currently ranked as one of the top 10 DJ’s on the planet. On Saturday night, he made a stop in Philly at the Starlight Ballroom to throw down a monster set in front of a venue packed to the gills with EDM fans.

The event, presented by NV Concepts, Mass EDMC, and Steez Promo, had fans lining up in droves down 9th street outside of the venue for hours.

Once inside, it was a sweaty hot mess of dancing maniacs and dirty beats. The lights were simply insane, an Epileptic’s worst nightmare.

The opening DJ’s for the evening were Jeff Heart and Bamboora. Jeff Heart has been playing in Philly for ages and is a crowd favorite. Bamboora had the place rocking. In his bright Mass EDMC t-shirt, he pumped up the crowd to a fever pitch. The place was ready to explode and when Axwell took the stage just before midnight, it did exactly that.

Axwell took the stage as fans chanted his name. He took the mic and begged the question, “Are you ready Philadelphia?”

Philadelphia might have thought it was ready, but nothing could have prepared the crowd for the next two hours of sheer insanity.

The energy in the room was palpable as Axwell laid down one club banger after the next. The mirrored walls that line the room were completely fogged over and literally dripping with condensation. It’s surprising that it didn’t melt the snow that covered the ground outside.

Cooling relief came in the form of CO2 blasts shot from cannons on the stage and water handed out to fans in the front row. As impressed as the fans were with Axwell, the DJ seemed equally impressed with the crowd, mentioning that the best decision he’d made in a while was to come to Philadelphia. After the show, he Tweeted “Philadelphia ! Sweat doesn’t lie!”

Just before 2am Axwell thanked the crowd who again chanted his name, begging for one more song. They got it.

The event was top-notch. EDM is taking the world by storm like never before and this is just be the tip of the iceberg for 2012.

To view over 100 additional photos of the event,

CLICK HERE!