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Krewella Want to Play Hard with OC Fans This Weekend
Krewella
Costa Mesa
7/29/12
Krewella, the Chicago threesome known for their fusion of different EDM sub-genres, proceeded to bring dubsex to Ten nightclub in Newport Beach, opening with the title track from their new EP, Play Hard. Unlike Kaskade's pre-recorded set at Staples Center on Friday, Krewella definitely mixed live. If you were one of the few not consuming an alcoholic beverage on Sunday, the silence between the trio's iffy transitions sounded like a CD jumping from track to track.
The energetic party trio had a rather interesting selection within their playlist, which included a dubstep version of Gotye's infamous “Somebody That I Used to Know” and an electro-fied, speed-freak version of Fun's “Some Nights.” They turned the 90's classic “Wonder Wall” by Oasis, into a moombathon banger and Duran Duran's “Hungry Like the Wolf” into an electro party cut. And yes, for all you dubsex fans, Krewella threw in some heavy, grinding Trap music. In addition, they played all five songs from Play Hard, including “Killing It” and “Alive” as their finale.
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If the above track list sounds like a flow-less roller coaster, you are right. Krewella looked to be in full-on party mode themselves, which probably took some attention away from the task at hand (i.e. mixing). But nothing ever stopped Slash of Guns N Roses or Nikkie Sixx from Motley Crue from partying before, during and after a gig,so why hold these three up to higher standards? However, with such a variation of sub genres and various BPMs, the crowd seemed to have to think about the time change on the dance floor from song to song. Regardless, when the deep bass dropped, their hands went up. Nothing stopped shufflers from shuffling and pop lockers from pop locking. I would like to see Krewella at a more dubstep friendly venue, but what they spun at Ten was understandable as they do have to tailor to the club ragers. At the end of the night Krewella sounded like a more tolerable Skrillex reincarnation.
As for the visuals, Ten could have used their 360 degree LED wall to their advantage during the opening bass drop to make it a true rager, yet the wall stayed dark as the light guy synced to the music. It took sometime, but the multicolor flashing lights and sound wave lights created a mini Vegas experience a la Rehab.
I really love Krewella, just look at my Spotify playlist. If they had played a set packed with their own songs the night would have gone smoother. Mixing other DJs songs did not justify them at all.
Critics Bias: I went in to Ten thinking Krewella would play more dubstep. When they did add it to their set, it sounded too mainstream for my liking.
The Crowd: Newport club regulars, mixed with energetic dubstepers and hipsters galore.
Setbacks: A major party foul as silence poured through the dance floor of Ten when Krewella played Skrillex's “Bangarang” during the bass drop.
Personal Request: I would have liked to see 12th Planet and Flinch perform a surprise set, since they were in attendance.
Random Notebook Dump: I still can't stand 18-and-over clubs.
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