The show, promoted by Relentless Beats, Aftershock Bass and the Phoenix Warehouse Project (PWP), was the second occurrence of PWP's clockwise-360 stage series, creating an immersive experience where fans can not only see the stage face-on, but also surround the sides and behind the deck. The latter is a privilege given to VIP attendees for this specific show. The night also featured an art exhibition, titled Drum & Vase, an art gallery featuring glowing vases, floral art pieces and interactive installations.
Though Chase & Status was the headlining name, they were far from the only performance to look forward to. For six hours (8 p.m. to 2 a.m.), there were drum & bass sets from some of the hottest names in the genre right now on the Cathedral stage (Pola of Pola & Bryson, Fred V and CHIIEF), as well as some of Arizona's veteran and emerging D'n'B producers and DJs like Troneva, JMAU5, and Arietta on the Vestibule Stage.
With each artist having around an hour and a half on stage, there was a taste of every possible flavor of D'n'B imaginable (and even beyond). From smooth and sexy sounds to dynamic buildups to hardcore high-energy moments, every artist of the night had something different to offer.
The Cathedral Stage
CHIIEF — 8 p.m.
Having caught the tail end of this set, I still thought CHIIEF was a great artist to start the night. With a mix of euphoric and harder energy, the Arizona-based artist crafted a set that seemed to generally appeal to the crowd and get them into the vibe as people began to trickle in. CHIIEF ended his set with an upbeat remix of Natasha Beddingfield's hit song "Unwritten," bringing a fun, nostalgic energy.
Fred V picked up on CHIIEF's melodic, feel-good energy for a good bit of his set, amplified by the spiraling lasers. While his set was still drum-heavy, as any good D'n'B set should be, it remained slower and groovier throughout the first half, a good change of pace from the high energy happening during the previous and concurrent Vestibule stage set. And the slightly calmer change of pace was far from boring: Fred V brought his unique flair to the stage, playing not only a wide range of D'n'B tracks but also teasing some harder dance tracks with heavier drums and even a dreamy trance track in the middle of his set. Fred V ended his set with heavier, bassier tracks that got the crowd from gentle swaying to dancing hard as more people entered the doors and set the crowd up with the perfect energy for Chase & Status's preluding act.
The sound noticeably increased for Chase & Status opener Pola & Bryson (or in this show's case, just Pola). The vibrations from the set's heavy bass underneath their groovy D'n'B made the ground feel as if it were pulsating, and the presence of lasers and flashing lights increased compared to the previous two artists. Pola started with a more liquid, almost progressive-house-like D'n'B style, including a charming remix of Ashanti's "Foolish" and Tweet's "Oops (Oh My)", which provided fun sing-along moments for the crowd. At this point, the crowd for the main stage is packed, and it's tricky (though, as I proved, not impossible) to see the DJ at the decks. While a tight dance floor definitely has its cons (with a few people shoving their way to the front and similarly awkward interactions from people who don't seem to get the concept of rave etiquette), dancing in such close proximity to people is freeing in its own way, even as an introvert.
In the second half of their set, Pola played more high-energy tracks, getting people to dance harder, sing louder, and cheer and scream harder than they had previously. That is, until around 12:30, when Pola was still playing despite the fact it was Chase & Status' start time. Though the energy was still high, a few minutes later, the confusion in the crowd became more noticeable, and then it began to visibly slow. Pola's last few tracks, a song with a ton of fake outs and another choppy, slightly odd ending track, did not help the slight tension toward the end of his set. Still, for the majority of his time on stage, Pola of Pola & Bryson delivered one of my favorite sets of the night.
Chase & Status — 12:30 a.m. (well, actually, 12:42 a.m.)
While ending 10 minutes late might have decreased the energy for Pola's set, it only built up more excitement for the headliners. The duo started with a slow, intense buildup for their set that released into an energetic, classic D'n'B sound with flashing red and blue lasers. Early into their set, they played their track "Selecta" featuring Stefflon Don, gaining a hype reaction from the crowd. The duo also played other fan favorites, the danceable, rap-heavy "No Problem" and "Liquor and Cigarettes," as well as "Say the Word" and "Mixed Emotions," more experimental, mellow, and vocally-heavy D'n'B tracks. Of course, while drum and bass is the duo's tried-and-true genre, they also gave fans a hint of their varied discography and mixing ability, playing booming dubstep, progressive house, and even a few trippier bass tracks. The most high-energy moments were for the duo's hit songs: "Baddadan," which was teased a few times in the set before they played the track out; "Disconnect," featuring Becky Hill; and "Backbone," featuring Stormzy. For all of these, you could hear the crowd screaming the words along and see (and feel) the already high levels of hype and movement from every angle of the crowd grow about tenfold into a semi-surreal, communal D'n'B experience.
Weirdly enough, though, for all the hype, Chase & Status was actually not my favorite set of the night (though, still a ton of fun). Of course, this could be because by this point, the six hours of intense dancing and movement were finally beginning to get to my back and feet, and a single energy drink can only take you so far.
The Vestibule Stage
Troneva — 8 p.m.
First up on the list of local artists was Troneva, who set the tone for the night with a lively mix of D'n'B, played at a comfortably loud volume as the first batch of attendees began to settle, mingle with one another, and get into the vibes. With a good mix of vocal-focused and melodious D'n'B and more experimental and bass-heavy tracks, Troneva was a good look at what was to come for this stage.
First up on the list of local artists was Troneva, who set the tone for the night with a lively mix of D'n'B, played at a comfortably loud volume as the first batch of attendees began to settle, mingle with one another, and get into the vibes. With a good mix of vocal-focused and melodious D'n'B and more experimental and bass-heavy tracks, Troneva was a good look at what was to come for this stage.
JMAU5 — 9:30 p.m.
JMAU5 was my favorite set on this stage; it's also the set I watched the longest, which may be a contributing factor. But really, I do feel like that artist and crowd had one of the best energies of the entire night (Chase & Status included). JMAU5 brought an aggressive, high-energy set to the tightly packed room of an equally energetic and receptive audience. An Arizona-based artist who prides himself on making "whatever he wants," JMAU5 dropped a mashup of Travis Scott's "Fein" and Lil Uzi Vert's "I Just Wanna Rock" and remixes of familiar EDM hits like Fred Again..'s "Everybody" and Ray Volpe's "Drop" and "Laserbeam," while also dropping teases and bits of harder genres like dubstep and even a good 20 seconds of hardstyle. Although his mixing could have been a little smoother between tracks, it didn't detract from the pure energy poured from the decks. For an hour and a half, the crowd was in the palm of his hand, jumping, stomping, and headbanging. When he ended his set, the crowd chanted his name, demanding another song, and when it was obvious JMAU5 was leaving for good, the crowd was sure to give him a roar of cheers.
Arietta — 11 p.m.
Admittedly, this was the only set I didn't really see (between the line for the bathroom and wanting to get a good spot for Pola & Bryson), but I listened in for around thirty minutes and could see the appeal for Arietta as a closing set to the secondary stage. She started with high energy, marking a seamless transition between her and JMAU5 before playing more of what seemed to be her sound: more dynamic and resonant while still keeping the heavy bass that had been hyping the room up all night.
Here are more photos from the night:
