Estefex, Craft, Travelah, Sub D UK Thursdays at School Of Rock Thursday, January 19
School Of Rock? More like "School Of Bass."
Last night, the Mill Avenue club hosted a special experimental version of UK Thursdays featuring four local Drum and Bass artists from the Valley area. The music didn't paused from 9:30 to 2:00 a.m. The floor continuously shook from the bass rumbling out of the speakers. Some came to drink, some came to dance, but by the end of the evening, everyone was moving.
Critic's of DnB music will often complain that it's "just noise," and that it's not designed for self expression. Try telling that to the crowd, who got into sets by Estefex, Craft, Travelah, and Sub D.
No, it wasn't your typical "candy kid" or rave scene crowd.
The night started off with Estefex taking the stage sending soothing sounds while still managing to drop some bass in there now and then. Everything seemed to flow, with tempos slowing and speeding back up, though the vibe was decidedly mellower than what someone might expect from a dance night. Estefex himself didn't seem into it, and the crowd responded the same way. He looked bored. How can you expect an audience to get into your music if you don't get into it yourself? Not to kill the mood -- there's certainly some great potential in what he's doing, but maybe next time get into it a little more?
I wasn't quite sure if the night was looking so well after a such mellow performance, but Craft quickly turned things around. Starting his set with a massive bass drop, I could automatically tell this guy loves his music. With his music and enthusiasm people hit the dance floor. Craft brought the tempo way up, creating faster beats with hardcore drops within the songs. Some sort of darker tone was presented throughout his set. I loved it. I kept saying to myself, "Someone call my rave friends!" Craft had truly crafted his own style incorporating it into each song played.
Next thing you knew people were stomping. With a tough act to follow, Travelah did not take no for an answer. Like Craft, the sounds were darker and aggressive. From start to finish he went hard. The music constantly had energy. Things seemed to be all over the place, but Travelah knew how to match it perfectly.
Sub D killed it. As I would say, "He went hard in the MFing paint." His fades between songs were the closet to perfection that I had ever heard from someone on a local stand point. The beat continuously kept going. Everyone was up and dancing by the end of the night. No matter how stupid some thought they looked dancing, it didn't matter. Any movement was dancing.
UK Thursdays at School of Rock seems to be the place for emerging American EDM artists in the Valley, a little taste of UK-style on Mill Ave.
Critics Notebook:
Last Night: Estefex, Craft, Travelah and Sub D at School Of Rock's UK Thursdays
The Crowd: Some young, some old trying to relive their youth, and a small side of ravers. Overheard in the crowd: Bass...Bass...Bass and the occasional, "Am I dancing funny?"