When kids in 2014 think of a rave, they imagine what I have up until now; A party at an actual venue or club. In no way am I shitting on any party in a legitimate building because that is all I knew until this past weekend but once you have experienced a night in a different setting than you are used to, you can actually feel the difference. 666 Lights has assembled a massive warehouse rave in Brooklyn, NY and with the risk of not getting the building permit on time and having it shut down, they still held their heads high and promoted it to no end.
The environment itself was electric to say to least and the first breath I took as I walked in was refreshing. Being new to the “underground,” I had no idea what to expect; I imagined it would be dark, crowded, hard to maneuver oneself and would get shut down easily, but I had hope. To some degree I was not mistaken, but these things turned out to be more than amazing. I felt welcome as soon as I stepped foot inside the dark and mysterious establishment in which the greatest party I have ever attended was held. Yes, it was dark and hard to see, but it felt like an adventure. Energy surged through my veins and I knew at that exact moment that despite what potentially could have happened, nothing could ruin this night and any issues could could have caused tension were nonexistent. Sadly, it had to come to an end but before it did I got the chance to appreciate the underground and a real sense of “home” and “unity”. Witnessing so many people come together as a family, police included, and let everything negative flow out of their bodies continues to display the optimism in this scene that so many people feel is dead.
Although I arrived later than expected and did not see some of the DJs, there were few that caught my attention. I feel greats vibes whenever I go out but at Escape From New York, as Rob Gee would say, the “#positivianvibes” in the atmosphere dominated any drama. Rob Gee can definitely please a crowd, but when he dropped System of a Down’s ‘Chop Suey,’ the whole room went wild and it became an arena of adoring fans who knew every single word and screamed those words until they lost the ability to speak. If that wasn’t enough, Wink-E and Animus battled it out on stage later on in the night and although they aren’t as energetic on stage as Rob Gee, they knew exactly what to play to keep the crowd alive and jumping throughout their whole set, even at 3AM. The true highlight of the night was the hour and a half that Coone was in the spotlight. Voted #45 in DJ Mag, Coone has played all over the world and on Saturday night he made his first appearance in NYC. He opened the night with “Monstah Mathers,” featuring a mix of Nicki Minaj’s verse in Kanye West’s “Monster” and Rihanna on Eminem’s “The Monster.” Without hesitation, Coone took the stage, and the crowd, by storm. With Coone’s enthusiasm and hardstyle expertise, he had the entire place jumping and, for a moment, it felt as if the building would have collapsed… but the music saved us all.
There isn’t a word, phrase or sentence that could properly explain Saturday night except by saying, if you left to go to another party, you truly missed out on an unbelievably extraordinary night. The photographers captured some amazing moments and to the promoters, thank you so much for showing everyone the true meaning of a spectacular rave, party and PLUR. Without you, this would not have been possible and without your confidence, I don’t think anyone would have had such high expectations. I am highly anticipating “Famous Monsters” on June 7th and I am just as thrilled as I was for Escape from New York.
-Moonbeam@undernyc.com
UnderNYC contains epic New York events, pictures, new music and talent. You can read the post here 666Lights Escape From New York-Jan 11 Party Review.”