If you have been in proximity of a Wi-Fi connection in the past two weeks, then the following words are about to send you past the “drop” and into a Trap House panic, “Do the Harlem Shake.”
Baauer’s breakout song, “Harlem Shake” has been making its viral impact across the Internet, and everyone had their turn at the altar of EDM (Electronic Dance Music) at the sold out show at The Mid Feb. 8.
Performing with Just Blaze, another heavyweight behind artists such as Beyonc’ÛΩ, Jay Z, Drake and others, Baauer was able to turn up the bass on the two floor venue and bring down the house with sets like “Dum Dum”; “Yaow”; a remix of “Mercy”; another remix for “No Doubt” and “Higher;” a song featuring Jay Z as its vocal element.
Other than the expressionless and staggering guards patrolling the venue, the night felt something like an overpriced “no sneakers” kind of house party. People drank, yelled, laughed, danced and generally ate the hype of an incredibly energetic DJ and his love for music. People fed off of each other’s excitement for a six-hour set that included more than two DJs and absolutely no mercy for the weary.
The Brooklyn, New York artist, and most recently DePaul’s own FEST contender, Baauer, could not resist recklessly pumping his arms into the air, smiling, and yelling lyrics along with an already amorous crowd that did not miss a single word in the entire set.
A set we could label ‘Trap Hop,” or possibly some other obscure word fusion that fits into the vast expanses of EDM, old school hip hop, and general noises, but really carries no meaning on how energized and amazing music, especially this music, makes people feel.
Because, how do you explain how coughing and gargling noises, sirens, Jdilla, and a disgusting dedication to bass, meet and exceed the expectations of a single track?
The answer is that you do not; there is nothing to be explained. As people walked out of the venue at four in the morning, sweat glazed over tousled up do’s and smeared mascara mapping lines across exhausted faces, you could tell that it was all there.
That somewhere between the noise, there was happiness.
