Datsik performing at Safe In Sound Festival in San Jose, California. Photo by Jared Stossel.
Last Friday, City National Civic in San Jose played host to an electronic event of epic proportions when it presented a stop on the Safe In Sound tour featuring Zomboy, Bro Safari, and Datsik, and many more.
Unfortunately, due to traffic, I missed the local opener that took the stage to kick things off, but I arrived about a quarter of the way through the heavily bass-fueled set of Boston’s very own TERRAVITA. While the production group is comprised of a trio, only two of the members were present, but the crowd didn’t seem to mind as the energy was through the roof. This caught my attention immensely. Much like Party Favor, it was surprising to me to see that an artist was able to get the energy of a crowd going that intense, being only second on the bill. I would definitely like to see more of them again in the future.
Etc! Etc! took the stage next. While there was a large amount of bass music thrown into the set, a staple of generally every Safe In Sound event, some non-dance tracks made their way into the mix (an example being R. Kelly’s “Ignition”, which for me, didn’t work). Overall though, the set worked well, and the crowd seemed to have a good time.)
Here’s where things got interesting. I’ve seen Bro Safari several times, and I’ve been blown away by the energy he brings to his set with every single track and the corresponding drop that follows. His performance at Safe In Sound was no exception. The energy in the room went from a solid 9 to a 12, easily. TERRAVITA’s frontman filled in for Bro Safari’s usual hype-man.
I didn’t know how things would progress after that set. Then, DATSIK took the stage at midnight. Everything leading up to his set has just been a warm up. It is clear that, since the last time I saw him several years ago, he’s not necessarily reinvented his sound, but he’s improved upon it immensely. Every breakdown made my jaw drop. I would start laughing about how ridiculously fantastic it sounded through the sound system (graciously provided by PK).
Finally...it’s time to close the night. And who else but Zomboy could bring such a powerhouse set to cap things off at one in the morning? Zomboy performs exactly like his music sounds: a shit ton of energy, visually loving every moment of it, running and jumping as if someone set off a bomb underneath his feet. This was easily the best electro set I’ve ever seen in the past several years. And that’s saying a lot considering how highly I favored Skrillex’s Halloween show last year.
Overall: Safe in Sound 2015 is a bass-music haven, and one that should not be missed this year.
This has been another Shameless Promotion.