After the incredibly successful and somewhat controversial HARD NYC that took New York City by storm on July 24th, it was only fair that the summer would come to a close with one final HARD concert. The stacked line-up consisted of Crystal Castles and Sinden with Destructo, JDH, and Dave P running the turntables to get the party started.
While many concert goers were meeting up with friends and socializing outside of the venue, a tall and slim JDH slipped through a crowd of people to make his way into the venue. After being carded so he could drink later on in the evening and after his arsenal of CDs in a duffel bag was searched, he was allowed to enter the show. An hour later, JDH was joined by his partner in crime, Dave P. to unleash some of the best dance music I have ever heard, and this was only the opener of the show.
After an hour of Dave P. and JDH taking turns at the boards, Destructo, LA native and heavy hitter, took the reigns and lead a total audio assault for well over an hour, mixing familiar songs with original beats that had the crowd screaming. Destructo made good use of the stage, jumping off of the DJ booth, highfiving crowd members and getting everyone pumped for what was to come.
Sinden, a UK DJ who has revitalized the club scene with his own brand of genre-melting DJ sets, came out and joined Destructo for the latter part of his set. Crystal Castles seemed to have come before Sinden on the line-up, however, an executive decision was made to keep the beats flowing and Sinden played for well over an hour an a half. His innocuous set left many ready for a break, a breather, a chance to catch ones breathe before Crystal Castles came on.
After much waiting and the the hour and minute hands free-falling into the early hours of the morning, the lights were suddenly turned off, strobes turned on and Canadian experimental electronic duo, Crystal Castles, appeared. Alice, the group’s singer, decked out in a skirt, tights, army jacket and grind t-shirt made a leap into the crowd during the first song. The crowd, incredibly receptive to Alice’s stage antics, only promoted her stage diving tendencies throughout the evening. Ethan Kath, the electronica mastermind and beat producer stood behind the keyboard for much of the evening as Alice flowed throughout the crowd, throwing a few occasional punches at crowd members and dodging kisses from crazed fans. Fans in the crowd were covered in sweat, yearning for a a bottle of water – Alice on the other hand, nursed a bottle of whiskey in between songs, fueling the madness and closing out another successful HARD NYC show.