Sweet Jesus, that was a rocking good time. We got there before 10:00, and LA Riots already had the dancefloor filled and moving with his gnarly electro set. I had heard a couple good remixes by LA Riots, and his set was more of the same. It was an 18+ night, so all the kids must have taken drugs right after their moms dropped them off or something… Nevertheless, I was frankly a little amazed to see all the indie types embracing the EDM.

Z-Trip came on next, and I was curious about how smooth a transition it would be to go from banging electro to hip hop mashups and then back. But he pulled it off. Even though I admire such a vinyl purist, Z-Trip had a laptop off to the side! Digital is taking over… He had a little of the DJ/drummer combo going, which I am honestly not down for because it feels very practiced. But his beats were as varied and old school as ever. Mashup tracks may a little tired by now, but when he’s mixing the tracks live on stage, it is pure wizardry.

All the prior acts were further back on the stage, but then the lights came on, the crazy Canadians were right down in front of us. [Snapped some pics from the fray.] I have to say that that was the most energetic show I’ve been to in a long time. The whole place was jumping around and going nuts. Fucking mind blowing. Usually I like to have my space carved out so I can boogey, but being part of the sweaty, packed mosh pit was awesome.

I’ve never had a club experience feel so much like a rock concert before, and the tunes just kept getting harder and harder. Drenched in sweat, calves burning from jumping, biceps burning from pumping, ears crackling–my idea of a good time.

MSTRKRFT has been number one on my list of peeps to see, so I had very, very high expectations for the show. Said expectations were promptly met and exceeded. All my concert write-ups are positive because I only go to shows that I really want to see. But that. Was. Amazing.

For those that can’t get enough, here is a bonus set from their NYE gig:

MSTRKRFT - NYE 2008 on Triple J Radio