The Bassnectar team hosted an immaculate tenth edition of Bass Center this year at the Hampton Coliseum in Hampton, VA. This event was filled with new friends, new music, and three beautiful shows put on by the one and only Bassnectar himself.
Day One began like the calm before the storm. The venue was like a festival with vendors lined up outside and people gathered, waiting for what’s in store for the night. This outside area, called The Lots, contained a stage which included four performances every day before the indoor festivities began for the night. On Friday, the artists who performed on The Lots were Hawk, VNDMG, Ninth Child and Fungineers. These artists rocked The Lots stage and created a whole new atmosphere outside the venue. At 5:30, the doors opened, and it was time to begin boarding the mothership.
The openers for night one were phenomenal. Clozee was first, and she put on a show like no other. She got the crowd up and moving to start off the night right. After Clozee was Shlump. This was a change of pace, since Shlump is more upbeat and heavy. He wow’ed the crowd with his heavy bass and played an incredible set. The last opener before Bassnectar was Cashmere Cat. He played an amazing set filled with well-known fan favorites as well as new tracks. His music began slow and built up the tension until he brought the heavy bass and made everyone join together to celebrate the beginning of another Bass Center.
Night One- Space:
After Cashmere Cat ended, the crowd began anticipating what would happen next. Before we knew it, Bassnectar took the stage and the mothership took off. He opened night one with “is everybody in? The ceremony is about to begin…” with Alien Communications from Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and he then brought it into Above & Beyond. This opener aligns with the theme of the night, space, by asking “is everybody in?” (aboard the mothership) and Close encounters of the Third Kind (aliens) into Above & Beyond (outer space). This set was jam packed with Bassnectar’s hits, including ‘Generate’, ‘Infrared’, ‘Ugly’, ‘Loco Ono’, and so much more. He also played heavy tracks such as ‘Elephant Party’ by Illanthropy and ‘Samurai’ by Fugitives. He closed out the first night of the tenth edition of Bass Center by playing ‘Intergalactic’ by Beastie Boys while the ambassadors brought out aliens. He then played Wildstyle Method,’ and ended the night with a remix of “Stand” by Jewel. Night one was remarkable, and an incredible way to start the weekend.
Day Two was a little warmer than Day One, but still just as beautiful. The Lots lineup for the day was Super Dre, PartyWave, Dorfex Bos, Fungineers. The lots on Saturday were even more filled than on Friday, and the music never stopped.
When we walked inside, most people congregated to their seats from the previous night, but I decided to walk around. During the openers, we had the glorious opportunity to watch the roaming performers. These performers danced with hula hoops, poi, flow wands, staffs, or any other kind of LED flow toy of their choosing during the opening sets. I had the opportunity to watch these performers and admire their hard work throughout the entirety of the weekend.
The first opener for night two was Tsuruda. He serenaded the crowd with his deep bass. His set was amazing, loud and and great was to start off the night. After Tsuruda was Son of Kick. He took the stage by storm and kept the crowd up on their feet with his deep wubs and great vibes. He ended with a bang, and up next was Dan Deacon. Dan Deacon moved the crowd with an opening speech, then he began swooning us with some well-known hits. His set left a considerable impression on his audience, and he gave speeches throughout that were greatly inspiring.
Night Two- Earth:
Bassnectar took the stage to begin night two. He opened with ‘Underground,’ a collaboration with G Jones. Throughout the set, he played tunes that tied into the “Earth” theme of the night, such as remixes of ‘Locked out of Heaven’ by Bruno Mars and ‘Immigrant Song’ by Led Zeppelin, ‘Avalanche’ by Kayzo and ‘Into the Sun,’ a hit from Bassnectar’s 2015 album, Into the Sun. Near the end of Earth night, Bassnectar welcomed a special guest onto the stage. Chase Iron Eyes, an American Indian activist, attorney, politician and member of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe joined Bassnectar on stage and gave a moving speech about a growing protest against the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline. He ended the speech with ‘Water is Life!’ and a number, 64336, for fellow Bassheads to text the word “Lakota” to help spread awareness and gather more information on the topic.
After the family photo, Bassnectar made a statement about impeaching Donald Trump, which made the crowd go wild. He then played ‘Money’ by Pink Floyd into ‘Killing in the Name’ by Rage Against the Machine. During these songs, the visuals displayed pictures and videos of Donald Trump, Swastikas, KKK members and other terms associated with Donald Trump that had red X’s through them. Bassnectar has always been outspoken about his political views, and no one was questioning his thoughts on Trump after this. These songs were bass-heavy and they send a deep message, and the crowd was in awe. He kept the vibe going and played ‘Immigraniada,’ which is a crowd favorite. He closed the evening with ‘Carried Away,’ a hit from his 2007 album Underground Communication.
Earth Night was well-needed, and he spread the message to his audience that our Earth is important. We need to protect our Earth and cherish it, because it is the only Earth we have.
Day Three was the most highly-anticipated of the weekend. Everyone came to the venue early and partied at The Lots all day long. The lineup for The Lots was stacked for day three: Rhaksha, Treyzilla, The Librarian, Fungineers. Roaming performers danced around The Lots while the music played, and others sat in line to wait for the doors to open. The doors finally opened at 5:30, and we ascended into the mothership for the last time.
CharlestheFirst was the first artist to take the stage on night three. His set was deep, and he played a variety of music from his new EP, The Reach. The crowd loved him, and he set a splendid tone for the rest of the evening. After CharlestheFirst was Bleep Bloop, who is always a crowd favorite. He played many rap-influenced crowd favorites, and his set was over too soon. The last opener of the night was Mr. Carmack, who nearly stole the show. His set was upbeat and deep, and he never once slowed down.
Night Three- Ether:
Tensions were high as we launched into night three of Bass Center X. About ten minutes before the projected time of the beginning of the show, a special guest walked on stage. Kyrian Bobeerian, a beat-boxing extraordinaire and leader of the Fungineers took the stage and wow’ed the crowd with his amazing skills. He performed a crowd favorite, ‘Blow,’ a collaboration with Bassnectar. After his quick opening performance, Bassnectar came out swinging as he opened with ‘What,’ a well-known Bassnectar hit, which made the crowd go wild. The ambassadors released balloons and it was an amazing way to begin the third night of Bass Center.
Ether has various meanings, one of them being the clear sky above the clouds. Throughout his set, Bassnectar incorporated many tunes that linked into the theme of the night, such as ‘Falling,’ ‘Magical World ft. Nelly Furtado,’ ‘Infinite,’ ‘My Home is Not Here (Kidkanevil remix)’ by Swede:art, ‘Journey to the Center’ and so much more. He also performed tracks such as ‘Arps of Revolucion,’ ‘Parade into Centuries’ and ‘Russian Lullaby’ by Butch Clancy. After the family photo, the ambassadors marched out with rows of pink balloons as Bassnectar began playing ‘Pink Elephants.’ He ended Bass Center X with ‘Still Point of Awareness,’ which reads: “Taking just a minute. Gently. Bring my energy away from the external. I bring all my attention up through my body to a point in the middle of my forehead, just above and behind the eyes, towards a single point of focus inside. I now look through my eyes as if they are windows. I am a still point of awareness looking through the eyes to the world out there. I am the still point. Silent, and powerful.” It was a beautiful ending to this year’s Bass Center.
Bass Center X was a magical experience, and we are looking forward to what the Bassnectar team has in store for their future special events.
Check out our RaverRafting Facebook page here to see the rest of our photos from the event.
Connect with Bassnectar:
https://facebook.com/bassnectar
https://twitter.com/bassnectar
https://instagram.com/bassnectar
https://bassnectar.net
Share On
