Swedish House Mafia Saves The World with Charity Black Tie Rave (Event Review)

Swedish House Mafia (SHM) has been a dominating force in the mainstream electronic music scene since their formation in 2008, enveloping the globe in progressive house music and establishing a fan base within every imaginable demographic. The three members of the group, Axwell (35), Steve Angello (30) and Sebastian Ingrosso (29), have produced countless singles both together and in collaboration with others up until June 24, 2012, when the trio announced they would be going one their One Last Tour.

Of course, fans were and still remain completely distraught, but it was well known that SHM would certainly not leave the scene without a bang a volcanic explosion. And with that soon came the announcement of Swedish House Mafia’s Black Tie Rave, a charity event to take place at Hammerstein Ballroom in New York, NY on Thursday, February 28, 2012.

Sold by way of Ticketmaster Auction, tickets started at a minimum bid of $100 and were only offered to those 21 years of age or older. All proceeds would be split between the New Jersey Relief Fund for Hurricane Sandy, the Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City, and Save the Children; the latter added after the tragedy in Newtown, CT. The group raised over $450,000 in the first ticket auction alone, and it was soon announced that openers would be Pete Tong and Carl Kennedy. The night was destined to be extraordinary, and it truly was.

View our Black Tie Rave Photogallery by Pearcey Proper.

But with all those unforgettable nights comes drama. As I stepped out of the cab on 34th street in front of Hammerstein around 9:30pm, there was a mob of people swarming around the entranceway. Since I didn’t have a tangible ticket and there was no point in me getting on that line, I walked to the front of it, got a 21+ wristband haphazardly thrown at me by a disheveled woman in a sequined dress, and walked inside. In the main entrance, you could buy tickets at the box office for $150 each, or a bow tie for $50. It was a nice gesture for sell bow ties so guests could wear what SHM was wearing during their set.

I was told coat check was downstairs, and the line ran all the way across the room and curved up the stairway on the other side. Naturally, as I was alone I snuck through the crowd and ended up somewhere in the middle of the line and took some time to observe what was going on around me.

There was a cash bar both upstairs and downstairs by coat check, and also a small area for people to get their pictures taken under professional lighting. It was like your high school semi-formal all over again, as most people were dressed in not quite black tie, but fancier cocktail attire or prom dresses. The official Black Tie Rave website noted, “if you fail to turn up in Black Tie or Gown we may still turn you away!” although I spotted a girl wearing sneakers with her minidress and black tights, so the dress code was clearly not enforced. I had opted for a more sophisticated, casual look, wearing a sleeveless white minidress with silver beading on top, a black blazer, and black heels. Some ladies were mega-upscale, looking flawless in their floor length sequined dresses and designer heels. It must have been a dream come true for every single straight male there. Most of the men were wearing tuxedos and suit jackets with bow ties. Overall it was a very dapper, upscale-looking crowd. I couldn’t help but think that people should dress like this all the time. Everyone appears better looking when they’re in black tie.

Of course, the signs of typical ravers were still present, and I spotted a few partygoers wearing rave glasses and light-up necklaces. I saw some tophats too, and even a guy in a red velvet smoking jacket. After waiting in line for at least 20 minutes, the coat check staff somewhat announced that they weren’t taking any more coats and that everyone had to “step back.” It was too loud to know what was really going on, but it’s possible that coat check hit capacity and wouldn’t take any more coats. I was unfortunately stuck holding my wool coat and blazer in my arms all night, as were others. I can’t express enough how difficult it is to maneuver through a crowd with a heavy coat draped over your arm. But it was worth it.

When I finally went up to the ballroom to watch the show, SHM was throwing down. Clobber (Club Mix) by Dannic was playing and the crowd was into it. Openers Pete Tong and Carl Kennedy had really warmed up the audience with their house sets, and it was super sweaty and hot inside. While making my way up to the front, which was fairly easy, I was captivated by the three silhouettes bouncing in unison behind the DJ booth. Upon facing backwards and looking up, some guys next to me figured out that you could see SHM’s shadows enlarged on the ceiling, and it was incredible.

Swedish House Mafia powered through some epic progressive house tracks, including “Channel 42 (GTA Remix)” by Deadmau5 and Wolfgang Gartner, “Take You Higher” by Goodwill ft. Hook N Sling, and one of my personal favorites, “I Follow Rivers (The Magician Remix) by Lykke Li. It started to get real when SHM blasted their own tunes, mashing up “Here We Go” by Hard Rock Sofa and Swanky Tunes with the vocal “Miami 2 Ibiza” ft. Tinie Tempah. I was so ready for this night to continue, and could feel how overjoyed the crowd was to be able to sing along. Flames were periodically shooting into the air from the stage, and things were getting wild.

They went into the Axwell edit of “In My Mind” by Ivan Gough and Feenixpawl ft. Georgi Kay, and it was beautiful. I was even more ecstatic to hear Gregor Salto’s “Azumba,” which is a major crowd-pleaser, and I never expected SHM to play a track that I was first introduced to during Diplo’s set at the Dos Equis Most Interesting Night masquerade party back in November. I was reminiscent of that night as it was, considering the classier dress code in a rave environment. After the first few measures of “KNAS” started to play, Axwell took the mic and said to the crowd, “There’s some stylish people here tonight,” and thanked us all for coming to the charity event. Later on, he said, “How does it feel to dance in these type of clothes? It’s a bit awkward at first, right?” His ability to relate to the audience and, and the fact that he called us “fucking troopers” for being ever-so classy, was comforting and basically brought a tear to my eye.

“KNAS” killed it, mashed up with Adrian Lux’s “Teenage Crime (Axwell and Henrik B. Remode).” They were really busting out the big tracks, with “Calling (Lose My Mind)” by Sebastian Ingrosso and Alesso, followed by “Don’t You Worry Child” ft. John Martin. Emotions were high and everyone was screaming the lyrics at full volume, and to the crowd’s delight fireworks were shot into the air at the first drop. The second drop was no less exciting when a slew of pink and white confetti was blown into the air, sticking to sweaty foreheads galore on the way down. Next up was “Atom” by Nari and Milani followed by SHM’s “One” mashed up with the Tiesto and Hardwell remix of “Young Blood” by The Naked and Famous. Steve Angello requested that the crowd “make some fucking noise” and insanity ensued. Axwell reminded us all after “One” about the Mayan calendar and how the world was supposed to be over by now. “We were scared as fuck…but we are still here and it’s 2013, and I guess that means you guys saved the world after all.”

It was a brilliant segway into “Save The World,” during which balloons within balloons glided down from the ceiling and were thrown around above the heads of ravers. I was incredibly pleased to hear “Reload” by Sebastian Ingrosso and Tommy Trash mashed up with “Save The World“; it was perfection and I think everyone agreed. There was so much happiness and unification in the crowd by then, and no one wanted the show to end. As the lights went back on and people started to filter out, many remained, lingering and mingling as you would do at a cocktail party. The show ended shortly before midnight and people were disappointed. One guy approached me as I was taking notes, telling me, “This is a damn shame. The charity folk didn’t even get 2 hours!” But, for me, it’s about quality rather than quantity, and SHM’s set was jam-packed with the best dance tracks of the moment.

The night was totally well-played. Swedish House Mafia dominated the stage and set an example for any other DJ group that dares to sell out Hammerstein ballroom to play a near-2-hour set without any compensation. SHM is seriously large and in charge, no question about it. The crowd fell deep that night, and it was unforgettable. Thank you, Swedish House Mafia, for using your powers for good and donating innumerable funds to some of the best charities out there.

We came, we raved, we loved…and we’ve saved the world.

Images taken by Pearcey Proper.

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