Photo credit to Sara Wass for NickyDigital.com
This past Thursday at Hudson River Park’s Pier 84 in Manhattan, I had the pleasure of attending a wildly unique and forward-thinking outdoor concert featuring Zedd, Duke Dumont and TOKiMONSTA. Set up as a launch party for THUMP’s new channel, ‘Up Next,’ “a destination for what’s next in dance music,” the party boasted food trucks, a massive LED structure-as-stage for the DJ’s to inhabit, custom fireworks set off by way of Samsung Galaxy S4 cell phones, and a 3 hour open bar. With a capacity of 3,000 people and a line that was at least twice that number, looping down and folding over itself on the pier between west 44th and 46th streets, the event was capped even before 8:00pm rolled around.
Everyone who is anyone made at least an effort to appear at this organized event, and I know this because I literally saw everyone I know – music biz people, social media marketers, VICE staff, advertisers, tons of friends and die-hard music fans that were lucky enough to make the entrance cut, and those dedicated enough to Zedd to show up hours early to get in line. Naturally, the front of the line housed the die-hards, and the crowd seemed gradually less interested as it grew longer. And their patience paid off, because the progression of sounds inside the park from TOKiMONSTA’s downtempo vibes, to Duke Dumont’s danceable house, to Zedd’s ridiculous electro was pretty mind-blowing beneath the periwinkle sky and waning orange sun.
Photo credit to Sara Wass for NickyDigital.com
TOKiMONSTA first graced us with a lovely mix of slow tracks as the park started to fill up. The bars were, of course, causing a semi-riot, but nothing Duke Dumont couldn’t fix with his commanding house set. As the sun set and the Smirnoff and Bud Light continued to flow, without running out I might add, we danced, we drank, we posed for photos, and we took turns setting off fireworks with sleek touch-screen Samsung Galaxy S4’s. The event was staffed with happy workers wearing t-shirts labeled “PRYO” to aid in the process – every 4-5 minutes, the phone in front of you displayed that you were “up next”, then allowing you 20 seconds to customize your firework with a color and style before hitting FIRE.
Photo credit to Sara Wass for NickyDigital.com
Photo credit to Sara Wass for NickyDigital.com
It was easy to tell the crowd was there for the music, for Zedd, who dominated that towering geometric LED structure up above the large crowd. As a photographer I was at first pleased that the photo pit was predominantly empty, but as the night approached, guests in the front row ungracefully hopped the gate without repercussion. But as per usual with a tame and conscientious 21+ crowd, it fortunately wasn’t much of a problem for me. Zedd’s set was a ton of fun, and I’m sure you could guess what tracks he played – he opened up with “In My Mind,” and moved through big hits like “Clarity,” “Shotgun,” and “Legend of Zelda.” The crowd sang to Swedish House Mafia, raged to Knife Party, and lured Zedd back out for an encore with his “Alive” remix by Empire of the Sun. His set ended around 9:45pm, as a final DJ spun for the final minutes of the night, shut down promptly by guards at 10pm.
Photo credit to Sara Wass for NickyDigital.com
All I can say is that my night was incredible. The spacious layout of the venue, open bar, raised VIP and viewer areas, incredible pyrotechnics, A-list performances and all-around wonderful, summer-happy people made this event a complete success. I’m not the only one who wanted the night to continue – I could watch Zedd for days. ‘Up Next’ was one for the books, and if I could turn back time, you all know where I would go.
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