I Went And Saw Skrillex, (And Fred Again, and Four Tet) Burn Down Madison Square Garden On Saturday Night
(Disclaimer: If you don't like electronic music, have problems with people who do, or are just a closed-minded individual, this blog isn't for you. Turn back now.)
Last week word leaked that Skrillex, Fred Again, and Four Tet would be playing a surprise show at Madison Square Garden on Saturday Night, February 18th. I got tipped on Tuesday that the show would be announced and tickets would be going on sale Wednesday, leaving the trio just under 4 days to sell out one of the biggest arenas in the country. No small task.
But tickets began flying on ticketmaster the second Fred Again "leaked" the first ticket drop on his Instagram.
This wasn't the first show the group had played together, having done the Electric Ballroom in Camden Town, London, on January 5, and going on a tear during the week, playing Good Room in Brooklyn on February 14, Le Poisson Rouge in Greenwich Village on February 16, and doing a surprise pop up outside in Times Square February 17.
But Madison Square Garden, known as "The World's Most Famous Arena", sold out in just minutes. (I think this was the first time a pop-up rave can claim this feat). And fans were in a frenzy the next two days driving secondary market prices well into the $400+ up range just to get in the door.
One thing that was cool was even though the show showed as "sold out" online, each of the artists would do a daily "ticket drop" via their Instagram stories, where they'd rotate announcing when a new batch of tickets had dropped. Keeping fans wicked engaged, and also allowing die-hard fans to swoop in and get tickets for face value instead of having to hit the secondary market.
But the build-up and anticipation for this show was unlike anything dance music-related that I'd been to in a long, long, time.
Perhaps it was due to the fact that Skrillex was finally making his return after a long 7 years, along with dropping a new album, and a surprise, second album during the show (more on this in a later blog). Including debuting a brand new look.
Or perhaps it was the fact that they were throwing a fucking RAVE at MADISON SQUARE GARDEN on short notice.
Nonetheless, thanks to the best in the biz, GAMETIME, I scored tickets last minute, on the floor for my GM from Cleveland and I.
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You can score last-minute tickets to the sporting event, or concert of your choice using the Gametime app. Create an account and use the code "STOOL" to get $20 off your first order.
Doors opened at 7, and all three of them hit the stage promptly at 8. House lights still on. Very odd but you could tell they were just setting the mood, sonically and visually.
There was very little production wise. They were on an elevation that wasn't much higher than a stack of risers, with a discoball hanging behind them, and a circular truss racked with aerial array speakers directed inward and outward, along with a few moving light fixtures. But that was it. As minimal as it gets.
I talked about this on our podcast this week, but being on the floor had it's pros and cons. For one, my friends up in the seats looked like they were in one giant mosh pit all night, which is funny because you'd assume that's how the floor would have been. But the floor was packed with a bunch of industry executive and label types, influencers, wannabe influencers, New York socialites, etc.
Perfect example was while I was running to the bathroom quick I passed by Haley Kalil and her friends, who stopped me dead in my tracks. Ever heard of her?
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Ten times better looking in person, as if that was even humanly possible. But I can attest.
So yah, it was the furthest thing from an actual rave on the floor. Which was probably a good thing. But the seats were a different story. They were rocking all night.
Skrillex eventually hopped on around 8:50 and the lights began to fade.
Followed shortly by him teasing the "Laserbeam Remix", and then this happened.
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Four Tet jumped back on and played the last song I ever imagined I'd hear at a rave.
And it went like that for pretty much 3 hours more.
When I say nobody on Earth had more fun that Skrillex did on Saturday night, I mean it with 100% certainty.
The guy was running laps towards the end of the show around the arena floor.
He wouldn't stop dancing, thanking the crowd,
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And dropping fucking bangers
with MASSIVE drops
The three of them rotated every other song or so and it was honest to God a great show, so I don't want to sound like a hater whatsoever here. But, when Skrillex was on, there was a noticeable energy shift in the arena. And I'm talking every single time. Not that Fred Again or Four Tet sucked by any means, but Skrillex is just so head and shoulders above everybody else when it comes to technical DJing (he's been this good since day 1, no joke), and with song selection that it was in-your-face obvious. If they had just let him play for an hour straight, I don't think the arena would have been standing. He reached all the way back in his bag and was dropping everything, including a new re-edit of his smash with Bieber "Where R U Now", and the all-time hammer "Bangarang"
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His ability to mix in and out of everything was also very apparent compared to the other two.
The show was legendary enough that it got Sebastian Ingrosso to show up. He was introduced by Fred Again to a roar from the crowd. As well as Porter Robinson who Skrillex brought out. Skrillex also was kind enough to point out that Four Tet was the one everybody owed thanks to for "putting the whole thing together", coming up with the crazy idea, and convincing Fred Again and Skrillex to get on board and make it happen.
For anybody else that was there I'm sure they will tell you it was a night they'll always remember. I mean, you don't get to attend many 5-hour long dance party concerts in Madison Square Garden, with three legends from two different generations.
All in all it was a hell of a night.
You can listen to the whole set here -
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Once again huge thanks to Gametime for the hookup.
Use the code "STOOL" to get $20 off your first order.