On October 19th, Relentless Beats and Insomniac Events presented another electronic elixir lineup for BOO! Arizona. Ravers came from all across the valley, dressed in their spookiest attire for a night of exhilaration at Rawhide Event Center.
After our last venture to Rawhide for Goldrush, heading into the warehouse at the same location was an intimate change of pace. Walking through the dusty grounds, past attendees dressed like monsters, rave kitties, and witches, we headed into the vast building, blooming out heavy beats from Triggabyte and TRYB during their B2B. The XL room had big openings, allowing heavy airflow in and out of the venue, an absolute necessity for long nights like BOO! The two DJs bounced off one another, driving high energy into the Halloween-raged crowd.
The next on the lineup was 13, giving the audience a balance between hip hop, bass, and dubstep. Even early in the night, the Arizona crowd was maximum energy, dancing with every variety of musicality. 13’s visuals were artful and cunning, the outline of a woman which then zoomed in on her eyeball, came as a trick to the visual eye.
Bleep bloop slowed the tempo down after 13’s set, bringing those deep buzzes of bass, and he had a bit of hip hop sprinkled in there as well. He played his original track, “diamond cutter,’ his collaboration with Liquid Stranger, “Paranoid,” as well as his remix of Alison Wonderland’s “Cry”—a personal favorite of mine.
Deorro had a movie-like intro, a build up to his initial build up. It sounded similar to the opening scene of films when you see them in the theatre. Deorro is a house DJ-producer, needless to say, he played a lot of house music. He had lengthy samples of some pop songs, including “I Don’t Care,” by Icona Pop and Charli XCX, The Weeknd’s “The Hills,” and some Bruno Mars. Fans were thrilled to hear him play his song with Chris Brown, “Five More Hours.”
The next DJ was Drezo, an originally underground house music DJ. He stayed true to the underground sound while bringing in darker, haunting sounds, fitting the mood of the night seamlessly. I noticed the most amount dancing and flowing during this set, which is always a highlight of the night for me.
The transition into SAYMYNAME’s set was dramatic, with substantial, stirring sounds presenting his hardstyle-trap combo. He paused midd-performance to give a shoutout to the Arizona rave scene, noting Crush as one of his biggest shows he’s played, and how impactful it was for his career as a DJ.
After 6 sets, the night still wasn’t over. Slushii came onto the stage with his grand opening of sounds from Phantom of the Opera, before sending the crowd into jumps. The American DJ played a broad range of EDM, including futuristic bass, electro house, and progressive house. He even brought the Halloween vibes, mixing “Heads Will Roll” with Rihanna’s “Work,” into some dubstep, before the night slowly concluded.
Apart from the music, there were vendors, booths for a quick bite to eat, and drinks galore, creating a comfortable night for all attendees dressed in their best Halloween-attire. Thank you Relentless Beats and Insomniac Events for creating another successful BOO! festival in Arizona.
