The San Holo Golden Features concert was billed as an ODESZA afterparty, so the venue was clear inside upon opening. Dim red lights show the way to the various bars in the venue, while the in-house DJ, DJ Cameron, set the mood. It’s a bit of a crime that he had to put on a set to a largely empty theater, because it had a really good flow to it. A techno-house set that brought a cyber-punk vibe with booming bass and TRON-inspired lightshow, it set the mood well for the afterparty to come.
We got the opportunity to see the artists in the green room before and after the sets for this concert, and when Golden Features came in, it was hot off the airport runway. Jet lag had wearied the Australian DJ, but after a lively conversation and a shot of vodka, he donned his golden mask and took to the DJ booth to start the ODESZA afterparty off right.
And what a banger set to welcome the crowd to Stereo Live! Out of the entire night, this was the set where the basslines drove the beat forward. The crowd started small at 11:30, but it felt as if the people were summoned to the venue as the set called out to them, with Golden Features’s set ramping up in hype alongside the growing crowd. As the hype built, the lightshow on the DJ booth and screen behind grew in intensity as well. If you came into the theater at midnight, this is the part where you’d get a seizure and a good time. The set transitions between songs were a high point, and you could hear the cheers and applause booming louder with every song that passed by.
Golden Features came off the stage exuberant, with his entire mood turned around and a mad gleam in his eyes. It was clear why, with the theater going from empty to packed like a sardine can between the start and end of his set. The crowd was hyped, primed by the golden masked DJ with a delicious set of floor shaking bass and unique melodies. However, there remained one more act for the night for whom the venue was sold out, as mentioned before.
San Holo’s concert was one of the best examples I could think of to find a concert/club set hybrid. The vibe immediately shifted, as the different instrumentation from San Holo brought higher melodies combined with bass boosted through the roof to take advantage of the hype built up by Golden Features’s previous set. Mixed in with San Holo favorites like “bb u ok?” were sampled remixes to drive up the crowd’s excitement, like a sample of “Crank That,” often with San Holo turning down the music for the crowd to shout the lyrics that everyone knows.
San Holo used a lot more of the stage space as well. Getting up on top of the booth, walking out in front and reaching out to the crowd, San Holo brought the audience into the experience with him, bringing them along for a good time. A light show that hit like a consistent flash bang, smoke screens that shot at the biggest bass drops, and a finisher remix of Mr. Brightside brought him to continue on the set a few more tracks before ending the night with an explosive finish. You may have heard San Holo’s music online, on your phone, or over the car speakers, but until you’ve seen him live, you haven’t seen the full picture yet.
It’s some sort of cosmic humor that we covered the ODESZA afterparty and ended up not covering the ODESZA concert, but I have no regrets. The undying hype train that started with Golden Features’s set and exploded with San Holo’s was something that anyone should take the opportunity to experience. It’s also a damn good reason why, on that day, the theater sign read: “SOLD OUT.”
