Brownies & Lemonade brought Rattleship back to the Bay Area for a second year with a silent disco, stacked secret lineup, and some bumps in the road.
Regarded as one of the more creative and community-oriented curators driving dance music forward, the Brownies & Lemonade team never ceases to amaze with their unparalleled themed events and secret lineups galore. The beloved Los Angeles-based team continues to uplift rising electronic music artists, always centering music and artistry at the root of their every move.
One way they continue to uphold that mission is by upstaging themselves with every new event. From pop-up events to abandoned army bunker raves to their newest flagship event on a literal USS aircraft carrier, Brownies & Lemonade is the epitome of keeping fans on their toes. This July marked the return of Rattleship, set to take place once again over two days on the USS Hornet in Alameda, California.
As with most of their events, Rattleship was announced with a secret lineup, but this year’s edition would also bring a silent disco addition featuring tons of local talent, as well as some fun photo booths and brand partnership booths. With such hype around the debut last year, we knew this year’s edition would sell out quickly, so we set to work planning to dance on the USS Hornet once again.
The first day went off without a hitch, featuring sets from Rossy, G Jones, RL Grime, and Whethan.
Considering the debut edition last year brought flocks of ravers to the event, we expected the crowd to be bigger this year. Thankfully, security was efficient and quick in getting attendees inside with little holdup. Once inside, attendees could explore the inside of the aircraft carrier, take pictures at the photo booth installations, or grab free stickers and scrunchies at the BeatBox booth.
To start the night, a young Niko was tearing up the place with a high-energy electronic trap, briefly bringing out special guest WINK to close out his set. The lovely and talented Rossy then took the stage, bringing along an invigorating stage presence we’ve grown to love. What followed next was a poorly timed break that would make us realize how time-consuming getting back inside was. Our crew wandered out to the silent disco and grabbed some food at the sole food truck placed outside, just in time to hear G Jones‘ iconic “R.A.V.E.” start playing and run back to get in line to board the USS Hornet.
Once inside, we were blessed to witness G Jones turn the place upside down, bringing out all the bassheads and weirdos for all the best G Jones originals. While a totally different vibe, it was the best precursor to the main event, an RL Grime headline set. RL Grime took the stage and electrified the crowd in an instant. The production team brought out all the stops for his set with an insane amount of lasers we hadn’t seen before.
The beginning of the second day of Rattleship raised some concerns.
While the first day went off without issue, the second day proved to be much more crowded and much less equipped for efficiency. Starting with security, we were immediately instructed to split from our groups and make new lines, then told to make one line for guys and one for girls. Why that is, we have no idea, as the lines weren’t designated for same-sex security either.
Moving onwards, there was the second line to board the USS Hornet, which quickly became congested, winding in a few zig-zags, pushing staff to set up barriers much too late. At one point, attendees lost their patience and began ignoring barriers and cutting the line, causing everyone to wait even longer for that congestion to clear and still arrive at the onboard ramp one at a time. Unfortunately, this caused many people to miss the first two sets of the night, including local artists Nikita The Wicked and JAWNS, both of whom we were looking forward to.
The rest of the night continued with smoother sailing, bringing higher spirits within the crowd and a much easier experience.
Luckily, we made it in just in time to see the insanely talented LYNY as he ripped his remix of PEEKABOO’s “Bumpin’.” Culture Shock followed that with an insane drum and bass set with the ground shaking and the crowd jumping. For the main event, RL Grime took the stage once again with the birthday boy, Juelz, as his special guest. For the final set of the night, Whipped Cream took attendees by surprise with an intoxicating hard techno set that brought out all the late-night gremlin energy.
Rattleship was a unique and exciting experience, and with some improvements, it could become a mainstay event in the Bay Area.
We understand that boarding an aircraft carrier requires some safety management, of course, but leaving that organization up to attendees guarantees impatience, overcrowding of exits, and a sour aftertaste due to dealing with cutting in lines. It also didn’t help that bathrooms were only outside, and the silent disco was even further away from the entrance.
While the concept is phenomenal, the execution is not quite there yet. We hope next year’s edition can be improved, and we’re sure the Brownies & Lemonade team will once again provide an unforgettable experience.
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