Los Angeles and Salt Lake City event producers Good Society and BLAQ VOID curated a heady warehouse party with a stacked line up featuring XOTIX b2b Slang Dogs, PHRVA, Sugar & Spice, and Blue Blood.
I found out about Good Society and BLAQ VOID‘s party because an Instagram ad popped up about an underground bass rave. It’s the 2024 equivalent of finding a poster slapped to a telephone pole, I suppose — but not as cosmically random because the algorithm has figured out that most of what I buy is show tickets.
Before we really get into it, let me just say: the vibes at this party were so damn high that throughout the whole night, the dance floor felt seriously unified. It was easy to tell that the organizers had put their hearts and souls into their final show of 2024. It can be hit or miss with the warehouse raves in LA, but this one was a bullseye.
A couple homies and I parked down the street and arrived at the address.
We knew we were in the right place because the bass rattled the white metal bars on the windows, straight through the brick wall, until the whole place seemed to shake. I tried the front door and it was bolted shut. I smirked and rolled my eyes with slight embarrassment at the thought of how many times I had tried the wrong door at the DTLA afters.
I was feeling newb-ish, especially since I had texted the Good Society number after not being able to find the communication with the secret address (it was sitting in my email “junk” folder the whole time). Good Society came through though — after I sent them a text with my ticket number, they texted the address within minutes.
We strolled around the corner to the back alley and saw a small mass of people up ahead. There was a simple, wooden divider that obscured the building doorway from view and provided a makeshift smoking and port-a-potty area.
We headed inside. It was not oversold, but a healthy crowd had gathered. We stepped onto the long, concrete floor. Immediately, there was a warm and inviting energy from the space itself — brick walls on either side, the stage straight ahead, and a soft, white, wood-paneled ceiling high above us.
The space had minimal but effective details: fake ivy falling from the rafters around the room and a small, neon “good vibes” sign off to the side. The main attraction was straight ahead. Above the stage, a glowing red, neon “Good Society” inscription was flanked by two iridescent “BLAQ VOID” boards.
There was a center ceiling beam that supported a singular light rig scaffold, where two lasers hung, making their rounds around the room. My only regret was not bringing show glasses because the lasers were quite bright and certainly called for eye protection. Further out from either side of the stage were two tasteful stripper poles.
I took a breath and took in all the lights and sounds.
The lighting patterns were intriguing and peculiar. There were moments where they produced a soft, ambient, intimate effect akin to a warm and welcoming living room. Then, the lighting vibe would morph and pulse into epic, searing blues and pinks, reds and greens, sinking the audience back into the underground rave experience.
Welcome aboard the bass afters, with lighting rigs from LA-based digital creator Avelle Productions and lasers brought to you by Mom3nts. The latter is a touring lighting production company that has worked with beloved artists such as Tape B, Disco Lines, Tiësto, and Loud Luxury.
A buoyant blast of bass rippled through me, rattling my ribcage and nostrils, even opening my sinuses. I’m not overstating when I say that I’m not sure I’ve ever heard such incredible bass quality. I had forgotten (read: lost) my earplugs, but as a cherry on top, I got no ear ringing afterward (this was lucky — always wear ear protection!). The sound engineers at Serene Sound Productions really outdid themselves this time.
Blue Blood, member of femme-centered Kyra Collective, launched the night into euphoric oblivion with an epic, buzzy bass flip of “Push” by Skrillex, Hamdi, TAICHU, and OFFAIAH. Sugar & Spice (Kurei and Auracle), also part of Kyra Collective, crushed a high-energy set that gave me chills. Notably, they spun a nasty, wobbly unofficial remix of “Atmosphere” from So Sus, a Vancouver-based artist who has also recently joined forces with the Kyra Collective. They also dropped a gnarly, bouncy A$AP Ferg “Work” flip that kept everyone on their toes. As the set came to a close, the crowd was vibing to Kurei’s unreleased Alison Wonderland remix.
Painters like Skyler Gonzalez and CRODAS were minding their business on the sidelines, and there were a few trinket and jewelry vendors, too. I didn’t plan on purchasing anything, but I saw these adorable, dangly alien earrings and had to cop a pair from Ethereal Jutsu. Meanwhile, at the bar, water bottles were two dollars and vapes were only 15.
PHRVA threw down next, coming in hot for the LA homies with “Dubstep For Kids” by ONHELL. He pulled out some classic and new tracks with wonky, creative twists and heavy, irresistible wubs, spinning “Baddadan” by Chase & Status and Bou, “Losing Control” by Odd Mob and OMNOM, and “I Remember” by deadmau5 and Kaskade.
The audience was locked and loaded by the time Xotix and Slang Dogs (only one of the Dogs appeared) took the stage, all grinning ear to ear with excitement about the heater of a set they were about to drop on us.
The energy rose as the room buzzed to the iconic lyrics of Daft Punk’s “Technologic.” They paid homage to Buku, dropping his newly released, long-awaited track, “TWM.” The crowd got low to a bouncy flip ID of “Perfect (Exceeder)” by Mason and Princess Superstar, and the rager continued with a dubstep version of Mau P’s “Beats For the Underground.” The set culminated in a euphoric flip of Katy Perry’s “Dark Horse” that had everyone belting out the lyrics, hands waving up above, cheering and jumping as the beat dropped into a flurry of rich, diabolical wubs.
The night wound down to an end, and I found myself floating out of there with a smile planted on my face, on a cloud of bass reverberations, with a real appreciation for the community and a little bit of sleep deprivation.
After the dust settled, Xotix took to Instagram to express their wonder and gratitude. “LOS MF ANGELES thank you guys so much for packing out our btb headline with @slangdogs,” they wrote. “That was an absolutely bonkers night.”
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