Excision Exceeded Expectations at the Nexus Tour in San Francisco

Excision landed in San Francisco during the Nexus Tour for two nights of bass madness at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium.

As a fan who started my journey in dance music with bass and electro house, Excision has always remained an elusive artist who, in my mind, represented the filthy, grimy, and forbidden side of dubstep that was forgotten in the mainstream during its explosive rise in the 2010s. Ever since stumbling upon the now-iconic Shambhala 2013 mix, I’ve remained interested but distant from the genre as I found other sounds to be passionate about.

Now and then, however, Excision’s unadulterated sounds and performances call out to me like a siren out at sea. Seeing the evolution of his project and performances from the outside has been incredible, but when I found out that the Nexus Tour would be making its way to my backyard in San Francisco for two nights, I knew I had to go.

The insane visuals going viral on TikTok every day, talented support lineup, and larger-than-life experience drew me back in, and before I knew it, I was walking into the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco for night one of the Nexus Tour.

Photo Credit: Insomniac Events

The Bay Area scene shows up and shows out for their favorite acts in all of dance music, but especially bass. The crowd for the Nexus Tour was no different.

When I first arrived at the venue, the passion from the crowd already felt electric. Fans were getting ready outside their cars in the parking garage, blasting their favorite tunes and socializing with everyone. Our car had a giant Excision decal on it, and needless to say, it was a hit with the fans attending.

I arrived at the venue before opening and felt anxious staying from beginning to end since I had almost no idea what I was getting into. To my surprise, I enjoyed every single opener and got to know so many new artists. As I walked in, LOUIEJAYXX dropped bangers from beginning to end, and the crowd’s engagement was top-tier. Hairitage and DRINKURWATER played a fun B2B where I got hooked on every tune. Great music aside, I enjoyed how DRINKURWATER’s visuals reminded everyone in the crowd to drink water and stay hydrated – a gimmick I can get behind.

CALCIUM and Samplifire followed with another great set I did not expect. I saw Samplifire in 2023 during KAYZO’s UNLEASHED XL Tour, and once again, he did not disappoint. What stood out during this set was the pacing of the tunes. These two artists planned out their set to cater to the crowd’s energy, and they knew exactly when to pivot to reel them back in. Besides the dubstep tunes, CALCIUM and Samplifire also threw in a techno record that ripped throughout the venue.

Photo Credit: @khangarooo

Ray Volpe and ATLiens brought the madness with louder tracks, bigger production, and epic visuals.

These two acts blew me away for the first time I saw them. Once Ray Volpe came on, the music got louder, and the lights got brighter. Ray Volpe treated his set as a video game being played in insane mode, complete with blistering tunes and insane crowd reactions. When he played “Laserbeam,” the crowd erupted in screams, delivering an unforgettable moment that put a giant smile on my face and sent goosebumps all over my arms.

ATLiens was a new performance to me as well, and I found a lot to enjoy. Their wonky tunes brought ground-shaking bass that was felt on the ground floor and up in the balcony section. They also threw in some dubstep remixes of popular Latin records, which is always great to see in a space without much representation. To top it all off, they dropped some psy trance with booming bass and rolling basslines.

Photo Credit: Insomniac Events

Nothing could have prepared me for Excision’s performance, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

The visuals from Excision’s Nexus Tour have been going viral on TikTok, and everybody from ravers to Kayne West is talking about it. Even with all of the buzz surrounding this show, nothing could have prepared me for the absolute chaos that ensued during Excision’s performance. As I mentioned earlier, I’ve strayed away from bass music despite having solid roots in the genre, but every so often, Excision calls out to me, and I knew I couldn’t miss this show.

For an hour and a half, Excision pummeled a sold-out Bill Graham Civic Auditorium with chest-piercing bass, deep growls, and out-of-this-world visuals. Every single track kept me on my toes, and I had no idea what was coming next. Even when I thought the set had become predictable, Excision threw a wrench in the mix with many surprises and unexpected swerves.

The visuals themselves lived up to the hype on social media and more. Admittedly, there were plenty of times when I was left staring into the void with my mouth open in complete awe of what I was seeing. To sum it up in a meme, it felt like chewing 5 Gum. On a more serious note, there have been very few shows I’ve been to that leave me craving for more immediately after, but Excision excelled in restoring this feeling for me.

Excision delivered an epic experience with every show from the openers up until closing. My only bad takeaway from this event was that he didn’t play the viral Shrek visuals during his set on the first night in San Francisco; check out our viral TikTok video about this. No matter the issue, it speaks volumes about this show that every fan still left home happy even though the most viral visual wasn’t integrated into the performance. Whatever comes next, there’s no doubt I’m going to be catching Excision wherever I can.

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