- "Red Bull is like that rich kid in elementary school who invites everyone to their birthday party," wrote one Brooklyn club kid on the Technopolis Facebook page. "The kid is kinda 'problematic' so at first you're like, eh, but then you find out they're bringing a moon bounce and go-karts and the balloon artist is doing a three-hour performance recreating Noah's Ark on an island in the pond so of COURSE you'll go cuz fucking moon bounce right?" This post summed up the tension surrounding Saturday's event, which paid tribute to a scene that traditionally avoids brand sponsors in favor of a shoestring DIY approach.
The two-room warehouse party showcased Brooklyn's oddball house and techno underground. While partygoers may have expected a grandiose experience, the production wasn't great. There were LED strips arranged like circuits on the walls, a couple of video projectors in the courtyard and laser tickers listing artist names and set times. The sound bleed between rooms was so bad at times that it was hard to tell which kick drum was coming from where. A friend mentioned that there would be no turntables because the bouncing wooden platform was making the records skip—a problem that seasoned promoters probably would have accounted for ahead of time.
The music made up for the production snafus. When I arrived Via App was serving caustic techno to the small room. I've seen her play live a few times before, when her sets were more playful or psychedelic, but on Saturday she went for pure power. Next door, Galcher Lustwerk mixed the most eclectic set of the night, moving from sunny deep house to gnarled acid, then knocking it down a few BPM for big stoner tracks like Babyfather's "Meditation." Industrial techno trio DUST followed at 3 AM, blazing through tracks from this year's album, Agony Planet. They covered Phuture's acid house classic "Your Only Friend," a song that's narrated by the voice of cocaine addiction. ("I can make you steal for me / Kill for me / And in the end / I'll be your only friend.") Their singer Greem Jellyfish replaced the word "cocaine" with "Red Bull."
Aurora Halal's melody-driven live set brought a bit more emotional depth to the smaller room, before local afterhours favorite Volvox closed out the main space, sending the intensity levels into the red with two hours of bleak techno. She capped off a great few hours of music that lay testament to the strength of Brooklyn's headstrong scene. If you discount the big, expensive venue and juiced-up marketing budget, it felt a lot like a normal Saturday night in Bushwick.
Photo credit /
Drew Gurian