Bear Grillz + Company Rock Palace Theatre

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Photo: Max Weinberger

By Andrew Walker

It was a tad chilly on the final Saturday of November, but that didn’t stop dubstep fans from packing Palace Theater to see Bear Grillz on his Demons Delux Fall Tour, the final stop on the Canadian leg. Better yet, fans were excited to see this tweet from the DJ himself the day of the show:

That gave Calgarians an extra reason to celebrate, while making Edmontonians jealous as his Edmonton show was cancelled the night before due to bad weather at the Denver airport.

Fortunately, Calgary was given the all clear and doors opened right at 9 pm to local talent warming up the crowd.   

At 10 pm, the dancefloor was more than half full when OG Nixin took to the decks, playing all the heavy hits including a taste of Skrillex’s “Cinema”. Somnium Sound followed at 11 pm with another heavy dose that included a brief pause of the crowd belting “Sun & Moon” just before Lucii took over.

Lucii’s set was on another level and those that watched her Bass Canyon set were in for a treat and she did not disappoint. Her set included a quick throwback to LMFAO’s “Party Rock Anthem” and her original “I Need Your High” which she sang live along with others. A neat fact from the night was that it was the debut performance for both OG Nixin and Lucii in Cowtown with OG Nixin smiling before he left the venue saying, “That crowd was lit, I love Calgary.” 

Photo: Max Weinberger

After a quick changeover, a furry head with red lit eyes and mouth appeared on stage and the crowd was ready. The two subs in front of the stage were finally cranked and Bear Grillz threw down one of the heaviest sets Palace Theater have seen in quite some time. Spending equal time with the mic and mixing, the Denver based DJ included “Happier”, “Heads Will Roll” & “Thnks fr th Mmrs” before massive drops.

A great way to warm up from the cold weather and reunite with the dubstep community before the beginning of exams and the Christmas rush.

Ever After Music Festival highlights: A few of our favourite sets & moments

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Photos by Andrew Iriah

By Sinejan Ozaydemir 

Festival season is underway and this past weekend, electronic music fans, headbangers and bassheads from all over Canada gathered to party at Ever After Festival in Kitchener Ontario. The festival featured rides and attractions, a waterpark and camping. The three day event attracted tens of thousands of fans for 47 performances.

Here are some of our favourite sets/moments from the festival:

Slander

Slander’s set was one of the best sets of the festival in terms of song selection. The crowd had piled onto the main area by their set time on Friday evening and were having a great time. The hour was filled with chill vibes as Slander guided the crowd through highs and lows. They provided great variety in their one hour set and especially did a great job mixing some throwbacks into the bass heavy tracks that festival goers were there for! They played a few crowd favourites like: "Superhuman" by Slander, "Yeah!" - Usher ft. Lil Jon & Ludacris, "Never be like you" by Flume ft. Kai , "I fall apart"- Post Malone, "Physically" - Mrefjus & Gud, and "Vibrations" - NGHTMRE.

Snails

Right after Slander, Snails took the stage with a set that was bass heavy and such a good time! Although it was still somewhat early in the evening, the crowd was energized and thoroughly enjoyed this set as they were headbanging for the majority of the hour and a half set. His visuals were also lively and engaging. He was also one of the DJs paying tribute to Aviici this weekend with a remix of Levels.

Bear Grillz

One of my favourite sets of the whole festival was mid-day Saturday. The hour that Bear Grillz had the stage seemed like a lot shorter. He had really good control of the crowd and seriously entertained. Another great set with regards to song selection and mixes. There was so much dancing that Bear Grillz actually tired out the crowd, almost a quarter of the crowd by the main stage actually needed a break after this set- clearly shows that they had a great time. He also premiered a new unreleased track during his set which was well received.

Kill The Noise

Kill the noise got everyone jumping: besides the crowd loving well known more tracks throughout the set, he was also one of the DJ’s that premiered new music! He even invited Snails up to the stage to premiere their new collab called "Shake the Ground" for the crowd which was well received. Another great set from day two of the festival.
 

Drezo

A large group of people could be seen leaving the main areas of the festival and heading up the hill to the Upside Down House stage for Drezo’s set. Although the climb up the hill was challenging for some concert goers, this did not stop them as they piled in to the fenced area by the Upside Down House Stage. Totally a different vibe from the main stage, it was a great set as people danced in and out of each other’s dance circles.
 

Excision

It is always great to see headliners completely taking over while they expertly entertain their audience. Excision’s set was just that. He had a great package of tunes, visuals and excitement that  shows clearly why he was closing off Ever After Festival. The anticipation was building up as the sun went down and the crowd welcomed Excision to the stage. It was a great party through and through with fireworks and great visuals electronic music fans love.

Although the festival was not in a big city in Ontario, it was pretty packed. Observing the number of attendees was impressive while walking through the festival grounds. A good number of people enjoyed the rides and attractions but a greater number piled around the attractions that were situated at the back of the main stage to listen to the music with their fellow festival goers.

At times the crowd spanned all the way into the treed areas, and even though the festival worked hard to keep sound levels down in order to reduce the amount of noise complaints, the music could be heard and enjoyed clearly from the hills or the back of the crowd. The result on Sunday was a large and tired-out group of people who had three days of music with some of their favourite DJs.  

If you're still planning for your next festival, make sure to check out the 2018 festival guide below: