Back in Black 2012
With Dirty South, Paul Van Dyk, Funkagenda, Crystal Method, LA Riots, and others
Space, Miami
Saturday, October 27, 2012
Better Than: Partying in 75 mph winds.
Hurricane Sandy really fucking blows, man. She totally messed up our Halloween plans.
We were going to shake our ass to dirty beats at Back in Black under a starry sky. But instead, the dress-up fest was moved to Space due to the threat of shitty weather. And then it turned out to be the most beautiful days of the year.
Fuck you, Mother Nature.
See also:
-Miami's Halloween 2012 Music and Party Guide
-Ten Best Halloween Parties in Miami
-The 46-photo slideshow of Back In Black 2012
Originally, Back in Black was supposed to take place at Bicentennial Park, and that would have probably been amazing. Unfortunately, because of impending hurricane doom, the location was sensibly changed to the two-story venue, because partying in the rain sucks.
Regardless, the place was swamped with costumed ravers. And we're not talking cheapo Walmart Superman. The crowd went above and beyond their call of duty, decked out in top-notch sexy everything.
There were sexy angels, sexy cops, sexy zombies, sexy pirates, sexy Marios, sexy Luigis, sexy demons, sexy hobos, sexy pimps, even sexy Waldos mixed among the crowd, like a real-life page from everyone's favorite childhood series.
But besides sexy costumes, there was music. Of course, once we made the epic battle that was getting upstairs, we realized we could never again go downstairs unless we were ready to leave.
Basically, if you got to Back in Black early enough, then you could upstairs and stay there. And if you showed up late, you were gonna be stuck downstairs.
So, we finally got upstairs and parked our asses, enjoying the electro-house goodness of L.A. Riots. Halfway through his set, Mr. Riots was really enjoying himself, working the packed dance floor with some serious four-on-the-floor.
Back in Black must have looked badass from the booth. Brilliant laser beams slashed through the room. Half-naked dancers gyrated atop raised platforms just above the crowd. Giant black and white inflatable tubes and spikey balls dangled from the ceiling while a massive disco ball reflected shininess everywhere.
Once LA Riots finished pumping the place full of dancey jams, England's Funkagenda took over and kept the vibe moving.
He delivered a perpetually groovy two-hour set, dropping many a big bold build, but never really hitting the crowd with anything too disruptive. We must say, though, his remix of Fever Ray's "When I Grow Up," produced in conjunction with DJ Paul Thomas, was one of our favorite moments of the evening.
Meanwhile, we missed Paul Van Dyk, who probably crushed it on that trance tip. But we wouldn't really know. 'Cause we were still stranded upstairs.
Back in the terrace main room, though, the energy kept building, the tension rising, until Funkagenda let the crowd loose with his last few tracks. He got them all riled up and amped for Dirty South who stood readying his gear to the side, just to have his fellow UKer cut the music and launch into an epic intro.
But the effect was a win. Because by the time the first drop came down, everyone was so jazzed, the energy jumped up to a solid nine. Around this time, both Funkagenda and Dirty South discovered the siren feature of the booth, and both DJs had their turn at blowing out everyone's eardrums in classic Miami fashion.
Dirty South kept the progressive hits coming as he closed the place out. And the guy has earned his headlining spot, killing it like a natural behind the decks, working the place with no computer in sight.
But we decided we'd wind our way back down to catch the last hour of Crystal Method before heading home, and we found the scene downstairs to be a lot heavier, though with a less-packed dance floor.
The duo was bringing that heat and totally in theme with the holiday, the only costumed DJs we saw all night. And their costumes were totally awesome, two giant LEGO heads for the win.
The Crystal Method dudes had the most bass-heavy set of the night, keeping it funky and a little old-school. (In fact, when they dropped the classic "Get Busy Child," we got so nostalgic and into it, we might have scared some of our fellow partiers.) And they turned it out with mad energy until it was finally time -- 11 p.m. -- to close down.
Everyone at Back in Black surely had a good time, albeit not as much fun as if Sandy hadn't ruined everything with mere threats to rain on the parade.
We like Halloween treats over tricks, after all.
Critic's Notebook
Personal Bias: Screw that bouncer who spilled my $17 drink before I got to enjoy it. I don't know you, but I know your mom didn't raise a gentleman.
The Crowd: The best assembly of Halloween costumes that we've ever seen in one place. You guys really killed it and you made this event more fun with your effort.
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