One thing that I have learned about getting the most out of a music festival is that being flexible and spontaneous is the best way to go. You can’t be afraid to change your plan when a friend or a stranger mentions something about a good secret guest or a pop-up show. On the fourth day of HPX 2014, I followed my own advice.
My first stop was at the Halifax Forum for Zeds Dead. I had planned on arriving early to see the opening acts but it just didn’t work out that way.
We arrived at the Forum about ten minutes before Zeds Dead took the stage, grabbed some drinks and headed forward to grab a decent spot. They appeared right at ten and definitely did not disappoint. Within the first 45 minutes, the mix took the audience through several amazing cuts from their most recent EP, ‘Somewhere Else,’ and a helluva lot of dubstep. The bass nearly blew the roof off the place and it wasn’t long before I wished I had brought decent ear plugs. However, it was early in my night and I wasn’t quite in ‘dance/party mode’ yet, so as much enjoyed the music, I wasn’t an active participant in the show. Furthermore, my friend informed me that he’d read in the local weekly newspaper that Ryan Hemsworth would be the secret guest at a small club downtown, The Carleton. Tennyson, another act I was interested in seeing in a small venue would be playing prior to Hemsworth. Although both would opening for Danny Brown at the Forum on Saturday, my friends and I figured that seeing both of Tennyson and Hemsworth in a small, up-close-and-personal venue could be special. Thus, we left Zeds Dead about halfway though their set to get downtown.
After we waited in line for about 20 minutes, my friends and I were shuffled into the club. There really weren’t many people inside, so we figured that they held us outside to allow ticket holders more time to arrive. Pass holders were subject to capacity while ticket holders were not. Once inside, I thought about the contrast between the large and small venues.
When Tennyson took the stage, the room was electric. Myself, I was really excited to see how tracks like ‘With me’ and ‘Lay-By’ would translate to the stage. They finished setting up and kicked the set off with ‘You’re Cute,’ a track that’s also up for grabs on SoundCloud. After a couple nervous mistakes, they settled into a groove that nothing could derail. It was truly amazing hearing mature music performed and created by such young minds. There were also a surprising amount of tunes played that I had never heard. I hope this is a sign that they will be dropping an official EP sooner than later.
I barely had time to grab a drink before Hemsworth’s set began. I was hoping to hear a lot material from his Secret Songs collection and maybe some new material he might be releasing on his upcoming record, ‘Alone for the First Time.’ I wasn’t let down. Nearly all the material was either self-produced or remixed by him, or amongst his Secret Songs. Considering his recent announcement that he was becoming a little tired of performing in large party-clubs, this was definitely the perfect venue. It wasn’t loud, the crowd was involved, and the tempo and flow of the music matched perfectly. Near the end of the set, my friends bailed to make sure that they were able to get into the next venue, but my gut told me to stay put. Right after they left, Hemsworth spun ‘Club Goin’ Up on a Tuesday,’ and the entire audience sung along. It was definitely a memorable performance for everyone who was present.
I left for Reflections immediately after Hemsworth’s set ended. I found my friends, found some drinks, and waited patiently for Thugli to arrive. The party vibe that I didn’t feel for Zeds Dead was definitely starting to kick in. I was pretty pumped to dance with strangers.
Thugli is DJs Tom Wrecks and Pat Drastik. Originally from Ottawa, ON, they met as teenagers and learned to spin records around the same time. After working for years together on different projects, the two relocated to Toronto and began working on producing and remixing songs with a heavy trap style. You can download most (if not all) of their music from either their SoundCloud or Facebook pages.
And when they the finally took the stage, everybody went berserk. It was an experience. I can only imagine what we all looked like from the mezzanine above. Drunk, sweaty people, just moving around uncontrollably. At around 3:30, the lights came on. Nobody seemed to care, really. People who had been hiding out above started filtering out, but everyone on the main floor kept dancing. I was desperate to hear the remix of A$AP Mob’s ‘Hella Hoes’ before it ended, so I snuck through sweaty bodies to the front and drunkenly pleaded for my request. Just as the current jam was being mixed out, the the bartender told them to shut it down. It looked like an argument was going to ensue, but the bartender was adamant, to say the least. After they unplugged, I shook Drastik’s hand and thanked him for the good times. Not only did he give me a ‘your welcome,’ but he assured me he had ‘Hella Hoes’ loaded up to play next.
And that was that. I managed to get home before sunrise and got a little bit of sleep before I had to do it all over again. It’ll be hard to for any festival day to compare to the fourth day of HPX 2014.
