Leading up to this event, I knew it was a Bassmentality that I did not want to miss. I had heard so many amazing things about Borgore’s shows and it was a pleasure to witness him spin myself. When I arrived at Wrongbar, I instantly recognized some of the Bassmentality regulars standing outside. That alone started off the night with a fantastic sense of community within the dubstep scene. The venue wasn’t too packed until Borgore’s set time neared, which is refreshing when you want a lot of space to dance freely.
Dr. Ozi started the party with a dynamic set that drew everyone to the dance floor. Feeding the current ravers’ craving for trap music, they dropped tracks such as the Baauer remix of Coke in My Nose by Mary Magdalan and RL Grime & Salva’s remix of Mercy by Kanye West. The talented duo also mixed a couple of Skrillex classics into their set like Reptile and Breakin’ A Sweat and the crowd ate it up. I was especially impressed by their mixing of Burst by 12th Planet – Dr. Ozi slowed down the BPM to create an almost unrecognizable tune, then progressively sped it up to its original speed, which produced an exciting build up to the climax of the song; the party-goers went wild. Near the end of their set, Dr. Ozi dropped a remix by one of my favourite DJs: Dillon Francis’s remix of Daydreamer by Flux Pavilion ft. Example. Christian and Nix’s set had me moving from beginning to end, and the boys definitely pumped up their audience for Borgore.
The room went insane when Borgore began his set. His capability to entertain really astounded me, as he put on an extremely dynamic show with interactive and visual elements. Borgore is well known for his scandalous, sexual and humorous content in his tracks, videos and album artwork. This sexual approach to his music was definitely evident during his performance. Projected behind him were trippy inverted images of women in lingerie dancing, as well as images of women having heavy winds blown in their face. Borgore’s sexual appeal and his sense of humour work together not only in his music, but at his live shows, to create an event that each attendee will never forget.
Aside from his visual techniques, Borgore’s set had everything the crowd was looking for. Every single track he spun had people excited and moving like crazy. Personally, I felt a rush of anticipation through my body at the beginning of almost every new song he mixed into his set. Each track choice and transition seemed perfect, and with the aid of his sexy visual elements, he produced the ultimate stimulation of the senses. To warm us up, Borgore dropped Tetris and Big Boss by Doctor P and I Can’t Stop by Flux Pavilion, which are classics in the Toronto dubstep scene. It’s great to hear new material, but when I hear classic tracks like these, I just can’t control myself and begin to dance hard. I could see these songs had the same effect on all the dubstep fans around me, as we danced hard in unison. Since Borgore has so many popular original tracks, he was really able to make his mix his own. He played Glory Hole, Smell Your Dick, and his remix of Molly by Cedric Gervais. During the latter song, a mosh pit formed in the center of the crowd. At first, I thought it was ridiculous to mosh at a dubstep event, but Borgore’s style of wobbles are so hard-hitting and heavy, they truly do make you want to rage and mosh. The pit became even more intense when he dropped Centipede by Knife Party, a current dance floor favourite. The mosh pit calmed down as Borgore’s set progressed into songs such as Foes by Borgore, a remix of Save the World by Swedish House Mafia and a couple of trap songs to mellow the crowd out. This mellow vibe was quickly destroyed when he mixed in a remix of Internet Friends by Knife Party, which started the mosh pit up again. I thought it was amusing when he played Earthquakey People by Steve Aoki immediately after, because the people on the dance floor were raving so violently, it was as if they created an earthquake within the venue. At this point, Borgore rapped live over his set, which really proved he is multitalented. As it neared the end of his set, Borgore played Make My Whole World by Trolley Snatcha, and Kill the Noise’s remix of Must be the Feeling by Nero. One of my favourite moments of the evening is when Borgore brought out a white cake, turned around and threw it over his head into the audience. No one was safe from the sticky mess. Anyone near the stage was covered in cake, and the floor became slippery with icing, which resulted in collisions everywhere. Borgore’s amazing stage presence and exciting entertainment techniques got the ravers raging the hardest they had all night, so when he ended his set with Kyoto by Skrillex and Netsky’s remix of Everyday by Rusko, we just wanted more. Just as we had hoped, Borgore came out for a final encore, during which an epic happening occurred. During his encore track, the entire dance floor formed a ‘wall of death’, normally seen at heavy metal shows, and charged at each other at the climax of the song.
It was amazing to see a DJ have this much of an effect on his audience, and everyone was completely divulged in the spectacle of the evening. Borgore definitely created an environment that encouraged party goers to rage hard and have fun throughout his performance, and it was successful. Everyone went crazy. Even as I was leaving the venue, a large crowd of people outside were still singing the lyrics to Borgore’s Smell Your Dick. Borgore’s performance will forever resonate with the attendees who had the pleasure to be entertained by him.
Alix Nikulka – EDM TOR
