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May 9, 2012
- Despite it being only the second month of Hype!'s existence, host Depth One brought a duo of big bass music names to Pittsburgh's Shadow Lounge. Joe Nice, a DJ who could arguably be considered the father of US dubstep, was followed by Distal, one of the country's newer bass music darlings. In separate and distinctly different ways, the two shook the windows of the Lounge and satisfied an avid crowd with selections Pittsburghers don't often get to hear played out; deep cuts, raw dubs and, in Distal's case, some fresh tracks from his first full-length effort, Civilization.
The night was all about big room sound, but Shadow Lounge is known more for its chill factor than bass bravado. The little art gallery ended up offering a welcome sense of intimacy amidst the din of the crowd and the bellow of the subs. You could literally stand close enough to the decks to read the handwriting on the sleeves of Joe Nice's records.
Photo credit: Dave Mckelvey
While the two demonstrated very different styles of DJing, there were some shared qualities to their respective sets. Amongst Joe's slew of freshly cut dubplates were a few tracks from Addison Groove. And whether in response to the present juke-crazed fervor or a result of his own personal affinity for the grimey lyrics of ghetto-house and acerbic beats of acid, Distal reflected some of those same juke-tinged qualities. He dropped "Preach on Hustle," a new one off of Civilization which, with its catchy repetitive lyrics and languid yet speedy percussion patterns, recalls Groove's ubiquitous "Footcrab."
Between Joe's traditional style of dubstep mixed masterly with vinyl and Distal's futuristic moments of acid techno, the different flavors made for a swath of music that kept the crowd moving until sometime past the 2 AM closing time. If there's one frustrating thing about shows like this in Pittsburgh, it's that they can't go any longer than that.