By Jeff Thompson

I became a fan of trap music, a relatively new genre of EDM that consists of the huge bass and snare rolls often found in southern hip-hop, last October through attending the My Best Friend’s Party organized LeBooms (at one of which I had the opportunity to see R.L. Grime previously). So when the opportunity arose to see two of the biggest names in trap together, Baauer (who the rest of the world knows from the billion plus viewed “Harlem Shake” youtube videos) and R.L. Grime, I jumped on the opportunity to attend

I arrived at the show mid-way thorough the second DJ to play for the night, Ryan Hemsworth.  I was immediately impressed with his set due to his, what I might call, more underground set.  His set was lacking much of the straight on trap and dubstep played throughout the rest of the night and it was a welcome change of pace, decidedly different from the rest of the night.  I was also struck by how crowded Skully’s was, much more than any previous EDM show I had attended, though this was probably due to the 16+ age limit which differed from the 18+ and 21+ limitations I am used to. The crowding compared with the heat (100+ during the day) lead to one of the sweatiest shows I’ve ever attended, EDM or otherwise.

Baauer and R.L. Grime took to the DJ booth together, something not uncommon for tours billing two or more big name DJ’s. This worked to the night’s advantage as the two were able to mix between both of their tracks without stepping on each others’ toes. Among the key track’s played during the night were Major Lazer and Flux Pavilion’s booming ”Jah No Partial” as well as Major Lazer’s trap anthem “Original Don”.  In addition, more popular tracks including 2 Chainz’ “I’m Different” and R.L. Grime’s remix of Kanye West’s “Mercy”.  Bro Safari’s trap bomb, “The Drop”, Dillon Francis’ moombahton rager “Masta Blasta” and one of my personal favorite’s Baauer’s remix of Flosstradamus’ “Rollup” also sent the crowd (myself included) into a bouncing, shaking frenzy.  The obvious highlights of the night were the Baauer’s much anticipated ‘Harlem Shake” (which he intro’d by exclaiming “I made this song when I was 5 years old”) and R.L. Grime’s remix of Benny Benassi’s Satisfaction, which was seamlessly mixed into Flux Pavilion’s “I Can’t Stop”.

By the end of the night I was drenched in sweat (both mine and that of the folks around me) and exhausted after a night of big bass and wild dancing. This was all worth it, however, as I left Skully’s in a state of euphoria knowing I had just experienced one of the best trap sets I could possibly imagine.