Night One.
After reverting to its authentic New Year’s date, this year’s Lights All Night was prepared to celebrate in true Texan style. The fifteenth anniversary undoubtedly lived up to the Texas moniker, as everything was bigger and better this year. No matter what room you entered or stage you gazed upon, there was an exceptionally talented artist performing on the stage, no matter what time slot you stumbled across.
Metroplexin’
Night one was all about getting familiar with our surroundings and venturing into every crevice of the bewonderment. We started off outside to check out some gnarly Drum and Bass by Skydisc and grab some food from one of the food trucks. After getting trapped in the longest Street Taco line, I was still able to catch most of the Hostage Situations set. The hooded men in white ski masks tour down the Metroplex stage with pure Riddim-fueled mayhem.
Then it was Nikita, The Wicked’s set. I just had to get up close for this one. Barging my way to the right of the stage, I managed to get practically to the rails. The setup this year was sick; the decks looked like the front of some old-looking 1950’s car or truck bumper. Adorned in his white jump suit, yielding his baton his set was underway. Deep billowing bass rumbled from the stage, hip-hop undertones cascaded over the eardrums, as eerie cinematic sounds rang loudly in the trees. Nikita’s energy behind the decks is unmatched; like a wild man, he commanded a packed-out crowd.
After coming down from the Nikita high, we stayed put outside for one more act, as Texas’s favorites, Know Good, were up next. Rooted in plenty of Houston swagger, these cousins gave us a healthy serving of H-town rap we all needed that night. Growing up in Texas myself, I love how they combine elements of rap and rock within the same format. Whipping out their guitar and laying down metal-like guitar riffs mid-DJ set is so cool to me. They also blessed us with their ever-popular Green Day Brain Stew Flip, and my inner 90s kid screen lit up with glee! A Know Good set is always a good time, no matter what end of the spectrum you’re on!
Let’s go to the Disco!
Sometime towards the end of the set, we decided to head back inside and explore the different rooms. We stumbled upon a massively packed Metroplex stage as WOOLI raged on in full force. But we were off to the Disco Rodeo Stage to check out all the good dancers this evening! ODD MOB had just started spinning, and was getting the f**k down! I’ve never had the pleasure of seeing him live before, and he most definitely did not disappoint. A bass-head at heart, it’s always fun to venture out and check out new genres, especially at a disco presents event because they always have such a wide array of artists to see.
Towards the end of ODD MOB, we lost my brother-in-law and went back outside to meet at the randevu point underneath the old oak tree. He was sitting on the curb, drinking a beer, listening to the tail end of Maddy O’Neal. We joined him along the curb and stayed for a bit of 33 Below’s set before we decided to call it quits for the evening. Best save our energy for night two, we thought!
