Baauer & Just Blaze at Webster Hall Review

Friday, February 15th brought the return of two of New York City’s biggest superstars, Baauer and Just Blaze. As The Big League Tour began, there was an undeniable feeling that something legendary was about to take place, and it turned out to be something far beyond that. Marking the return to the hometown of both producers, as well as riding on the recent viral success of “Harlem Shake”, the atmosphere of the ballroom was exhilarating. The packed house at Webster Hall was in for an experience of a lifetime as Baauer and Just Blaze literally brought the house down.

As hip hop legend Just Blaze hit the decks at 1 am, the energy quickly turned from crazy to chaos as he began to drop old school hits like Jay-Z’s “Public Service Announcement” and Kanye West’s “Touch The Sky” (both of which are produced by Just Blaze). As Blaze ignited the over sold ball room packed to the brim, moving became impossible as devout fans pushed their way through the insanity to get closer to the prestigious producer. The huge grin plastered on Blaze’s face matched those of his fans before him. His uncontainable excitement only sent the crowd into overdrive. Just as the party got started Blaze had a big announcement for us…he had brought some friends along with him. Before it could even be registered, A-Trak was on the decks spinning out some classic tracks and threw in some tunes like “Joyenergizer” by Sander Van Doorn. After spending about 10 minutes on the decks, A-Trak capped it off with a stage dive and returned to the massive party forming on stage.

By the time Baauer came on stage, the stage was packed with a huge entourage coming out to support their boys. Celebrity friends, big and small, were getting crunk on stage with the DJ duo that were illuminated behind the decks with their matching white t-shirts and fitted caps. Accompanied by a huge crowd of fans that populated the entire stage, and a packed out Webster Hall before them, Baauer and Just Blaze were ready to give everyone what they had been so hyped for. As Bauuer and Blaze spun together, they continued to mix in hip-hop classics like Busta Rhymes “Jump Jump” and DMX’s “Gonna Lose My Mind” with trap hits like Flosstradamus’ “Original Don” remix. They also made sure to pay tribute to their friends in attendance, Heroes X Villians, by repeatedly dropping their remix of Major Lazer’s “Jah No Partial.” Finally, mid set they began baiting the crowd with Baauer’s “Harlem Shake.” As the moment everyone had been waiting for arrived, all eyes were on young Harry Rodrigues. The crowd erupted as soon as they heard the famed “Con los terroristas” punch line take over. Every inch of the ballroom shook as the massive crowd unleashed all the pent up excitement they had been holding in for weeks.

The fairytale moment of getting to harlem shake in front of its creator was only rivaled by the energy unleashed when Baauer and Just Blaze’s collaboration “Higher” was dropped. The following 2 & ½ hours proved to be a test of endurance as the energy never dissipated. The full out party frenzy that ensued provided us with twerking ladies, crowd surfing, and even some XXX moments on stage. No matter how tired you may have been, there was nothing that could pull you out of the room because there was no telling what, or who, you would see next. Baauer and Just Blaze couldn’t help themselves and mixed for an unprecedented 4 hours, from 1-5am. There is no doubt they “put on” for their city and gave a performance of a lifetime. It is no wonder Baauer would describe this night as “a dream come true,” for there are no words that could express what it felt like to be in Webster Hall that night. Bauuer and Blaze brought the crowd to their knees and were absolutely invincible. This show will go down in history as one of the most epic moment to ever occur in the history of New York City performances. It brought together the major players of hip-hop with EDM superstars for a life changing evening that will never be seen again.