Bassnectar at Terminal 5 Reviewed

On November 17th, the master of all things bass returned to the big city for a two night stint at Manhattan’s Terminal 5. As expected, Bassnectar brought his usual arsenal of heavy bass-infected tunes. However, Lorin managed to throw a few unexpected twists into the mix. Bassnectar was certainly bringing the heat on this night, dropping tracks from his latest release, “Freestyle,” including the melodic “Breathless,” and heavy hitting tracks like “Infinite,” and “Freestyle.” He also brought fan-favorite anthems from his massive
release, “Vava Voom,” like its title track, “Ugly,” and “What.” Much to the pleasure of the crowd, Lorin revisited the earlier days of his history, breaking out tracks like his wobbly remix of Nelly Furtado’s “Magical World,” as well as his sing-along enticing “Wildstyle Method,” and “808 Track.” What truly defined Bassnectar’s show on this night, however, were the random assortment of tracks played during his show. Lorin displayed his rock music influence, dropping Led Zeppelin’s “D’Yer Mak’er,” his reworking of Gogol Bordello’s “Immigraniada,” and his “Pennywise Tribute,” which garnered an enormous response from the crowd. A drum & bass blending of Refused’s “New Noise” with his own popular track, “Bass Head,” created a moment of EDM nostalgia, while the sudden dropping of The Pixies’ “Where’s My Mind” blew the already wowed audience away. Hip-hop fans were not left out either, as Bassnectar delivered hard, dubby versions of tracks like Lupe Fiasco’s “Kick-Push,” Snoop Dogg’s “Drop It Like It’s Hot,” and Dr. Dre’s “The Next Episode.” Even among all of the great songs played during the set, the night’s most memorable moment came as Lorin urged the crowd to volunteer with Hurricane Sandy relief efforts, displaying the websites for NY Cares and NYC Service on his LED screen. Lorin has always preached love and togetherness, ideals that the EDM community is bound by, and on this night, he continued this amazing tradition. In the wake of the hurricane’s aftermath, Bassnectar came to New York and delivered one of the most memorable sets I’ve ever heard, and gave the city a reason to dance again. After such an amazing performance, New York can only hope it’s not too long until Bassnectar returns once again.