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Boys Noizes’ courtship with NYC began many many years ago, but the relationship went into overdrive after an absurdly inspired and passionate set at Electric Zoo 2010, which dwarfed the evening’s other headliners and left the city wanting more. Boys Noize answered NYC’s call by coming back for a two night romp at Webster Hall in April, another monstrous set at Electric Zoo 2011 in September, and back to the legendary (and revitalized!) Webster Hall Friday night.

The party was in full throttle well before Boys Noize took to the decks. Both DJ  Alex English and Strip Steve masterfully warmed up the full house. The Girls & Boys crew could have easily danced the night away with these two at the helm, but as 1:30am approached, the partygoers could sense that something massive was about to happen. Playing the Girls & Boys party, a gathering of over 2000 of NYC's most devoted electro-loving clubbers, is not for the faint of heart. The amount of energy this crowd exudes every Friday would be enough to make the most seasoned professional cower, but Boys Noize gave back as good as he's got!

Right before Boys Noize took to the stage a brief silence fell over the room, as if everyone had collectively held their breaths. Cell phones were held high in the air (including mine) to capture this moment… and then pure aural ecstasy. The crowd literally erupted while chanting XTC, XTC, XTC!  He immediately put Webster Hall’s twin dV-DOSC/dV-SUB speaker arrays to work weaving together an amazing set featuring a full range of house classics such as Ron Trent’s “Altered States”, a nod to his acid roots, to newer electro house like DJs Mehdi’s “Signatune” which sent chills down my spine. He drew the crowd in with every track only to blow us away with ridiculous bass drops.

It’s no wonder why NYC has fallen for this man. He plays every show like it’s his last, not taking the easy way out using preselected tracks on Abelton, but rather engaging and connecting with his diehard fans by selecting each track based on the energy in the room. It’s his intrinsic ability to relate to his fans on the most personal/carnal level and his unconditional passion not to let his contributions to EDM get diluted and played out that has catapulted Boys Noize into super stardom.  It’s curious that the same mediums that made him famous are the same ones he feels have diluted EMD culture. Yet no website or application available today can capture the raw energy of seeing Boys Noize Live!

Alex Ridha may be Germany’s son, but Boys Noize is NYC’s man!

Photographs by Viviana Benitez

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