Tokimonsta @ Webster Hall 9/06 Reviewed

Webster Hall has come into its own throughout the last summer as a stop for the dance music-hungry thanks to solid bookings like Seven Lions, Viceroy, RAC, Solidisco, Grandtheft, and Adrian Lux to name only a very few. Last night was one of its more forward-thinking showcases with supporter Luminox and monster headliner, TOKiMONSTA. The former Red Bull Music Academy participant and Brainfeeder member has found her home at Ultra Records, and it shows in the intense energy of her set and overall vibe of that night.
Luminox started off the night with a rather trap-heavy mix, turning expected trap and hip-hop staples and hardstyle-leaning electro as the foundation for his set. The American producer and DJ showcased thoughtful mixing abilities, surprising the audience with unexpected bootlegs and remixes that challenged the musical boundaries of the largely homogeneous audience. Kennedy Jones’ trap rework of Elvis Crespo’s “Suavemente” caused most of the crowd to stop for a sec and reevaluate how to dance to the bachata classic. But dance they did! Other exciting highlights included Cashmere Cat’s rework of “No Lie” by 2 Chainz featuring Drake, Azaelia Banks’s bedroom rocker “Esta Noche," and even the delightful claps from Chaka Damus and Pliers’ classic “Murder She Wrote”. The crowd got down the whole way through, soaking up all the nuggets of gold Luminox was throwing at crowd in anticipating for TOKiMONSTA’s crazy set.
The Los Angeles native came to New York with the badassery she’s renowned for. Fixing her bleach blonde hair coolly in preparation for the madness about to ensue, TOKiMONSTA reached up for the mic and coyly told the crowd at Webster, “New York City, let’s do this.” She started things of as real as they could, with an explosive slew of hip-hop openers. Missy Elliot’s classic “Pass That Dutch” was the first track of the night, followed immediately an incredible bootleg of N.E.R.D.’s “Everyone Nose." If you weren’t spazzing at this point in the game, something had to be wrong with you. Only two songs in, TOKiMONSTA made her intentions clear and ripped through her set with fiery energy that always had you asking for more. Memorable standouts in the set – which ran on the slightly shorter side – included a sped-up mix of Azealia Banks’ hit “212," Major Lazer’s inescapable “Bubble Butt," and her own original and MNDR-featuring “Go With It." The nonstop and genre-varying spirit of TOKi’s set was a complete and uninhibited delight, somewhat fooling you into believing this would last forever. Alas, an hour and half into the mayhem, TOKiMONSTA bid the New York crowd adieu, thanking them for letting her “play a whole bunch of weird shit.” Wouldn’t have it had it any other way.