Ear Plugs: Trouble & Bass 3 Year Anniversary w/ Skream & Benga

by Nils Arrington

What's the diagnosis for a melted face?



Found my nose... an ear... what appears to be a section of eyebrow... if someone could just turn on a light, I could find the rest of my face. Wait wait, no time for that!! They just dropped Caspa's "The Terminator"!!! The crowd erupts... and I still can't find my face. Then it dawns on me, do I really care enough to keep looking and miss all this???

Ok, let's back up a bit... 11 pm: show starts. 11:30 we make our way through the rapidly growing crowd and mentally prepare for an onslaught of bass music and dubstep. Le Poisson Rouge was a great choice for this one - intimate, cavernous, and a bit grimey. As always, the ever shifting array of tunes from T&B built the crowd up and up and up into madness. The usual gems are all there and accounted for. A special shout-out has to be made to Star Eyes who was on point ALL evening with her impeccable track selection and timing - Cheers to her! Later, I would realize that T&B weren't igniting a bomb, they were laying out a long fuse to set-up a massive explosion... wait for it.... wait for it.....

Introducing: Skream and Benga!! BOOM!!!!! Faces go flying left and right..... Can we rewind that?

The rest of the evening was conducted by a dubstep tag-team that just wouldn't let go of us! We were trapped. Bass all around, controlling our every move. "Wobble Wobble", as was indicated by one of the many cue-cards held by various T&B crew members and friends, explained everything. Oh wow, here comes Skream's remix of "In For The Kill" by La Roux!



It was an expected but oh so welcome addition. Ravey sing-a-long gives way to menacing sub-bass and a dark, achingly restrained beat before the eventual drum 'n bass-tinged release. I'm reminded of SO many things all at once: Dark, dank drum 'n bass nights, the bliss of a rave peak, and the incessant pounding energy of a bass-fueled audio orgy. Hours flew by effortlessly. Honestly, dubstep never sounded so heavy, gritty, and perfect as this evening. Skream and Benga were set to destroy, plain and simple.



A special treat was presented to us all at the end of the pummeling set. Skream revealed his remixes of Bat For Lashes and the new Chromeo song, followed by 2 tracks from his upcoming album! ALL sufficiently melted what was left of my face and left me numb from the bass. After picking up the pieces, we made our 4 AM exit and walked, stunned, to our beds. Dreams of wobbling, hands in the air, blinding lights, and earth-shattering dubstep drops comforted us through the rest of the night.



Oh, and if you happen to find the rest of my face, please inform me. I may need it for the next time the Bass decides to start some Trouble.