The opinions expressed in this review do not reflect the opinion of the entire KLSU Staff but rather the opinion of the author.
It is honestly difficult to describe what I witnessed last night. I do not believe I had ever participated in something resembling what occurred at the EDM Trap Festival. I will do my best to convey my thoughts and feelings in a critical manner.
I arrived at the venue, paid my entrance fee, donned my sharpie ‘X’ and had a seat at a table in the middle of the floor. Rapper on stage with DJ. Typical setup. Also accompanying the two on stage was the organiser and grand overseer of the EDM Trap Festival, DJ Devin Styles completely motionless. What followed past this moment was a level of amateurism that I honestly did not expect to see. The event holder forgot his own acts performing, the DJ played wrong songs, acts were pushed onto the stage without prior notice to their involvement. I say this not because I have a hunch or I watched body language or anything weird like that. I say this because it was flat out told to me by the performer on stage. But you know? I can understand. It’s tough to remember who’s who when you’re pulling together all these artists to perform under your name. It’s tough.
After a couple of songs, the rapper steps down and lets LG take the stage who immediately starts asking me if life is good. For me, LG was the star of the entire show. I was actually quite impressed with how much he moved around compared to literally everyone on stage. He jumped on the speakers, he ran back and forth across the stage and if there was a big crowd, this would have been killer. Unfortunately, there were about 20 people in the venue at a time. LG seemed to be putting out the energy that was missing in the air and I really enjoyed that. He was honestly the only redeeming segment of the night. “Untitled” is actually pretty awesome. Even though I did not enjoy the words that were coming out of his mouth, I appreciated the effort that was going into the performance. You do you, LG.
The final segment of the festival left DJ Devin Styles alone on the stage behind his laptop and controller.
As a student in college (particularly LSU), there are just some things that you just don’t do. You don’t:
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skip out on weeks of class and expect to get away with it
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miss an exam
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plagiarise
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root for Alabama.
- try to get Chick Fil A from the Union at noon
As a DJ, there are some things that you just don’t do. You don’t:
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play the same song twice
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cut the volume
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cut a song at the drop only to start another song from the beginning
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play low bitrate songs
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neglect beatmatching
Every one of these things on the latter list were accomplished by Styles over the course of his set. Some more than others. I won’t go into details.
The spectacle I witnessed last night was unprofessional, talentless and downright embarrassing. It got me thinking about what I really feel about what Baton Rouge is all about when it comes to electronic music.
What I have seen around Baton Rouge in my lifetime regarding the electronic music scene has been dismal. I’m not talking about having big names come into town. That happens every once in a blue moon and it’s awesome. What I’m talking about is an organization of local electronic artists that gets the attention of the people of Baton Rouge. I know there is interest out there for it and I know there are good, talented people to supply the demand.
What I saw last night was a disappointment and maybe it was simply a misnaming of the event and I am just being overly critical. That could be the case. Either way, I believe that Baton Rouge deserves to be treated better and I truly think that it could have a better reputation as a musically innovative city and it hurts to think that we are actively getting shortchanged and there’s not much being done about it.
I’m not mad at last night. I’m just disappointed.
-Swan
P.S. If you or any of your affiliates are reading this Mr. Styles, I’m offering free DJ lessons. Seriously. I’m not just throwin’ shade.
