A vibrant troupe came out in force Saturday night as the parade of tutus, glow toys, and bass head tees descended upon The River Center. Bassnectar’s Freestyle tour, promoting the upcoming Freestyle EP, made a stop downtown after visiting Greensboro, NC, and the Counterpoint music festival in Atlanta, GA.
With strong openers consisting of Vibesquad, Opiuo, and Gladkill, all of whom have the repertoire to headline their own shows, the entire event made for an impressive spectacle. As the night built up and throngs of ravers began moving to the bass, the anticipation for Bassnectar’s set was so thick you could feel it. The massive visual display of LED screens and lights impressed throughout the performances with custom visuals that showed just how much work had gone into the production of the entire event.
As the roadies finished setting the stage for the main act, the countdown began to pure insanity. Bassnectar’s signature style of face melting lows with dreamy and melodic highs kept the fans intrigued and dancing. Vocal tracks from Ellie Goulding’s “Lights” to Dizzee Rascal’s “Bonkers” had ecstatic revelers singing along as friends and strangers alike became one big happy family for the night. New tracks like “Freestyle” had the crowd screaming and bouncing, and the encore presentation of a remixed version of Motorhead’s “Ace of Spades” re-energized a crowd that had been dancing for hours.
The River Center was full of fans from far and near, many traveling from hours away to see Bassnectar’s first show in Louisiana since last year’s Voodoo festival in New Orleans. With new and improved light show and speakers enough to scare away the neighbors, the ever-evolving set dazzled. Beyond just the production brought by the artists to the River Center, much of the spectacle of the night came from the crowd’s side of the railing. Ravers sported armfuls of candy, “Let’s Get Weird” booty shorts, pink elephants, and dawned a city’s worth of lights. The friendly demeanor of the community standing united in bass made new friends unavoidable.
With a one-of-a-kind night leaving hundreds with new friends and memories, the one thing that was lacking was a proper after-party. Promoters started yelling about an after-party at Ampersand in New Orleans, demonstrating that while Baton Rouge’s electronic scene has been growing with the city, there is still a long ways to go to truly compete with New Orleans for live music. As bigger and better acts start coming to the Red Stick, we have nowhere to go but up. Support local music and help build the budding music scene of Baton Rouge.
