October is my favorite month of the year for a few reasons:
(1) It’s autumn! (if we’re lucky in Louisiana, the temperature drops below eighty!)
(2) Venues around Baton Rouge and New Orleans are packed with must-see artists
(3) Voodoo Music & Arts Festival falls towards the end of the month
and…
(4) HELL’S GALA. 
 
Hell’s Gala is a trapstyle Halloween themed party that comes around once a year in New Orleans. The venue & artists vary each year — in 2015 I saw RL Grime + SBCR at The Sugar Mill, and in 2016 Steve Aoki + Mija (plus more) spun sets at Mardi Gras World.
This year, Hell’s Gala was held in the float den of Mardi Gras world showcasing Excision, Kayzo, & Trippy Turtle, with support from SFAM & P-Tab.
First, I have to express how ecstatic I was when I found out this year’s Gala would be in the float den. If you’ve never been, the float den of Mardi Gras World is a huge warehouse that stores some of New Orleans’ most extravagant Mardi Gras floats. When a show is hosted in the float den, they simply move the floats towards the corners and make room for the stage and the crowd.
With the warehouse doors slid open, you walk in and are immediately captivated by the lights twinkling among the floats. I mean, you are literally surrounded by vibrant colors and unique characters the entire show, and that is before you even approach the DJ set! The environment alone of the float den makes such a majestic atmosphere for show-goers, which makes it one of my favorite places to attend. 
(Note: Not my photo, found it by googling Mardi Gras World’s float den. This is pretty much exactly what you see when you walk in, though, with the additional spooky lights and decorations)
My friends & I arrived just as SFAM was starting their set. The music-duo put on a wild set that was both innovative and eccentric. Since I saw them last in 2015 they have definitely grown and developed a exceptional following. The crowd was energized, dancing, and having a good time early on in the set. Honestly, SFAM’s set was so noteworthy because as an opener for trapstyle, electronic dance shows, a lot of the crowd is not there and/or saving their energy for the hours to follow. However, the energy of the crowd showed neither instances and their beats hinted that this was a group worth keeping an eye on. 
Trippy Turtle’s set was quirky and bright, featuring upbeat mixes of Zed’s “Clarity” and Panic! At The Disco’s “I Write Sins Not Tragedies”. While TT has mixes of his own, the set really clocked in on mixing the songs we all know and love. For me, it was awesome. It was nice to sing at the top of my lungs and sway with the people around me to revamped classics. Also, Trippy Turtle’s stage design is (and always is) pictures and videos of turtles. This man is quite the character, which I thank him for.
After Trippy Turtle was Kayzo. Earlier in Kayzo’s career, his sound was soft and slow, but he dived deep into the dub-pool in his more recent works. Kayzo’s mixes set the mood for Excision with head bangin’ drops and eclectic visuals. My favorite was towards the end of his set where the backdrop was a pack of devilish dogs seemingly running towards the crowd. I really felt the hell theme of the night draw in and was spooked up and excited to rock out to the man of the night, Excision.
It was around one in the morning when Excision’s set came on. Excision is one of my favorite dub artists of all time and the size of the crowd told me I was not the only one. Known for his unique style combining metal, trap, dub, and dark bass, Hell’s Gala could not have picked a better artist to close off the night. Excision gave us a driving, non-stop hour and a half set of chest rattling bass and bright, colorful flashing visuals. Seriously, the bass for his set was so heavy I could feel it vibrating through my body. It was sick. At one point during his set I had made it up to the rail and just stood there, soaking in the sounds and the stage design. I was awestruck with how his designs were perfectly in tune with the music. His set was often-changing, but overall designed to make Excision himself seem like a man inside of a machine, working the gears and movements of a mechanical monster. Excision did a good job at making the crowd feel like they were in hell, and it was the best hell ever. I also may have slight tinnitus, but all well worth it for a night like this. =-]
The 2017 Hell’s Gala was by far the best one I’ve attended in years. All of the artist’s complemented each other while at the same time elicited unique styles of their own that you were sure to remember after the show was over. If you’ve never been to Hell’s Gala, or a heavy bass show, I highly recommend the experience. Thanks to all the artist’s who performed, and a special thank you to my main man, Excision!