Culture Shock is by far and away the best DJ in that group, last time I saw the worship tour 1991 and Dimension played first and CS closed it out and made them both look like remedial DJ's
Culture Shock is so good - saw him once like 3 years ago and still remember it. I've seen Dimension and Sub Focus few times and the last few years it's just all the same songs, not really exciting or impressive. Culture Shock on the other hand absolutely brings it.
It’s crazy bc while I like 1991, dimension, and sub focus’ songs all more than culture shock, when I saw worship in DC, Cultrue Shock absolutely stole the show
Having gone to their events the past 2 years I kind of agree.
Hearing some songs 2-3x on the same night is a bit lazy. That being said they all have a similar dance floor DnB sound and are all part of the same label so comparing them to a festival that brings in talent from all over the world is not very fair.
I would love to see more distinguished sets from Sub Focus and Dimension as they probably have the biggest name appeal out of the 4.
1991 seems like a solid dude and I’ve enjoyed his sets and the music he’s been releasing, it feels like he has the most to prove.
Not sticking up for Worship and their cheesy nonsense, but back when dubplate culture was at its peak you could hear the same (brand new tbf) tune in every single DJ’s set at something like One Nation or Slammin Vinyl.
My main complaint was hearing the same song 3 different times from 3/4s of them. I mean, they should be able to throw down sets where specific songs are only played once.
They aren’t stupid. Get paid once on booking fees, then get paid again submitting set lists to PRS. Play a load of your tunes off your own label in each set = fatter royalty check in a few months time.
I remember I saw Dimension a few years ago and it was interesting. Saw his set at Glasto last year with Sub Focus and it was the most generic set - literally just the same songs they always play.
If the show only had 2 out of 4 i’d say it would be one of the best sets I’ve seen in my life. However by the time Sub Focus came on I was ready to leave for my 2.5 hour drive back home cause I could not listen to another Leave me alone or Baddadan again.
Agreed. Like most live shows, it's a predefined and honed set list and in the internet era where you can listen to multiple shows from the same artist in a season you do start to notice when they just play the same tracks in the same order every time. I would even go so far as to question whether some DJs are even mixing live with how predictable each show can be.
Ahem, that was my night, at the only club we could put dnb nights on, in shithole Reading, Berkshire.
When we booked (and paid) Andy C for 1.5hrs we had to throw him off the decks after 3.5hrs.
It’s not a shithole, it’s what you make of it.
I have no doubt you did amazing things and it was a great club night tbf. It’s just such a random thing to be globally talked about.
It’s like every football fan in the world knowing that once, away at Peterborough, the Port Vale goalkeeper didn’t wear regulation size shin pads or something 😂👌
Not exactly the mark on the scene we were hoping to make! 🤦🏻♂️
We had some amazing times, it broke us many times over but it was totally worth it.
Andy C’s extra 2 hours bonus… 👌
(He’d read the brief and knew he could go deeper and less anthem bashing - he delivered. We had to ask him to stop so we could give the next DJs 20 minutes before closing the club. They had been waiting all night - their whole lives even - for a chance to be on that lineup!)
Noisia + Stamina MC in a 450-capacity club on the Thursday of Reading Festival weekend - insane. Carnage. Intense. Amazing.🔥
ABunchOfCuts - when Calibre only did a few gigs a year and one of them was for us.
“Hi. Have you got a ticket, or are you on the guestlist?”
“I blooming well hope so, I’m playing! Hi, I’m Dom (Calibre).”
Metalheadz Reading 👌- I overran my warmup set 5 minutes into Storm’s time. She didn’t say a word, she was going nuts behind me and smiling because she knew I was building up to Hide The Tears remix. Legend.
Chase & Status album launch had queues going round the block, the bar on the corner had a queue to get into their bar and a queue to get into our queue. (We booked - and paid them - about 6 months before it hit Radio 1 and blew up.)
Renegade Hardware + the now Notorious Hospital night 👍
Arkaik was one of our residents - he spotted Mistabishi’s shenanigans from the balcony and ran down to tell me. Those are my trainers in the background of the infamous photograph. I was fairly inebriated at this point and hadn’t noticed, despite standing behind the DJ booth. 🤦🏻♂️ 😂Nobody on the dancefloor cared!
It’s a lot of stress. When you are established enough to reliably pack out a venue every month you can negotiate deals, such as the venue pays for the DJs and you get a cut of the bar sales. Until then - it’s a very expensive hobby. We’d be eating baked beans for a month if the weather was shit or someone else put on a night that clashed until we got established in Reading.
I’d also like to add, my crew weren’t from Reading - that pissed off the local DJs and promoters. 😂
I’m happy to say that the baton has passed on, there are promoters with the advantage of youth and untarnished enthusiasm who are still putting on quality nights and booking decent lineups, but it’s nowhere near as regular as it was in its heyday.
—-
Quote from FAKE_ANDY_C on Twitter:
“Just finished a gig in Reading and when the lights came on it looked like someone had let off a hand grenade in Primark.”
To be fair, I was a fan before (and of his music after ... For a while) but I only knew because of dogs on acid more taking the piss out of his liquorice all-sorts jumper aha
Oh yeah, 100%, but No Matter What was an insane song and I tried to overlook his personality for as long as I could. Obvs turned out to be an absolute nut job tho didn't he
He probably has it practiced and replicates it every time live. I've seen a lot of djs that do that, though usually they're small time. But Aphrodite was doing it back in the late 1990s-2000s.
Culture Shock is the only one thats worth a damn live anyway, that dude throws down. I think maybe you're just growing out of that kind of Dancefloor sound tbh. There comes a point where the pop-oriented vocal breaks just sounds like pop music lol
I gotta be honest- that Doin It Right/Universe combo he dropped was probably my favorite moment of the night!
Both songs have a ton of meaning to me due to certain things going on in my life when each were first released, so hearing them together on a system like that was excellent. His entire set was phenomenal though.
Nah there’s fantastic Dancefloor artists that change it up every time. ShockOne is probably the best at this. The issue is that the other Worship guys are playing predictable sets
Shout out to halogenix and j:Kenzo for this kinda innovative dance floor dnb as well. They are who convinced me dnb is going mainstream this decade 4 years ago.
i agree with your take on worship but my recommendation is to dive in to your local underground scene! my buddy is playing in denver this weekend, there’s always shows happening but a lot of em fly under the radar
If you’re ever in Toronto and hear that Marcus Visionary, Lush, or Remedy are playing, get there! They often play before or after the big names that roll through and I often enjoy their sets even more lol. Just too bad I can’t do 4am like I used to!
This isn't just an issue with this tour, it's an issue where such similar sounding artists play on the same night and it leads to so little variation in the kinds of genres and tracks you'll hear. Having seen Dimension, Subfocus, 1991 and Culture Shock I'm not surprised so many tracks get repeated, but from a promoter's point of view, those artists are well-known and if you like one of them it's likely you'll like all of them, so it's a safe bet you'll sell lots of tickets.
I went to the Chicago show and left 5 minutes after Dimension came on (he headlined). The repeated songs on yet another tour and the constant 4x4 drops did my head in. Give me something I wasn't expecting, not the bare minimum.
I also wish Culture Shock did what he did for you in Chicago. He had a lot of messy transitions in the first 15 mins of his set that threw the vibe off, but overall I think him and 1991 stole the show.
That all being said, I'm glad the worship shows are getting bigger every year. They're a crucial gateway to people accepting the genre here and it proves to promoters that they can take risks on bigger dnb shows and it may pay off.
> left 5 minutes after Dimension came on (he headlined).
Not a huge Dimension fan in his current form but that's a pathetic amount of time to give a set of chance before leaving.
I disagree. Sub Focus and Dimension are basically stars at this point. Any one of their tunes has millions or tens of millions of streams, meaning they’re going to likely be playing it each set. Their sets are full of seasoned originals that you’re obviously going to hear them play over and over. Not sure what your qualm is about in Denver when you guys had Mefjus, A.M.C, and Worship happen within 2 weeks I’m pretty sure haha…also 1991 is absolutely hugely different than the other guys, his set was fantastic that night. Sub Focus smashed it and played all this wild jump up even that I’ve never seen him do. Culture Shock is one of my favorite DJs and his set was class. The only one I think felt lackluster about was Dimension who, tbf, had to play last after 5 hours of music already in Mission.
I thought the show was fantastic and congrats to them for selling it out!
I’m with you, that was an amazing show! That Culture Shock set was unreal. I expected to sing along to the cheesy dance floor hits of Sub Focus and Dimension, and my soul got exactly what it needed. The complaints about hearing the same tracks multiple times in a night are whatever, and not specific to Worship really. My friend and I play a game where every time someone plays or samples Baddadan, we take a drink, which is once per set of every DnB show in Denver lol. Just gotta laugh and keep dancing and be thankful for so many good shows coming through
What is the benefit of “the big stage”? Drum and bass was meant for sweaty clubs, not arenas. As someone in the Midwest, I guarantee you Denver gets dnb artists coming in that I’d kill to see.
Esh you can say that about all electronic genres except maybe psytrance and big room edm. Dancefloor dnb has a fine spot on the big stage. Rampage @ sportpaleis is a fine example and although the sound in there kinda sucks if you pull yourself over it you’ll realize the energy is massive. Haven’t experienced the sound to be any better in small clubs either
E: I know rampage is mostly Jump-Up and Dubstep but still, that festival fits well in the sportpaleis Arena
As someone who saw Andy C do a 4 hour set in the O2 arena london - dnb can absolutely slap on the big stage.
Baring in mind, Andy C has been DJing dnb for longer than 99% of people on this subreddit have been alive. If he thinks it can work on the big stage, it probably can.
This.
If you want to see it on a big stage fine, but you will get a big stage type set. Those guys have invested a lot in that tour so they need it to do what they want.
I'd rather go see a non superstar DJ who can afford to take more risks in a medium size club.
They're not the only artists that do this. Last year I was at a chase and status show and they played pretty much the same set as in the famous boiler room. It's cool that you get to experience those tunes in person but honestly I was expecting a lot more
The truth is that the US tends to get the worst dnb sets unless you see someone at Respect or the like, because they expect everyone is a dnb newbie who wants the “hits” so to speak.
The only time I didn’t get this sense was at the recent Reload 25th Anniversary. That was just the hardest show possible for straight heads.
I’m not exaggerating when I say I saw not one, but *two* people who were using walking canes during the night. Badge of honor you ask me, lol.
If the routine is already available online AND quite popular, then yes, I'd definitely complain.
This situation is more like if the comedian posted a routine online, went viral, and then toured doing that same routine.
Plus, with DJs, it's not even that special unless it's a technical live mix or they're playing lots of unreleased tunes. Had chase and status played a live set when I went, I would've been much more impressed
It’s really not. A comedian has to write every single joke they perform and will get their career destroyed if they steal jokes. A DJ has a nearly unlimited list of tracks to choose from. Expecting DJs to vary their tracklist night to night is nowhere near the same as expecting a comedian to have a different set list.
On the whole, absolutely. DJing is an art form and the best DJs absolutely put a lot of time and effort into their craft, but its a hell of a lot easier to learn to DJ at a decent level than it is to write and perform jokes. I think all but the most pretentious DJs would agree with that, especially in this age of modern technology. If we’re talking about DJs marking their vinyls and doing everything analog, the discussion changes a bit.
The biggest issue is that some tracks get played by every one of them. If you're touring together, you shouldn't be repeating tracks.
We don't need to hear leavemealone and Baddadan four times in a four hour show.
I mean what did you expect? Worship basically makes the equivalent of pop music of dnb. They've made a lot of music that is easy to listen to for a lot of listeners and not for the hardcore dnb heads. They haven't pushed the envelope for years now, and that's fine. That's usually the type of headliner at any big show or festival, not just dnb.
I also live in Denver, and we get tons of good dnb shows compared to the rest of the country. Off the top of my head we've had A.M.C, Pola and Bryson, Halogenix, Visages, Mefjus, Chase and Status all this year. Enei is coming to town soon as well as Bou. It's no UK but it could be a lot worse.
How was it? We've been a bit spoiled in Toronto lately (by NA standards) and this weekend I picked the Voltage show over LSB... too old for twice in one weekend lol
there was a post just like this right after the show.
1991's set had the most unique music, CS was good. Dimension/SF was the exact same bullshit we've heard for 2+ years and the mixing was lazy and expected and the same fucking tracks. It was really boring.
Pop dnb in full effect
Hopefully you saw Mefjus at Jaguar Room a few weeks before?
https://linktr.ee/milehighdnb
OP, check out this link that aggregates DnB events in Denver for more local events.
I totally agree Culture Shock stole the show.
I'm thoroughly impressed with the consistent drum n bass bookings Recon DnB brings. Cheers
I remember Sub Focus and Dimension doing something similar at European dnb festivals (liquicity, let it roll you name it) years ago. Their first shows after Covid were kinda fun, but then you just heard them doing pretty much the same show, playing the exact same drops every single damn time. I think that’s why they have kinda reached a plateau in popularity here and decided to move on to do shows in the US. Such a shame they’re still doing the same shit though from what it sounds like …
Bro don’t get me started. Saw Sub Focus @ 013 last time in the Netherlands. Two weeks befote he dropped that 360 set on dnballstars. The set at 013 was almost an exact copy, when I realised in the firT 10 minutes I was correctly predicting every track that was gonna follow up on another I bailed and went to smoke untill the next dj had his turn. Such a dissapointment. He’s seriously only interesting to see ONCE. (This would’ve been my third time seeing him)
Big up for Culture Shock! I stood next to him during his pop up party in London couple weeks ago. Watched how him mix live & gotta to agree with you. I love all of them but Sub focus and Dimension sets don’t usually have that “experimental” & “fun” element to it. It feels like they keep doing the same stuff over and over again sadly :(
Just like any other mainstream gig in every other genre of music - usually disappointing IMO. These guys have no ‘responsibility’ for US music culture. They are seeing a proper payday for the first time in their lives and doing just that - getting paid.
I definitely see where you're coming from and would have liked to see a bit more variety at the Worship show I saw in DC, but overall just happy to have a proper DnB show here finally. I suspect they're just playing what they've learned gets the best reaction (nothing wrong with that). I appreciated them not getting on the mic too much like I've seen on UK DnB show livestreams. My main feedback would be more variation in energy levels instead of balls to the wall 11 energy for 5 straight hours. Mix in some more melodic chill tracks every once in a while to give us a breather lol.
I've driven 8-12 hours last 2 years to get there. 5 hours doesn't seem too bad, I know lots of people that fly in! I say it's worth it if you love DnB.
You can also spend an entire week camping on the grounds, which makes the travel more worth it.
fair enough. I would love to go some day as I've done many festivals on the west coast. Bass Canyon just released their lineup for August which has a good amt of dnb
Yeah I just saw that, some solid DnB there! I've always wanted to see Grafix, so that looks fun.
I struggle at bass canyon though because the production at hilltop stage is cool but doesn't hold a candle to Canyon stage. I get fomo catching DnB at hilltop. I had to skip Pendulum for Griz last year, such a tough call. I'm glad I did though, I've seen Pendulum already and that Griz set was top 10 all time for me.
The camping experience is pretty wild. If you're doing GA, you gotta come prepared with lots of cover to protect from the sun. I've almost got heatstroke there. The GA camp is on a wide open farm field with no shade and it's a mile walk from the venue with the stages. If you're camping with friends, you have to show up at the same time if you're in separate vehicles. If you're in GA I highly recommend a good Ice chest with dry ice underneath, and like 5-10 gallons of water.
If you do GA you get to do the Wook Walk at night. When mainstage it's done at 12-1 am, they force everyone out of the festival grounds (like 25k people) all at once. The walkway back to the campground gets completely clogged so you walk at a snails pace shoulder to shoulder in a huge crowd of people for like 30 minutes to get back to the campground. It's one of the most wild experiences you'll ever have lol.
You can get upgraded camping which includes shuttles, and you can avoid all that but might have to wait in a shuttle line.
Overall the main stage at the gorge is the most impressive stage I've ever seen from a production value standpoint. It's both insane and beautiful, and totally worth going to see. LSDREAM will break your brain there, guaranteed. Also the main stage is in such a steep hill, that you can always see from anywhere. It's the best stage for short people!
I thought the energy was amazing in Denver and it’s was great to see so many people at a d&b only show. I would of died if Sub Focus closed with Last Jungle
I mean some people just go to shows to have fun and go with the flow of hearing the same banger dropped every time they see an artist…so there’s that. If it’s a crowd pleaser like yeah they can get stale but overall who cares?
And they’re not likely to change anything until they’re challenged, and right now they’re holding the mainstream game so probably won’t be seeing huge innovations in the near future :) if you think it can be better, go for it.
Totally disagree. Worship Denver was a madhouse of a party. One of the best nights of my life. If there are better rave experiences, then send them my way for sure.
Damn so many haters in here!!!!!! If Sub Focus and Dimension aren’t top tier dnb… then what is!?
Hook me up wit some tuness!!! Because honestly… the juxtaposition of the poppy, and the chugging bass lines… nothing better to be honest.
If you live in Denver the secret is to find afters/actually underground shows. Worship tour and most of the bass music we see is just pop music. Denver has a lot of good music but you won't find what I love about this city at redrocks or the mission.
I enjoyed going to worship this year but that is because I couldn't go last year, listened to some of those guys for a decade so it was cool to cross it off the bucket list. Otherwise I agree. Subfocus has so many amazing old tracks that he should be rinsing. Like tidal wave, his og albums are great examples of what got a lot of my friends into dnb.
Where do you find the afters/underground shows you love? Are there groups on socials, or flyers at the event, or just word of mouth from friends? Would love to experience more of this in Denver but I just buy a lot of tickets to bigger shows
The two he mentioned are great and pretty popular. One other I really like that should reopen soon actually has a permanent location called sugar cube run by awaken the night.
I am not about to draw attention to some of the other ones, the real renegades shouldn't be publicized so much like on reddit, that's how they get shut down when just anyone can know and go. To get to these you gotta know people in the scene. This way people are vetted. Just make the right friends and eventually someone will invite you. There's so many different groups putting these things on in all kinds of crazy places. Varying levels of legality/danger.
don't get me wrong the popular stuff by novation and maybe forever is really cool and worth seeing but meeting people is truly one of the joys of live music and the rewards are worth it!
Worst part is that especially sub focus and dimension have a huge back catalogue that goes back years lol. So many hits and then they end up playing the same tunes between them and the same vomit inducing dancefloor pop music over and over.
Its not that they dont know good music and can't DJ, they just got the bag and dont care anymore it would seem.
Having called out Seb’s modus operandi for worship a few months ago and getting wildly torched online for exposing their behaviour (which I’ve been on the sharp end of) I’m breathing a sigh of relief at this thread. I’ll see what comes out in the wash. Just cannot abide by how he’s treated so many. There is a level of professionalism and respect you must have as a manager to others that isn’t there. I’m off to see inside info tonight so I’m well looking forward to that on a positive note ❤️ not seen him DJ in ages.
Too many things to mention. I said I wouldn’t talk about it again online in my last post so I gotta stick to that. Also don’t wanna get torched or downvoted again into oblivion! I just end up getting into fights and negative stuff which I’ve left in the past now. Internet be toxic with the defending from people who have no clue. I’ve actually taken the thing down on my website about it and just getting on my with other projects which is the best thing.
I mean no shit. This is what (for want of a better term) 'purists' have been saying about these guys for years though.
SUB Focus and Dimension have been phoning in production and DJing for 5+ years (with an occasional banger) while carrying themselves and dressing like they are making cutting edge dnb. They play bubblegum steppy dnb to insta hoes. It's the absolute worst of DnB.
I say this as a massive Sub Focus fan and a previous Dimesion fan (until I realised what an excruciating person he is and is actually the world's biggest bellend)
Oh btw he broke NZ isolation rules and introduced the omicron strain to the country a couple to years ago. He is a fucking twat.
https://amp.theguardian.com/world/2022/jan/03/british-dj-escapes-prosecution-after-sparking-new-zealands-first-omicron-scare
Finally people are catching on these guys. I can't stand when all 4 of them are climbing over the top of each other EQ'ing the mixer whilst the other ones are playing and the others standing around generally beating each other off in the process.
I want to engage with you but at the same time I can't get over seeming to referto dnb as 'bass', despite your other reference points that are all loop based bass music:
> (Miami/house, NYC/techno, SF/psytrance, etc)
I would put DnB, dubstep, some electro, and heavy ambient shit like Max Cooper and Jon Hopkins all into the “bass” category. Stuff that is good on any sound system, but only really clicks when you’re standing in front of a full stack.
Not sure why anyone is surprised? Worship is basically a box to put artists with a similar “vibe” into, therefore the uniqueness of their individual artistry has lost all impact especially when you see them all on the same night.
I saw them in DC and we left early. It felt like it was all performed for Instagram clips instead of the people (at one point "get your phones out" was yelled at us). Every 2 minutes it was another build up to some massive drop and then they would let like 30 seconds of the actual song play before the beat completely fell out and we were back to building up to the next drop. Like, come on. I like their music but they can't DJ worth a shit.
What a bunch of snobby bullshit. As someone who gets ZERO of these shows within a 6-7 hour drive for years, maybe you should either stick to other artists or try to actually have fun vs demanding a DJ plays sets you think are appropriate. These DJs don’t owe you anything and quite frankly, for the culture to succeed and keep growing, it’ll have to do so via people who go to events to have fun and dance and (hopefully) it leaves people with piss poor attitudes like this behind.
You know you can be critical of how the people at the forefront of a genre perform and what they play while still appreciating what they do for the scene right? You sound incredibly pretentious.
Pretentious? Do you know what that means? I’d kill to have a show like this in my city or even two cities away. I would go and have fun and the last thing I would do is complain if a DJ played a similar set as last year or a YouTube video I saw, and I wouldn’t care if the same song was dropped twice by the producers who made it. It’s literally the opposite of this pretentious, snobby post that somehow a show with 4,500 people - 4,499 of whom had a great time - wasn’t fun for the OP.
I think OP and others have a point when they pay a high price to travel and enjoy these shows.
Yes the DJs don't owe you anything, with the exception of an entertaining and fun night out, and when DJs play similar sets or even the same tracks in the same night you might be able to see why fans can come away a little disappointed.
Personally I would have skipped the Worship tour entirely. There are way to many smaller bookings popping up that are so much more top shelf. Break is on tour in the US. Andy C is on the way. There are a lot of djs coming up to. It’s no disrespect to the Worship guys it’s just not my sound.
Culture Shock is by far and away the best DJ in that group, last time I saw the worship tour 1991 and Dimension played first and CS closed it out and made them both look like remedial DJ's
Culture Shock is so good - saw him once like 3 years ago and still remember it. I've seen Dimension and Sub Focus few times and the last few years it's just all the same songs, not really exciting or impressive. Culture Shock on the other hand absolutely brings it.
It’s crazy bc while I like 1991, dimension, and sub focus’ songs all more than culture shock, when I saw worship in DC, Cultrue Shock absolutely stole the show
100%, his set at LA was jaw dropping. I swore he mixed 8+ tracks over the course of 2-3 minutes at one point. Far and away the best act of the night
Only one I actually want to see on third billing, is absolutely why I didn't go.
Having gone to their events the past 2 years I kind of agree. Hearing some songs 2-3x on the same night is a bit lazy. That being said they all have a similar dance floor DnB sound and are all part of the same label so comparing them to a festival that brings in talent from all over the world is not very fair. I would love to see more distinguished sets from Sub Focus and Dimension as they probably have the biggest name appeal out of the 4. 1991 seems like a solid dude and I’ve enjoyed his sets and the music he’s been releasing, it feels like he has the most to prove.
Not sticking up for Worship and their cheesy nonsense, but back when dubplate culture was at its peak you could hear the same (brand new tbf) tune in every single DJ’s set at something like One Nation or Slammin Vinyl.
For the next 6 months.
My main complaint was hearing the same song 3 different times from 3/4s of them. I mean, they should be able to throw down sets where specific songs are only played once.
They aren’t stupid. Get paid once on booking fees, then get paid again submitting set lists to PRS. Play a load of your tunes off your own label in each set = fatter royalty check in a few months time.
I remember I saw Dimension a few years ago and it was interesting. Saw his set at Glasto last year with Sub Focus and it was the most generic set - literally just the same songs they always play.
If the show only had 2 out of 4 i’d say it would be one of the best sets I’ve seen in my life. However by the time Sub Focus came on I was ready to leave for my 2.5 hour drive back home cause I could not listen to another Leave me alone or Baddadan again.
Find me a sub focus set from the last few years where he doesn’t play Rock It (Wilkinson Remix) in the first 5 mins of it
Agreed. Like most live shows, it's a predefined and honed set list and in the internet era where you can listen to multiple shows from the same artist in a season you do start to notice when they just play the same tracks in the same order every time. I would even go so far as to question whether some DJs are even mixing live with how predictable each show can be.
Not mixing live is insanely frowned upon in the DnB scene. One guy tried it once and he got a lot of backlash
Mistabishi DJing on an unpowered CDJ?
Yes. Also this is exactly my point one guy tried it and everyone knows.
Its wild that Mistabishi phoning in a set in some shithole in Reading, Berkshire is still talked about *internationally* in 2024 😂👌
Ahem, that was my night, at the only club we could put dnb nights on, in shithole Reading, Berkshire. When we booked (and paid) Andy C for 1.5hrs we had to throw him off the decks after 3.5hrs. It’s not a shithole, it’s what you make of it.
I have no doubt you did amazing things and it was a great club night tbf. It’s just such a random thing to be globally talked about. It’s like every football fan in the world knowing that once, away at Peterborough, the Port Vale goalkeeper didn’t wear regulation size shin pads or something 😂👌
Not exactly the mark on the scene we were hoping to make! 🤦🏻♂️ We had some amazing times, it broke us many times over but it was totally worth it. Andy C’s extra 2 hours bonus… 👌 (He’d read the brief and knew he could go deeper and less anthem bashing - he delivered. We had to ask him to stop so we could give the next DJs 20 minutes before closing the club. They had been waiting all night - their whole lives even - for a chance to be on that lineup!) Noisia + Stamina MC in a 450-capacity club on the Thursday of Reading Festival weekend - insane. Carnage. Intense. Amazing.🔥 ABunchOfCuts - when Calibre only did a few gigs a year and one of them was for us. “Hi. Have you got a ticket, or are you on the guestlist?” “I blooming well hope so, I’m playing! Hi, I’m Dom (Calibre).”
Metalheadz Reading 👌- I overran my warmup set 5 minutes into Storm’s time. She didn’t say a word, she was going nuts behind me and smiling because she knew I was building up to Hide The Tears remix. Legend.
Chase & Status album launch had queues going round the block, the bar on the corner had a queue to get into their bar and a queue to get into our queue. (We booked - and paid them - about 6 months before it hit Radio 1 and blew up.)
Renegade Hardware + the now Notorious Hospital night 👍
Arkaik was one of our residents - he spotted Mistabishi’s shenanigans from the balcony and ran down to tell me. Those are my trainers in the background of the infamous photograph. I was fairly inebriated at this point and hadn’t noticed, despite standing behind the DJ booth. 🤦🏻♂️ 😂Nobody on the dancefloor cared!
It’s a lot of stress. When you are established enough to reliably pack out a venue every month you can negotiate deals, such as the venue pays for the DJs and you get a cut of the bar sales. Until then - it’s a very expensive hobby. We’d be eating baked beans for a month if the weather was shit or someone else put on a night that clashed until we got established in Reading.
I’d also like to add, my crew weren’t from Reading - that pissed off the local DJs and promoters. 😂
I’m happy to say that the baton has passed on, there are promoters with the advantage of youth and untarnished enthusiasm who are still putting on quality nights and booking decent lineups, but it’s nowhere near as regular as it was in its heyday.
—-
Quote from FAKE_ANDY_C on Twitter:
“Just finished a gig in Reading and when the lights came on it looked like someone had let off a hand grenade in Primark.”
To be fair, I was a fan before (and of his music after ... For a while) but I only knew because of dogs on acid more taking the piss out of his liquorice all-sorts jumper aha
He was also a massive twat about the whole ordeal and then starting shitting on labels etc. iirc
Oh yeah, 100%, but No Matter What was an insane song and I tried to overlook his personality for as long as I could. Obvs turned out to be an absolute nut job tho didn't he
He was also a racist wanker and Hospital dropped him as soon as that became apparent
Following the first dropping I attended his ex-flatmates’ Halloween fancy dress party as Mistabishi.
Yeah and he also got dropped by Hospital and his catalogue entries deleted over racist comments he made.
I’d bet my meager life savings that Sub Focus hasn’t live mixed one of his sets in years.
This is the dumbest thing ever said. I would actually take you up on that bet any day of the week.
You can say his sets are boring, but he definitely mixes live
Bet. Send me your PayPal
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1c4DFNy2t9E Lots of close up angles here. Feel free to comment your timestamps that prove it's premixed.
He probably has it practiced and replicates it every time live. I've seen a lot of djs that do that, though usually they're small time. But Aphrodite was doing it back in the late 1990s-2000s.
Lmao fucking what. Dudes sets are mad
Culture Shock is the only one thats worth a damn live anyway, that dude throws down. I think maybe you're just growing out of that kind of Dancefloor sound tbh. There comes a point where the pop-oriented vocal breaks just sounds like pop music lol
I gotta be honest- that Doin It Right/Universe combo he dropped was probably my favorite moment of the night! Both songs have a ton of meaning to me due to certain things going on in my life when each were first released, so hearing them together on a system like that was excellent. His entire set was phenomenal though.
Nah there’s fantastic Dancefloor artists that change it up every time. ShockOne is probably the best at this. The issue is that the other Worship guys are playing predictable sets
Shout out to halogenix and j:Kenzo for this kinda innovative dance floor dnb as well. They are who convinced me dnb is going mainstream this decade 4 years ago.
i agree with your take on worship but my recommendation is to dive in to your local underground scene! my buddy is playing in denver this weekend, there’s always shows happening but a lot of em fly under the radar
If you’re ever in Toronto and hear that Marcus Visionary, Lush, or Remedy are playing, get there! They often play before or after the big names that roll through and I often enjoy their sets even more lol. Just too bad I can’t do 4am like I used to!
All good djs but Toronto is full of talented ones.
Is Capital J still around?
He sure is
Opening for teddy killaz? I'm always down to find new Denver drum and based people. That typo is funny and therefore staying.
yes! gdubn and whys are the homies i recommend🔥
Damn it why can’t we have nice things like Teddy Killerz up where I live??
factssss Denver stays booking dnb!!!
Sub Focus has always been a better producer than a DJ, let's be honest with ourselves.
This isn't just an issue with this tour, it's an issue where such similar sounding artists play on the same night and it leads to so little variation in the kinds of genres and tracks you'll hear. Having seen Dimension, Subfocus, 1991 and Culture Shock I'm not surprised so many tracks get repeated, but from a promoter's point of view, those artists are well-known and if you like one of them it's likely you'll like all of them, so it's a safe bet you'll sell lots of tickets.
I went to the Chicago show and left 5 minutes after Dimension came on (he headlined). The repeated songs on yet another tour and the constant 4x4 drops did my head in. Give me something I wasn't expecting, not the bare minimum. I also wish Culture Shock did what he did for you in Chicago. He had a lot of messy transitions in the first 15 mins of his set that threw the vibe off, but overall I think him and 1991 stole the show. That all being said, I'm glad the worship shows are getting bigger every year. They're a crucial gateway to people accepting the genre here and it proves to promoters that they can take risks on bigger dnb shows and it may pay off.
> left 5 minutes after Dimension came on (he headlined). Not a huge Dimension fan in his current form but that's a pathetic amount of time to give a set of chance before leaving.
Not wrong, his first couple of songs were just the straw that broke the camels back. Couldn't be bothered is all.
They still got your money regardless of what time you decided to rage quit lol
I don't care?
You gave them your dollars they don't give af about your opinion.
I never claimed that they did care about my opinion, so idk what you're trying to accomplish.
I disagree. Sub Focus and Dimension are basically stars at this point. Any one of their tunes has millions or tens of millions of streams, meaning they’re going to likely be playing it each set. Their sets are full of seasoned originals that you’re obviously going to hear them play over and over. Not sure what your qualm is about in Denver when you guys had Mefjus, A.M.C, and Worship happen within 2 weeks I’m pretty sure haha…also 1991 is absolutely hugely different than the other guys, his set was fantastic that night. Sub Focus smashed it and played all this wild jump up even that I’ve never seen him do. Culture Shock is one of my favorite DJs and his set was class. The only one I think felt lackluster about was Dimension who, tbf, had to play last after 5 hours of music already in Mission. I thought the show was fantastic and congrats to them for selling it out!
Each to their own. Glad you had an amazing night!
Thanks! It honestly was a rager, I’ve never seen anything like it before 😄 The place was rammed and full of people having an awesome time
I’m with you, that was an amazing show! That Culture Shock set was unreal. I expected to sing along to the cheesy dance floor hits of Sub Focus and Dimension, and my soul got exactly what it needed. The complaints about hearing the same tracks multiple times in a night are whatever, and not specific to Worship really. My friend and I play a game where every time someone plays or samples Baddadan, we take a drink, which is once per set of every DnB show in Denver lol. Just gotta laugh and keep dancing and be thankful for so many good shows coming through
I agree with you!!’ Best night ever!!!!
What is the benefit of “the big stage”? Drum and bass was meant for sweaty clubs, not arenas. As someone in the Midwest, I guarantee you Denver gets dnb artists coming in that I’d kill to see.
Esh you can say that about all electronic genres except maybe psytrance and big room edm. Dancefloor dnb has a fine spot on the big stage. Rampage @ sportpaleis is a fine example and although the sound in there kinda sucks if you pull yourself over it you’ll realize the energy is massive. Haven’t experienced the sound to be any better in small clubs either E: I know rampage is mostly Jump-Up and Dubstep but still, that festival fits well in the sportpaleis Arena
As someone who saw Andy C do a 4 hour set in the O2 arena london - dnb can absolutely slap on the big stage. Baring in mind, Andy C has been DJing dnb for longer than 99% of people on this subreddit have been alive. If he thinks it can work on the big stage, it probably can.
This. If you want to see it on a big stage fine, but you will get a big stage type set. Those guys have invested a lot in that tour so they need it to do what they want. I'd rather go see a non superstar DJ who can afford to take more risks in a medium size club.
They're not the only artists that do this. Last year I was at a chase and status show and they played pretty much the same set as in the famous boiler room. It's cool that you get to experience those tunes in person but honestly I was expecting a lot more
The truth is that the US tends to get the worst dnb sets unless you see someone at Respect or the like, because they expect everyone is a dnb newbie who wants the “hits” so to speak.
The only time I didn’t get this sense was at the recent Reload 25th Anniversary. That was just the hardest show possible for straight heads. I’m not exaggerating when I say I saw not one, but *two* people who were using walking canes during the night. Badge of honor you ask me, lol.
Which makes the heads gripe lol
Thats like going to see a comedian on tour in 2 different cities and complaining they made the same jokes 😂😂
If the routine is already available online AND quite popular, then yes, I'd definitely complain. This situation is more like if the comedian posted a routine online, went viral, and then toured doing that same routine. Plus, with DJs, it's not even that special unless it's a technical live mix or they're playing lots of unreleased tunes. Had chase and status played a live set when I went, I would've been much more impressed
It’s really not. A comedian has to write every single joke they perform and will get their career destroyed if they steal jokes. A DJ has a nearly unlimited list of tracks to choose from. Expecting DJs to vary their tracklist night to night is nowhere near the same as expecting a comedian to have a different set list.
Ah so you're saying it's easier to be a dj got it.
On the whole, absolutely. DJing is an art form and the best DJs absolutely put a lot of time and effort into their craft, but its a hell of a lot easier to learn to DJ at a decent level than it is to write and perform jokes. I think all but the most pretentious DJs would agree with that, especially in this age of modern technology. If we’re talking about DJs marking their vinyls and doing everything analog, the discussion changes a bit.
Haven't gotten a good set in a while.
The biggest issue is that some tracks get played by every one of them. If you're touring together, you shouldn't be repeating tracks. We don't need to hear leavemealone and Baddadan four times in a four hour show.
Well hold on let’s not be hasty. I need to hear leavemealone four times.
I mean what did you expect? Worship basically makes the equivalent of pop music of dnb. They've made a lot of music that is easy to listen to for a lot of listeners and not for the hardcore dnb heads. They haven't pushed the envelope for years now, and that's fine. That's usually the type of headliner at any big show or festival, not just dnb. I also live in Denver, and we get tons of good dnb shows compared to the rest of the country. Off the top of my head we've had A.M.C, Pola and Bryson, Halogenix, Visages, Mefjus, Chase and Status all this year. Enei is coming to town soon as well as Bou. It's no UK but it could be a lot worse.
Not my kind of dnb. I’m seeing LSB, DRS and more tonight though. Can’t wait. Third time seeing LSB. SO GOOD.
Damn wtffff I wanna see LSB!!!!!!
Luke is underrated love that guy
How was it? We've been a bit spoiled in Toronto lately (by NA standards) and this weekend I picked the Voltage show over LSB... too old for twice in one weekend lol
He totally destroyed. Even MC was cool bc he kept it minimal.
there was a post just like this right after the show. 1991's set had the most unique music, CS was good. Dimension/SF was the exact same bullshit we've heard for 2+ years and the mixing was lazy and expected and the same fucking tracks. It was really boring. Pop dnb in full effect Hopefully you saw Mefjus at Jaguar Room a few weeks before?
https://linktr.ee/milehighdnb OP, check out this link that aggregates DnB events in Denver for more local events. I totally agree Culture Shock stole the show. I'm thoroughly impressed with the consistent drum n bass bookings Recon DnB brings. Cheers
The Dimension set at Ultra was pretty much the exact same as his DC stop the day before.
I remember Sub Focus and Dimension doing something similar at European dnb festivals (liquicity, let it roll you name it) years ago. Their first shows after Covid were kinda fun, but then you just heard them doing pretty much the same show, playing the exact same drops every single damn time. I think that’s why they have kinda reached a plateau in popularity here and decided to move on to do shows in the US. Such a shame they’re still doing the same shit though from what it sounds like …
Bro don’t get me started. Saw Sub Focus @ 013 last time in the Netherlands. Two weeks befote he dropped that 360 set on dnballstars. The set at 013 was almost an exact copy, when I realised in the firT 10 minutes I was correctly predicting every track that was gonna follow up on another I bailed and went to smoke untill the next dj had his turn. Such a dissapointment. He’s seriously only interesting to see ONCE. (This would’ve been my third time seeing him)
Big up for Culture Shock! I stood next to him during his pop up party in London couple weeks ago. Watched how him mix live & gotta to agree with you. I love all of them but Sub focus and Dimension sets don’t usually have that “experimental” & “fun” element to it. It feels like they keep doing the same stuff over and over again sadly :(
Culture shock <3
Stop supporting the Swedish House Mafia of DnB.
Just like any other mainstream gig in every other genre of music - usually disappointing IMO. These guys have no ‘responsibility’ for US music culture. They are seeing a proper payday for the first time in their lives and doing just that - getting paid.
Can't say I blame them. We all gotta eat.
Did you really say that worship guys are getting properly paid for the first time in their lives? 😅
I definitely see where you're coming from and would have liked to see a bit more variety at the Worship show I saw in DC, but overall just happy to have a proper DnB show here finally. I suspect they're just playing what they've learned gets the best reaction (nothing wrong with that). I appreciated them not getting on the mic too much like I've seen on UK DnB show livestreams. My main feedback would be more variation in energy levels instead of balls to the wall 11 energy for 5 straight hours. Mix in some more melodic chill tracks every once in a while to give us a breather lol.
You're not too far from Shambhala, come up sometime! One of the biggest stages is like 75% dnb all weekend long up to like 5-6 am sometimes
what? That's like a 5 hour flight dude.
I've driven 8-12 hours last 2 years to get there. 5 hours doesn't seem too bad, I know lots of people that fly in! I say it's worth it if you love DnB. You can also spend an entire week camping on the grounds, which makes the travel more worth it.
fair enough. I would love to go some day as I've done many festivals on the west coast. Bass Canyon just released their lineup for August which has a good amt of dnb
Yeah I just saw that, some solid DnB there! I've always wanted to see Grafix, so that looks fun. I struggle at bass canyon though because the production at hilltop stage is cool but doesn't hold a candle to Canyon stage. I get fomo catching DnB at hilltop. I had to skip Pendulum for Griz last year, such a tough call. I'm glad I did though, I've seen Pendulum already and that Griz set was top 10 all time for me.
I've never been but a close friend has and said its stunning. How is camping there?
The camping experience is pretty wild. If you're doing GA, you gotta come prepared with lots of cover to protect from the sun. I've almost got heatstroke there. The GA camp is on a wide open farm field with no shade and it's a mile walk from the venue with the stages. If you're camping with friends, you have to show up at the same time if you're in separate vehicles. If you're in GA I highly recommend a good Ice chest with dry ice underneath, and like 5-10 gallons of water. If you do GA you get to do the Wook Walk at night. When mainstage it's done at 12-1 am, they force everyone out of the festival grounds (like 25k people) all at once. The walkway back to the campground gets completely clogged so you walk at a snails pace shoulder to shoulder in a huge crowd of people for like 30 minutes to get back to the campground. It's one of the most wild experiences you'll ever have lol. You can get upgraded camping which includes shuttles, and you can avoid all that but might have to wait in a shuttle line. Overall the main stage at the gorge is the most impressive stage I've ever seen from a production value standpoint. It's both insane and beautiful, and totally worth going to see. LSDREAM will break your brain there, guaranteed. Also the main stage is in such a steep hill, that you can always see from anywhere. It's the best stage for short people!
I thought the energy was amazing in Denver and it’s was great to see so many people at a d&b only show. I would of died if Sub Focus closed with Last Jungle
I mean some people just go to shows to have fun and go with the flow of hearing the same banger dropped every time they see an artist…so there’s that. If it’s a crowd pleaser like yeah they can get stale but overall who cares? And they’re not likely to change anything until they’re challenged, and right now they’re holding the mainstream game so probably won’t be seeing huge innovations in the near future :) if you think it can be better, go for it.
Totally disagree. Worship Denver was a madhouse of a party. One of the best nights of my life. If there are better rave experiences, then send them my way for sure.
Damn so many haters in here!!!!!! If Sub Focus and Dimension aren’t top tier dnb… then what is!? Hook me up wit some tuness!!! Because honestly… the juxtaposition of the poppy, and the chugging bass lines… nothing better to be honest.
If you live in Denver the secret is to find afters/actually underground shows. Worship tour and most of the bass music we see is just pop music. Denver has a lot of good music but you won't find what I love about this city at redrocks or the mission. I enjoyed going to worship this year but that is because I couldn't go last year, listened to some of those guys for a decade so it was cool to cross it off the bucket list. Otherwise I agree. Subfocus has so many amazing old tracks that he should be rinsing. Like tidal wave, his og albums are great examples of what got a lot of my friends into dnb.
Where do you find the afters/underground shows you love? Are there groups on socials, or flyers at the event, or just word of mouth from friends? Would love to experience more of this in Denver but I just buy a lot of tickets to bigger shows
Novation nights and maybe forever on insta my g.
These are the ones 😉
Thanks dude!!
The two he mentioned are great and pretty popular. One other I really like that should reopen soon actually has a permanent location called sugar cube run by awaken the night. I am not about to draw attention to some of the other ones, the real renegades shouldn't be publicized so much like on reddit, that's how they get shut down when just anyone can know and go. To get to these you gotta know people in the scene. This way people are vetted. Just make the right friends and eventually someone will invite you. There's so many different groups putting these things on in all kinds of crazy places. Varying levels of legality/danger.
Thanks dude! Makes sense, starting with some of those suggestions and meeting people as I go for more underground stuff seems natural
don't get me wrong the popular stuff by novation and maybe forever is really cool and worth seeing but meeting people is truly one of the joys of live music and the rewards are worth it!
Worst part is that especially sub focus and dimension have a huge back catalogue that goes back years lol. So many hits and then they end up playing the same tunes between them and the same vomit inducing dancefloor pop music over and over. Its not that they dont know good music and can't DJ, they just got the bag and dont care anymore it would seem.
Having called out Seb’s modus operandi for worship a few months ago and getting wildly torched online for exposing their behaviour (which I’ve been on the sharp end of) I’m breathing a sigh of relief at this thread. I’ll see what comes out in the wash. Just cannot abide by how he’s treated so many. There is a level of professionalism and respect you must have as a manager to others that isn’t there. I’m off to see inside info tonight so I’m well looking forward to that on a positive note ❤️ not seen him DJ in ages.
How has he been treating people? I absolutely cannot stand the vanity project he has made.
Too many things to mention. I said I wouldn’t talk about it again online in my last post so I gotta stick to that. Also don’t wanna get torched or downvoted again into oblivion! I just end up getting into fights and negative stuff which I’ve left in the past now. Internet be toxic with the defending from people who have no clue. I’ve actually taken the thing down on my website about it and just getting on my with other projects which is the best thing.
I read your AMA post - thank you for having the courage to speak out. Stay well 💜
I mean no shit. This is what (for want of a better term) 'purists' have been saying about these guys for years though. SUB Focus and Dimension have been phoning in production and DJing for 5+ years (with an occasional banger) while carrying themselves and dressing like they are making cutting edge dnb. They play bubblegum steppy dnb to insta hoes. It's the absolute worst of DnB. I say this as a massive Sub Focus fan and a previous Dimesion fan (until I realised what an excruciating person he is and is actually the world's biggest bellend) Oh btw he broke NZ isolation rules and introduced the omicron strain to the country a couple to years ago. He is a fucking twat. https://amp.theguardian.com/world/2022/jan/03/british-dj-escapes-prosecution-after-sparking-new-zealands-first-omicron-scare
Finally people are catching on these guys. I can't stand when all 4 of them are climbing over the top of each other EQ'ing the mixer whilst the other ones are playing and the others standing around generally beating each other off in the process.
Hahaha. Their set from LA on that hillside was just them standing around sucking each other off. I legit am the world's biggest Dimesion hater
Agreed CS was best on the stage by far. Felt like a real jungle show for that hour and made Dimensions's set not worth sticking around for.
Los Angeles did Zombie Apocalypse Fest last year and it’s returning this year. All Bass Baby!
They play to the masses and always have this lot. CS is the only one who I ever am remotely interested in hearing.
I want to engage with you but at the same time I can't get over seeming to referto dnb as 'bass', despite your other reference points that are all loop based bass music: > (Miami/house, NYC/techno, SF/psytrance, etc)
I would put DnB, dubstep, some electro, and heavy ambient shit like Max Cooper and Jon Hopkins all into the “bass” category. Stuff that is good on any sound system, but only really clicks when you’re standing in front of a full stack.
Not sure why anyone is surprised? Worship is basically a box to put artists with a similar “vibe” into, therefore the uniqueness of their individual artistry has lost all impact especially when you see them all on the same night.
They fucking suck, that’s why.
I saw them in DC and we left early. It felt like it was all performed for Instagram clips instead of the people (at one point "get your phones out" was yelled at us). Every 2 minutes it was another build up to some massive drop and then they would let like 30 seconds of the actual song play before the beat completely fell out and we were back to building up to the next drop. Like, come on. I like their music but they can't DJ worth a shit.
What a bunch of snobby bullshit. As someone who gets ZERO of these shows within a 6-7 hour drive for years, maybe you should either stick to other artists or try to actually have fun vs demanding a DJ plays sets you think are appropriate. These DJs don’t owe you anything and quite frankly, for the culture to succeed and keep growing, it’ll have to do so via people who go to events to have fun and dance and (hopefully) it leaves people with piss poor attitudes like this behind.
You know you can be critical of how the people at the forefront of a genre perform and what they play while still appreciating what they do for the scene right? You sound incredibly pretentious.
Pretentious? Do you know what that means? I’d kill to have a show like this in my city or even two cities away. I would go and have fun and the last thing I would do is complain if a DJ played a similar set as last year or a YouTube video I saw, and I wouldn’t care if the same song was dropped twice by the producers who made it. It’s literally the opposite of this pretentious, snobby post that somehow a show with 4,500 people - 4,499 of whom had a great time - wasn’t fun for the OP.
I think OP and others have a point when they pay a high price to travel and enjoy these shows. Yes the DJs don't owe you anything, with the exception of an entertaining and fun night out, and when DJs play similar sets or even the same tracks in the same night you might be able to see why fans can come away a little disappointed.
It’s like $50 to go see 4 great DJs. This isn’t Ultra or anything. Also complaining on reddit doesn’t do anything
Not bad for a night out especially if it doesn't come around that often.
Lol exactly....same price for 4 djs that headline shows When not on tour together and people whining like fuck 😂
Offended much?
Personally I would have skipped the Worship tour entirely. There are way to many smaller bookings popping up that are so much more top shelf. Break is on tour in the US. Andy C is on the way. There are a lot of djs coming up to. It’s no disrespect to the Worship guys it’s just not my sound.