unar Tide Music & Arts Festival's 2019 celebration fell on a historically cold night in Chicago but petty sleet and snow could not stop this raging community from gathering at a random soccer facility on the South Side. Who were these freaks and where did they come from? I recall a certain past when those who listened to dubstep were shamed for listening to this "transformer porn" or "dinosaur screams" but this seems light years from our current reality. Now the youth gather in droves, wearing the garments of their specific tribes; the 'Liquid Strangers', the 'Excisionists', the 'Bassheads' and dancing until their bodies ache.
A colleague of mine mentioned before the show that the 'scene is growing' and that this show is actually the fruit of a brotherhood of bass that flows through Notion Presents, Stay Gold Promotions, SwampWoofer Productions and Ronin Productions. This kind of teamwork is not common in the music industry and the power of collaboration was glowing at this event. That's why I had to agree with my friend who said that our little underground scene is blooming into another sort of creature.
Lunar Tide was a difficult festival to attend because almost every act was a headliner so if one wanted to truly respect the music they had to run between the three stages all night. Two of the stages were full-sized soccer fields that were covered with live painters, flow dancers, stage equipment and whole lot of bass. The third stage was just as big and despite their close proximity, the sound bleed was non-existent. The walls were also covered with reproductions of Central American tribal art.
The night began with Prophet and EasyJack. People started to arrive at an exponential rate and in seconds the lines at the bar were like centipedes encroaching on the dancefloor. I avoided the line by buying beers at the taco stand and waited for The Widdler to arrive. This was my first Widdler experience and it was everything that a little bass boy could dream of. He instantly laced the crowd with a dose of Rasta vibes and played a righteous edit of 'Marijuana Pon de Corner'. Bukez Finezt was up next and he was not hindered by his broken arm but proceeded to deliver a shmorgishborg of bass. In a recent post he did mention that it is difficult to DJ, which is why he decided to have a b2b with The Widdler. No one complained.
At this point thousands of fans had to choose between Egoless, Broken Note, Bukez Finezt, The Widdler and REZ. It wasn't an easy decision and many decided to split up the sets to see it all. It was then time for the Slugwife Takeover, which has been gaining a lot of buzz in the community after Tipper & Friends, the Atlanta Sermon event, and a recent Los Angeles Slugwife Takeover. The hype was not exaggerated and these bass-slayers, especially Kursa and Seppa, turned us Chicago freaks into a slimy slug soup. There was a lot of running around going on because Ponicz, Shiverz, Ternion Sound and Tsuruda were playing at the same time as the Slugwifers.
The night concluded with a historic set from Moody Good who gained fame from being part of the legendary 16bit band. The talent could be felt through this heavy set and an intense feeling of satisfaction flowed through the crowd. We freaks got what we came for, the bass traveled through the deepest reaches of space and took us along for the ride. Thank you Lunar Tide. Be on the lookout for their next event featuring Jantsen, Digital Ethos, Goopsteppa, Pushloop and more!
