Thursday, January 27, 2011

Review: Wobbleland 2011 @ The Factory San Francisco


Last Saturday, the Wizard had the pleasure of tripping it up to San Fran to witness some of Dubstep's greatest in one of Frisco's most intimate settings. The massive-like lineup of artists that attended this years' Wobbleland included Skrillex, Nero, Datsik, 12th Planet, Jakwob and Kastle. The venue that hosted this Dubstep Massive was a little joint called The Factory, a known hotspot for electronic music within the bay area. The Factory had two stages set up, both of which were visible from an upper deck area. Tickets sold out weeks in advance for this low key event; and Vital packed The Factory tight full of steppers for an epic night of grime and epic dub drops.

After talking with some of the local wobbleheads, it was easy to see that a majority of the crowd came to see the late night headliners, Skrillex and Nero, both of whom went on at 1:30 AM on different stages. The Wizard arrived early to check some of the opening DJ's and get a good feel for the crowd and the venue. The crowd was a healthy mix of Electronic Music fans alike, packed full of what seemed like mostly local college students, all bringing positive vibes to add wealth to the sure to be memorable night.

Some of the opening acts to highlight from the evening are Minnesota, who dropped an epic remix of Rick Ross's "Hustilin'" and Getter, who got the night going with a track he called "Methadone Massacre," followed by J Rabbit and Tremourz' "Sexy Party." A little about this last track; when Getter turned the crowd onto this it made the entire venue feel like they were a part of the sexiest party of the year, and set a real tone for the night to come. Check it out below:

J Rabbit & Tremourz - Sexy Party

Another opener who absolutely killed the early half of the night had to be John Beaver aka Filthy Beaver. The Beaver brought the heat with remixes of Rhianna's "Rude Boy,"(TC Remix) Beastie Boys' "Sabatoge," Fenech-Soler's "Lies"(Doctor P Remix), and the latest At Dawn We Rage Remix of Deadmau5's "Sofi Needs a Ladder." Towards the latter part of his set, he managed to make us all tingle with that famous Rusko ft. Amber Coffman hit "Hold On"(Sub Focus Remix).

Fenech-Soler - Lies(Doctor P Remix)
Deadmau5 - Sofi Needs a Ladder(At Dawn We Rage Remix)
Rusko ft. Amber Coffman - Hold On(Sub Focus Remix)

Jakwob has to be another one of my favorite dubstep artists of all time. His set was nothing short of epic, playing a lot of his own remixes alongside classic hits. Some technical difficulties midway through his set left the crowd suspended in silence for a few moments, but after fumbling with equipment we were all instantly back to groovin'. Some classic tracks Jakwob dropped throughout his set:

Ellie Goulding - Starry Eyed(Jakwob Remix) dropped into
Deadmau5 ft. Kaskade - I Remember(Caspa Remix)
Ellie Goulding - Under the Sheets(Jakwob Remix)
Girl Unit - Wut
Kid Sister - Right Hand Hi(Caspa Remix)

Although most of the crowd seemed to be there to see Skrillex and Nero, one artist at the top of my list was 12th Planet. After unfortunately missing 12th at "Together As One" this year, the Wizard made it priority to check out the majority of his set, and ended up staying for the entire list, which was undeniably packed full of bangers. If you haven't checked out his latest mix tape (Keep Watch Vol. XXI), be sure to take a listen; it's a nonstop hit. I heard some of the hardest drops of the night from his set, which included many tracks he featured on the Keep Watch Mix. Below are a list of must haves:

DJ Sneak - Southern Boy(12th Planet & Flinch Remix)
Kano - Spaceship(Trolley Snatcha Remix)
Jinder - Youth Blood(12th Planet & Flinch Remix)
Rusko ft. Amber Coffman - Hold On(12th Planet Remix)
Flux Pavilion - I Can't Stop
Trolly Snatcha - Pass Me By

Bonus: Keep Watch Mix Vol. XXI

The end of 12th Planet's set was a seamless segway into the beginning of Skrillex's set, both of whom were on the smaller, second stage. The moment Skrillex went on, the crowd packed the floor tight, and 12th Planet and Skrillex performed "Needed Change," a recent produced collaboration track.

Skrillex has seemed to create his own style of Electronic Music, which is hard to categorize as one specific genre. It is a mix of symphonic dirty electro with screaming-hard bass dubstep drops and light-sounded self-sampled vocals; his style is a true innovation and hybrid of popular genres that tends to get everyone moving. His set from Wobbland was amazing to say the least, switching it up between all sorts of genres and proclaiming the quote of the night "Give it up for all house music!" moments before dropping tracks like Michael Jackson's "PYT" and a collection of new Feed Me songs(another huge artist on Mau5trap). He even enlightened us with his own new remix of "Cinema" from Benny Benassi ft. Gary Go. Skrillex set was ecelectic and extremely entertaining, as he mixed all genres and kept the crowd going, an impressive feat within the compounds of a dubstep massive. Some must haves from Skrillex's set:

12th Planet ft Skrillex - Needed Change
Skrillex - Rock N Roll
Skrillex - Kill Everybody
Pendulum - The Island Pt. II
Feed Me & Kill the Noise - Muscle Rollers      BANGER
Feed Me ft. Tasha Baxter - Cloudburn
iSquare - Hey Sexy Lady(Skrillex Remix)
Fake Blood - I Think I Like It(Tommie Sunshine Remix)

Bonus: Benny Benassi ft. Gary Go - Cinema(Skrillex Remix)      NEW TRACK

Video: Skrillex playing Michael Jackson's "PYT"


The Wizard ended the epic night by catching the later half of Nero's set, who are a group of two truly famous icons within the dub community. Nero has risen to becoming one of the greatest dub duos in the world, and they definitely reassured us all why they are the at the top after their headlining show this past Saturday. Like Skrillex, Nero strayed a bit from the conformity of the night, brining us tracks like Daft Punk's "Derezzed" and hits like Warp 1.9 mixed into MSTRKFT's remix of D.A.N.C.E. They brought it hard with their own hits as well, and managed to top the night off perfectly with their latest track, "Me and You." Some must have tracks from Nero's set:

N.E.R.D. & Daft Punk - Hypnotize U(Nero Remix)
Plan B - The Recluse(Nero Remix)
Nero - Innocence
Daft Punk - Derezzed
Bloody Beetroots ft. Steve Aoki - Warp 1.9
Justice - D.A.N.C.E.(MSTRKFT Remix)
Nero - Me and You

Video: Nero drops Warp 1.9 and D.A.N.C.E. Pt 2


In conclusion, this year's Wobbland was an ultimate success. The night was filled with heavy bass and epic drops, and left the Wizard with ears ringing white noise for days. Great people, an awesome venue, and an even more amazing lineup added to a night to forever remember. With Skrillex dropping tracks like MJ's "PYT" to Nero giving us his Daft Punk "Derezzed" session, it's hard to look back and think of
Wobbleland as strictly a Dubstep Massive, because it had so much more to offer. All genres, from electro house to Drum n' Bass were covered, and the diversity brought out the best in the crowd, the artists, and the overall event as a whole. So I say bravo Wobbleland 2011, for I will forever have your bass running through me.

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