NV Concepts Brings Another Amazing Lineup To Massachusetts

When, L'Homie, DUDEnGUY, Steve Aoki, LOUDPVCK, and YOOKiE are all brought together for one epic night, all I can do personally is bow down to NV Concepts. They continue to stream in talent from all around the world and have put on 1,200+ shows since starting in 2008. This production company has a lot going for it, and I can't wait to see what the future holds...*wink-wink* a Music Festival? *wink-wink*...

The show was on a Saturday night, 2/11/16, and L'Homie started the night off right with just the right amount of down-tempo mixed with future beats to get the crowd started...and when I say crowd...the Worcester Palladium was legit packed by 8:30pm. I walked in and could've sworn it was midnight already, but NOPE, the music was just getting started!

DUDEnGUY - jeez am I glad I got to have met these guys last month. They press to impress! (I'm trademarking this phrase by the way). Don't get me wrong though, they do a lot more up on stage than press play (a common misconception of DJs which is just plain WRONG). In fact, their mixes and transitions are quite sensational, and they kept the crowd warm and primed for Steve Aoki to take the stage next with their killer dance moves! Let me add kudos to their video editor as I was laughing every time a new image popped up on the screen during their set (Steve from Blues Clues for example...classic!).

Then it was Steve Aoki's turn. For a guy who used to do 300+ shows a year (I'll Sleep When I'm Dead, A Netflix Documentary on Steve Aoki), he still brings it!

With every single drop Aoki had his hands up - jumping and dancing every which way (and I REALLY thought he was going to stage dive, I really did, and I bet it crossed his mind once or twice too, but #sadFace he didn't). He DID, however, throw about 10 or so cakes into the crowd (I didn't actually count, but if anything, that guess is on the low end). The crowd was loving every minute of it! Aoki played tons of new music, and even a few unreleased tracks which was quite a treat. He also came on for a one song encore which was a little strange due to the fact that he wasn't the closing act, but I wasn't complaining! What. A. Legend.

It was my second time seeing LOUDPVCK live, as they took the stage next; they impressed me yet again. Some of the crowd left after Aoki's performance, but fewer left than I thought would. It was actually still packed until the very end. LOUDPVCK played banger after banger and also surprised the audience with a lot of new music. It's not an easy task to follow an act like Aoki, but the duo lived up to the challenge, and more power to them.

Finally, YOOKiE took the stage. They really are tremendously talented DJs. The crowd expended any last energy they had by head head-banging to their tracks (I think I heard one of the barrier rails actually broke too). Their performance was a great way to cap off an amazing night. Check out my interview with the duo, YOOKiE, below. Thanks again to NV Concepts, and particularly to Marcus for setting up the interview!

- INTERVIEW WITH YOOKiE -

This interview was conducted by Phil Fazioli on 2/11/17 before their set at the Worcester Palladium.

Phil: Thanks guys for doing this interview.

YOOKiE (Chris and Anthony Alfaro): No problem. Our pleasure.

Phil: So I know you guys are brothers, but have you ever in your careers tried to partner with any other friends besides each other? If so, what happened to those ventures?

Chris: Well I used to when I was really younger. I used to produce basically hip-hop beats and rapped over them with my friends. It was actually our cousin that introduced us to Fruity Loops Studio awhile ago.

Chris: How old were we, Anthony?

Anthony: I think we were like 12.

Chris: And we just liked joking around and making joke beats. Anthony: Yeah, we never were really pursuing anything serious back then...and then we saw Skrillex.

Phil: When was the first time you guys saw Skrillex at a show?

Chris: Uh, I believe it was 2012.

Phil: Wow, so that was towards the beginning of Skrillex's career when it started to take off.

Chris: And it was actually at my grandma's sister's wake in 2010 when I told him [Anthony] what I was listening to at the time...and it was Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites [Skrillex's first official released EP].

Anthony: And I was just like, "Whaaat thhhee f****ccckk."

Chris: Yeah, we were like, "this is crazy, right?" Then our first show ever was Flux Pavilion, Downlink, and Cookie Monsta, and we were just like mind blown when we went to that.

Phil: I can imagine - that was some pretty hard dubstep for back in the day right?

Anthony: Yeah! And from there we started to go to more and more shows and eventually we were like...

Anthony & Chris: We could do this!

Phil: So I've been listening to a lot of your music on Soundcloud, and I love your style. If you had to describe your style in terms of a food, which food would it be?

Anthony: Damn, I've never thought of that.

Chris: How about, "The Halal Guys*."

Anthony: Yeah! Because it's nice..and hefty.

Chris: And do you know what the slogan of The Halal Guys is? Anthony & Chris: "We are different."

Phil: I like it! That's what you guys are trying to do!

Phil: When will you guys be satisfied (if ever) with a level of fame or recognition?

Anthony: I guess that'd be when we get approached by some top tier artist who wants to work with us based solely on our sound. Maybe they'd like to fuse their sound with our sound.

Phil: Cool. I was wondering, what's the weirdest or craziest thing you guys have seen someone in a crowd do?

Chris: One time someone was giving me the thumbs down and told me to play more dubstep. I guess that was pretty crazy.

Phil: Do you guys see yourselves doing this when you're 39+ years old kind of like Steve Aoki? He's 39 right now and just killed it out on the stage and is on his way to Providence, RI for another set tonight!

Anthony: I definitely see us doing music and being creative forever.

Chris: Yeah, I definitely agree. Just being creative.

Phil: Awesome guys. Thank you for your time. Have a great set!

*Chris and Anthony are from New York, and The Halal Guys is a halal fast casual restaurant franchise that began as a food cart on the south-east corner of 53rd Street and Sixth Avenue in the borough of Manhattan in New York City.

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