Review: WOBBLELAND 2012

Wobbleland 2011was voted the best North American dubstep event of the year, and for good reason. With a massive lineup and a skull rattling system, it truly raised the bar for dubstep shows on the west coast. So needless to say Wobbleland 2012 had some big shoes to fill right off the bat, and in our opinion, they succeeded; for the most part. Overall the show was fantastic, but there were a few things that definitely could have improved the night, but well get to those later.

The first thing that stood out to us in our Wobbleland experience was the people. In the brief time we spent outside in line the energy was palpable and infectious. There were so many smiling, excited fans dressed in all kinds of crazy and sexy costumes, that as they milled impatiently around us amid the muffled undertones of the concert, we soon found ourselves grinning with anticipation by the time we got inside.

Once we had made our way past the free water and merch booths into the main auditorium, we were impressed with what we saw. Vital SC and Midnite truly outdid themselves this year with an epic mainstage that featured incredible visuals projected in front and behind an elevated DJ booth, supported by some of the best lasers I have ever seen. They sliced and scattered through the fog in an amazing array of colors that left my eyes spinning in their sockets. The whole Amphitheatre was full of people, but the closer we got to the stage it became clear that this was where the true fans resided. Everyone in this sea of people close to the stage knew who was playing and who was on next. Cheering and shouts of awe followed every drop or quick transition as artist after artist smashed the stage to pieces with their own unique style.

The first artist we saw on the main stage was Bare, and he went HARD. This LA native has been destroying the Dubstep scene over the past few years, so I was already expecting good things, but Bare went above and beyond the call to throw down, relentlessly wreaking the crowd with bass. His set went from hard robotic Dubstep to hardcore, headbanging Dnb, all peppered with that bit of west coast swagger his fans have come to know and love. And Bare most definitely had fans in the crowd. Even though he played early on in the night, I could tell that so many people had come early to show some love for this west coast heavyweight. They screamed for the new tracks and cheered for the golden oldies almost more than any other artist at the show. It was truly a pleasure to experience

When Bare wound his set down I stayed through the overwhelming applause for the beginning of another Bare; Bare Noize. I was a bit skeptical of only one half of them playing for their premiere US appearance, but as soon as the first track dropped, so did my jaw. Bare Noize brought that UK fire blazing into the auditorium and the crowd went nuts for it. But Barze Noize wasn’t all UK filth, he catered to the west coast ear with a surprisingly frequent amount of trap and some of the old US classics that launched Bare Noize into the scene (Kill Everybody, Scatta, Etc.).

After about 20 minutes of Bare Noize I made my way to the second stage to see one of my favorite dubstep artists, Getter. Now here is where things took a turn for the worse. The second stage was very small, and it had rows of seats up to about 10 feet in front of the stage making it very awkward for people to pack in. Also the sound was very badly rigged, standing to the left by the door I could hear and feel the music much better than when I was standing in the center where the highs were exceedingly pitchy. It had the tone as if the bins had been blown, crackly highs and almost no bass. As disappointed as I was about the set up of the second stage, all that was quickly forgotten when I finally found a good spot to hear Getter.

Even though the sound was off, this was easily one of my favorite performances of the night. Getter brought the dirtiest, filthiest, most brutal sound I had heard all night that had me headbanging from the get go. I wasn’t only one either. The tiny theatre was PACKED with fans going absolutely nuts for his sound. You could definitely tell that this was Getter’s home turf. People began lining the rows of the theatre all the way to the back when it became too packed in the small space at the front of the stage, and as one of those people, I can honestly say it was worth bruising my shinbones for. All the other DJ’s I had seen had switched it up through their set when it seemed like the dubstep was getting stagnant. Getter didn’t need too. Track after brutal track assaulted the crowd with jaw dropping intensity, and they screamed for more each time, everyone in the room completely engaged in his set. Getter was fully engaged with the crowd as well, reading the mood perfectly and delivering on point transitions that kept the show rocking off the hinges from start to finish. If you haven’t already, go see Getter. You will not be disappointed.

We caught up with Getter after the show and had the opportunity to ask him a few questions about the night. This is what he had to say.

How did you feel your set went?

I’m pretty sure everyone got down to my set! It was an all new set with tons of unreleased tunes, VIPs, remixes, etc. but that was my first time playing out some of the tunes, so I definitely know which ones to take out and which ones to keep!

How did you like the whole show overall?

The show was EPIC!!! I got to meet and watch some of my favorite artists kill it in my home town, 5 minutes from where I live. I remember playing last year’s Wobbleland and thinking the same thing, but this one takes the cake forsure!

Any comments about a particular Dj set you liked?

I thought Crizzly and Megalodon SLAYED shit! Crizzly played a Mac Dre song and EVERYONE was singing along, because Mac Dre is from the Bay Area. Megalodon was dropping banger after banger, then started to rap over his own set! I was NOT expecting that, and he CRUSHED it!

Do you have any new things (Albums/Tours) coming up your fans can look forward to in the near future?

I am currently on the NO HOSTAGES tour, Feat: Sluggo, Jrabbit, Helicopter Showdown, Mantis, Juggernaut, Nerd Rage, and myself. Starting October 3rd, I will be joining DATSIK, TERRAVITA, and XKORE on the Firepower Records tour! It’s my first bus tour, so I am extremely excited about that! I’m also working on a few HUGE remixes and collabs, nothing i can talk THAT much about, but definitely expect new tunes from me in the near future!

What was the craziest thing you saw at Wobbleland?

When I went to the bathroom, I saw some dude find a camel back backpack and just drank it all, then threw it away again. It was pretty weird to say the least. Besides that, I loved seeing Flux Pavilion drop my tracks, I was sooo stoked!

Do you have anything to say to everyone who came out? 

Thanks to everyone for comin to the show and supporting the scene! its nothing but forward from here, and its thanks to yall! biggup and thanks for the support. 

Sadly, Getter was the only performance I stayed all the way through for at the second stage. I was very much looking forward to seeing Megalodon and Antiserum after Zomboy. However after the sub repeatedly blew during the beginning of Megalodons monsterishly deep set, I was forced to return to the main stage to save my ears. Other fans were more tenacious than I though, and from what I hear, they crushed it. Hopefully the lesson is learned for next time.

After Getter finished his set and the crowd stopped flipping out, I migrated with a mass of exhausted fans back to the main stage to catch Zomboy. I am not usually a fan of crazy moombhaton and electro, but this set was incredible. The main stage was brimming with smiling, cheering, fans as everybody jumped and thrashed out to what was undoubtedly the funnest set of the night. Zomboy’s unique bouncy UK synths, gritty loud mouth bass, and aggressive kick patters screamed through the theatre and had the whole place going bonkers within minutes. During his set Zomboy debuted songs from his new album the Dead Symphonic, which hit the stores 3 days after the show. He also dropped some crazy new tunes from I had never heard before from across the pond that blew my socks clear across the room. This set took the energy of the main stage to a completely different level and did an excellent job of setting the mood for the last two artists. Definitely one of the highlights from my night.

The conclusion to the night was Vital busting out the heavy face melting artillery that was Flux Pavilion. Not one person throughout the night wasn’t dancing, shuffling or just straight getting down, but if they weren’t, Flux surly got them moving. Dropping track after track of mind melting bass heavy tunes, Fluxs’ highlight was the unveiling of a new tune that made me want to rip my face off and violently wave it around like some sort of madman. The main stage system was perfect, an even number of highs with a row of “Bass Cannons”, every beat blew back your hair and face. The visual effects were a glorified masterpiece of lasers and the visual onslaught was mind melting in itself. Vital SC and Midnite surly did one helluva job outdoing themselves to the point of which we can say we can not wait for what surprises are in store for Wobbleland 2013!

Written by Theo Newhall and Jordan Keeling
Photos by Jordan Keeling 

(crowd shot photos and more will be uploaded to our Facebook page shortly)

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