Turning Your House Into A D.I.Y. Venue

by Jack Robinson

On November 27th , I was worried. "Where are we going to fit all these people? Will anything get destroyed? Will the police get called on us?" These were the questions I was asking myself as I prepared for what was going to be the first show at my house. We had one headliner under the name of Machinegirl, and two opening acts named Spigot Licker, and Emoji Death Threat playing in what was to be the span of about 3-4 hours.

photo courtesy of Jack Robinson

To start the preparation for the show, all the furniture was aptly moved out of way in the living room to provide a space to dance/ mosh. Our dining room (which had been converted into a studio since I had moved in) was turned into the stage for the performers of the night, my roommates and I had also soundproofed the wall that was closest to our neighbors so that we wouldn't be disturbing them (especially since the show was at 10 PM). The front door was closed off with a bed and recliner so that everyone attending were to enter through the back, and we'd have no one smoking on the porch to cause attention to the local authorities, which are everyone's favorite party killers (of course). The fridges were stocked with beer, and other party favors were prepared as well.

By the time the first show had hit, everything was going on better than we had planned, and everything was going off with a hitch. All the performers had taken a soundcheck, the audience for the evening had arrived, and I was taking a quick breather after setting everything up. I walked into the living room, my roommate was warming the audience up with some djing before we all set off on this adventurous night, not knowing what was to lay in store for the evening. Spigot Licker hopped onto the living room with fury, playing tracks from their own repertoire. They mixed a nice blend of rap, some soul, and some extra hype, playing their new single, Myrtle beach Ikea. When Myrtle beach Ikea came on, the room immediately started shaking and the first mosh pit of the night broke out. From what started as a lovely low-key set, devolved into the first bit of madness for everyone.

photo courtesy of Jack Robinson

With a quick set up, Emoji Death Threat kept up the energy of the previous set of Spigot Licker, as he started mixing various genres. Switching up the vibes constantly, there was no knowing what he was going to do next. From what I heard, he played house tracks, his own material, which was a fusion of breakcore, drum and bass, and happy hardcore. For his final track he surprised the crowd when he dropped a PC music remix of Bring me to life by evanescence. The living room was grooving the whole time, and the only thing that threw off the whole set was the photographer accidentally stepping on the cord connecting the laptop to the speakers. Luckily, the accident was fixed super-fast and everyone got back into the music.

photo courtesy of Jack Robinson

Around 11:30-12am, Emoji Death Threat had finished his set, and Machinegirl was ready to take the stage. The second they started toying around with the crowd, you could feel the room starting to simmer, in what would eventually become a chaotic boil engulfing the house. This lead to the second mosh pit of the night, and eventually what would define the set as a whole. Loud electronic music came bubbling from the first two minutes to the rest of their set. The lead for Machinegirl was not only using his laptop to mix, but adding vocals to create another layer, in what would sound like a cyberized hell warped into a black hole, devouring anything that would be set in its sights. The drummer for Machinegirl gave me a reminiscence of what it was like to go to a hardcore show the first time. Pounding drums that gave depth and an added dose of reality to the mixing and vocals added to the show. They played for what felt like an eternity, and when it was over it became quiet like the storm had ended. By this time, a few people had left, and the moshing had beaten me to the thinnest of pulp. We thanked everybody for coming out, and decided to close up the house for the night, luckily nothing was ruined and it seemed like everyone had a good time.

https://emojideaththreat.bandcamp.com/releases

https://machinegirl.bandcamp.com/

https://swampphenomenon.bandcamp.com/ album/enter-the-swamp-vol-1

Artwork by Jesse "Nemo" Pruet