MONSTER MASSIVE
LOS ANGELES, CA 10/31/2003
REVIEW
NOTE: THIS TEXT IS PROPERTY OF POZEST.COM
ALL RIGHTS
RESERVED
Only one event on this year's hallowed eve allowed for the gathering of ghouls & ghosts and goils & guys while hopping to the haunted electronica beats that made the Memorial Sports Arena in Los Angeles, California cringe with chills, glow with glee, and dazzle with costume delight; that event was Monster Massive. Held at the sacred and spacious sports arena on Friday, October 31, 2003, the night hinted of ominous clouds, bone chilling rain, and earth uncovering droplets that threatened to rain on everyone's parade. The threat did not subside and neither did production of the event as alternative solutions were creatively put in place to keep the show on a roll.
Five musical areas were planned for the event and the one facing the biggest threat from the rain was the Jungle/Drun 'N Bass area that was set in its favorite secluded spot. This spot is on the North West side of the venue complete with greenery and trees to elevate the Jungle's ambiance. The difficulty in securing this spot from the dreaded rain drops of the dead was not so much the dj stage and sound equipment, as that situation was resovled thanks to a friendly vendor that allowed the use of one of their canopies, but rather what was once a dry grassy area used for dancing threatened to become a muddy mess for the trampling feet of the junglists. It is safe to assume a Junglist is not afraid of a little rain or an onslaught of hail so long as the bass keeps dropping. However mud on the shoes or cammies is not a favorable situaion. What to do? With the heavy rain threatening to shut down this area, production swiftly moved the stage indoors along the circular hallway of the main arena. This newly staged area allowed for pounding bass and beats to continue and to possess the junglists all without any music crossing each other from the main room or vice versa. Stage saved !
As the mysitical tried to save the day with chants of "rain, rain go away" on the outside grounds, the inside grounds were a chorus of "fly, fly away" as the world class talent on hand kept the beats pulsating, the dancers rhythmically convulsing, and the event as a whole integrating.
Even with the unfavorable weather, at least some 12,000 plus attendants braved the weather showing up in full force with their friends, smiles, and costumes.
Some of the most creative, time and true, and intriguing costumes could be seen around the grounds.
From the common themes of medicine, firemen or sexy firewomen, bunnies, devils, angels, clowns, vampires, Egyptian Royalty and individual characters such as Scooby, SpongeBob, Alice In Wonderland, Tigger, and Wonder Woman. Some of the more outlandish and exciting creations came by way of the club kids who every year continue to wow the attendants with their original, shocking, yet amusing ensembles. The creepy concoctions did not stop there as a few bold and blasphemous dressed as men of the faith, namely a pair dressed as a bishop and the other a priest, had a toddler like concoction nursing on their groin. Offensive? Not at all. All in fun and amusement ? Absolutely! Mere follies in the name of fun. Simple yet creative individuals also took honors for coming as a kissing booth, Jesus Christ in the flesh, complete with towel, and a few demonic devils that seemed to have come from hell direct. Hell must have been missing a few demons.
The direction that Monster Massive, like its sister music festivals have taken, has been one of integration. People of all walks come together to celebrate the holiday. The make up of the people can easily be spotted as one makes their rounds. Dancers, breakers, writers, party people, music enthusiasts, vendors, artists, media, right down to some of the security staff who once ended their work shifts stayed to enjoy and take in the night's festivities. People from all places were also noted. A couple from San Francisco, a group from Utah, another couple from Washington D.C., locals from Los Angeles, Norwalk, the Inland Empire, Long Beach, Malibu, the Valley, La Puente, Redondo Beach, Huntington Beach, Eagle Rock, West Covina, Yucaipa, Santa Monica, Orange County, and Mission Viejo to name a few.
The chosen few who guided the direction was by that of the great talent that peformed.
The largest of the stages, hosted by the floor of the arena was called the Tomb Of Doom, headlined by Roger Sanchez, Benny Benassi, Dj Irene, Billy Nasty, Mars, Thomas Michael, and Dj Reza. It should be noted that an extravagant attention to sound, lighting, and props went into the main area complete with a large 10 feet or so three dimensional skull when viewed with the event's 3-d glasses making the backdrop for the disc jockeys entertaining the masses of the Tomb. Sharing the floor behind the main stage was the VIP area titled the Devil's Dungeon which had Barry Weaver, Bear Who?, The Reef Project (Thee-O), and XXXL all rocking the VIP attendees. Careful positioning of the VIP area allowed for clean and clear sound from the VIP stage so no crossing of music was heard. Those who became part of the VIP portion of the event were treated with backstage access to the main stage, complimentary gifts, and an all night open bar. Yes you heard right, and all night open bar. Adjacent to the main floor in the Arena Club portion was the room entitled the Phantom Chamber with the likes of Dan the Automator, Dj Spooky, Rectangle, Dj Swamp, Dj Radar, Dj Revolution, and Coolwhip. Dj Swamp participated in the holiday's theme by comming dressed as a surgeon and even spinning with costume on. Outstanding ! As mentioned earlier that the Jungle/Drum 'N Bass area was moved to a section of the circular hallway of the arena, the Witches Woods continued to bang to the beats of Jumping Jack Frost, Storm, R.A.W., APX-1, AK1200, CRS?, Total Science, Storm, and SpinBad. A special recognition is due to those who took part in the relocation efforts that kept everyone from missing their favorite acts. Moving outside under the main bridge leading to the arena was the House of Horrors complete with a concrete graveyard and macabre celebrity statues on stage. This area functioned rain or not with Todd Terry, Lenny V, Felix Da Housecat, Angel Alanis & Rees Urban, Dj Rene, and Bear Who? keeping it flowing. With the stage protected from the elements and the bridge above providing shelter and ample dancing grounds, this area went on as scheduled. When the rain finally did let up, the masses energeticlly moved up filling up the otherwise unsheltered area in front of the stage.
As the event wound up to closing time, as this massive kept wounding from the onset and never looked back, the flow of rain slowed to a sprinkle and made for an outstanding evening. The people were friendly and outgoing, the talent rocked the turntables, and the venue beautifully decorated with three dimensional optics all about the dance floors. All spectators in attendance received their complimentary 3-D glasses to help them enjoy the visual optics that gave this year's Monster Massive an edge over previous ones. It goes to show that even mother nature that can often times compliment an event, or dampen a mood, had little impact on this night's festivities. Yet another stripe for the already well decorated arm of Go Ventures as this year's Halloween extravaganza lived up to par and raised the bar with creativity.
Don’t forget to visit WWW.MONSTERMASSIVE.COM
SEE YA NEXT TIME.
NOTE: THIS TEXT IS PROPERTY OF
POZEST.COM
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED