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The Great American Gabberfest: Congress of the Kickdrum
Please rise! The Congress of the Kickdrum is now in session!
As this year’s Gabberfest Anthem proudly announced, it was a full-on convention of misfits, dreamers and instigators drawn to a single flashpoint of action: rocking hardcore for 2 days straight under the unforgiving Las Vegas June sun. Temperatures of over 111 degrees bathed this year’s dedicated attendees at what is becoming America’s default meet-up of the harder styles.
We woke up Saturday morning after spending the previous night at EDC. Not only were we tired and sore from dancing all night in the heat, but we were hungry! We elected to start the day off at the Belagio buffet to fuel up and pre-game with their bottomless cocktails! After a solid hour of eating and drinking as much as we could, it was time to head to the fest.Walking up the the Hard Hat Lounge where the event is held, you can hear the warlike assault of the baselines from several blocks away.
Foreign dignitaries this year were Phoenix, Epidemic and Rohdan from Australia. The HARD DATA was well represented this year as “the official” HARD DATA Team of Lostboy, Mindcontroller and Deadly Buda turned the heat up outside and inside on both stages Saturday.
In addition, American hardcore legend Rob GEE headlined the event, bringing his twenty-plus years of gabber expertise to the table to inspire young and old alike. His set spanned from old classics, like “Army of Hardcore” to his newer material like the recently new and improved version of “Hard Sweetcore.” GEE was an integral part of the very first Gabberfest, and it was great to see him return to give the gabbers a kick drum to live on.
Frequent contributors to the magazine rocked the line-up as well, as Flap Jack, M27 and Seppuku each rocked fierce vinyl sets, Vigor rocked rawstyle, CAP devastated the tour bus stage with all his own tracks, Arcid coordinated the Techno Belligerent stage and The White Ape presided over the entirety of the festivities.
But, that’s just the list of usual suspects, a who’s who of hardcore from around the country was there too. Not one bad set the entire weekend. It was thick from beginning to end! Eni, Energy Alleul, Metal Jesus, Inspektor Gadjet, Gabber Twinz, How Hard, Lauren Valentine, Symtek and System Malfunction kept brought the energy to the crowd even in the unforgiving heat.
By Sunday morning it was clear that the heat was taking it’s toll on the crowd’s energy, but with the Hardcore blasting everyone gave it their all and I have spoken with had a blast! (At one point during the event it got so loud the speakers at the inside stage!) It was 100% on this year, nothing can beat the energy you get when you combine hardcore and a crowds of dedicated fans. That being said, important changes could be in the works for next years Gabberfest, and rumors of its move to a different time of year was a “hot” topic of conversation. At over 100 degrees each day, Gabberfest has been more like an endurance test sometimes, than an actual good-time rave. The waterguns, tents, mister and pools help, but eventually one must migrate to the air-conditioning or risk passing out.
In addition, the event falls on EDC weekend which seems to prevent some people from coming, as the hotel ticket prices in Vegas can be particularly expensive, and it seems that many Gabberfest attendees do not attend EDC. So, part of the congress this year was openly debating a radical shift in time for the event. What do you think? What would be the best time of year for Gabberfest, and why? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section!
Basscon presents Angerfist, Radical Redemption, Minus Militia and The Hard Data Ballroom Takeover Event Review
December 23 was the return of Basscon to the Belasco Theater in Los Angeles. Unlike previous Basscon shows however, this promised to be very different. Insomniac managed to bring out a very special lineup featuring exclusively raw hardstyle and hardcore acts, a first for Basscon! In the main room, Basscon featured Angerfist, Radical Redemption solo set, and the US premiere of Minus Militia. In the Ballroom was The Hard Data’s very own Ballroom Takeover, featuring The Hard Data DJ Team – DJ Deadly Buda, Mindcontroller and Lost Boy. The hype for the US debut of Minus Militia, along with the return of Angerfist, brought a larger than life crowd, even selling out the show in the last few days of ticket sales. It was raining hard when many of the partygoers arrived at Belasco and many were getting drenched while waiting for security, but as I watched people get checked in, the excitement on their faces was palpable. Everyone knew they were in for a good night!
Belasco’s two separate rooms allowed the crowd to wander around the venue between the two stages easily and get a little taste of all the artists playing that night. I was reminded of many fond memories from previous shows at this venue as I walked in hearing Darksiderz playing one my favorite hardstyle tracks, TNT & Audiofreq – Screwdriver, as I made my way to the Ballroom.
The Ballroom was packed full of loyal hardcore heads for The Hard Data DJ Team and I felt like I was immediately surrounded by friends from all over coming up to say hi. Mindcontroller was on the decks when we walked in, and we made our way over to see The Hard Santa. My friends and I told him to check his list, and he said despite us being very naughty this year, he still had a present for us – The Hard Data Ballroom Blitz CD – a special CD mixed with everything from raw hardstyle to happy hardcore to hardcore and uptempo. I always love receiving CD’s at shows and I knew we would be listening to this on the drive home!
We bid Santa farewell and did a time check; there was just enough time to grab a drink at the bar and make our way to the dancefloor before Radical Redemption. As we walked to our ususal spot we had the pleasure of running into Chain Reaction and Crypsis! I had a short conversation with them and Chain Reaction told me that he was very excited to play for the US crowd for the first time. Crypsis added that it was exciting for them all to finally bring Minus Militia to the US.
I looked around the room and it was packed as Darksiderz finished his set. The anticipation for Radical Redemption to begin had built an immense amount of excitement from the crowd. When Radical took to the stage his powerful 
baselines and melodies echoed throughout The Belasco! Radical’s set was a whirlwind of raw hardstyle and his set included a great mix of some of his popular tracks, including Smack Bitches, HardBass Tribute, Suicide Baseline, and a collection of his iconic Brutal tracks including: Brutal 3.0, as well as crowd favorites Brutal 5.0 and his brand new Brutal 6.0.
As Radical Redemption finished his set it was time for a short intermission while Joey (Radical) ran to get his wardrobe changed for the Minus Militia set. In the meantime while the crowd waited, a live vocal female singer alongside Darksiderz kept the corwd entertained. As we waited, I looked over to the bar and I noticed Angerfist standing nearby. I went to go talk with him and he also mentioned to me that he was excited to play. He said that it was amazing to see so many people come out for the night and he couldn’t wait to play some hardcore for us! 
It was at this time I saw Crypsis, Chain Reaction and Radical Redemption take their place crouched behind the decks in their flack jackets and preparing for their US assault. Finally, it was time for the US debut of Minus Militia!
What happened next is hard to put into words. The lasers created a web of light over the crowd and powerful kick rolls and screeches brought so much energy to the crowd, I thought the barricade fence at the front of the stage was going to fall over from the force of the crowd that raged behind it! Their set included Obey and Arise (Official Militant Mayhem 2016 Anthem), Cracking Your Ribs, The Genesis (Supremacy 2014 Anthem). To complete the Minus Militia experience, Chain Reaction stood at the edge of the stage waving the large red minus Militia flag over the crowd before finally throwing it out to one very lucky fan.
Last but certainly not least, it was time for Angerfist to 
unleash hardcore upon the crowd. The mosh pit that had formed for Minus Militia grew as people dug deep to finish the night with hardcore. Angerfist pounded the crowd with his track selection, including classic tracks like Incoming, The Depths of Despair, Streetfighter, The Voice of Mayham, Strange Man In Mask and Just Like Me. I was also very excited to hear (and from the cheers of the crowd so were they) when Angerfist crossed over into dropping several frenchcore tracks, including The Sickest Squad ft. Lenny Dee -Minimal is Criminal, Radium – Rocking Fire, and his collabs with Dr. Peacock – Caveman and Inframan.
Overall I thought that the night was a blast and I hope that this show opens the door for Basscon to throw more exclusively raw hardstyle and hardcore events! Relive the night and check out some of our photos here. Up next for Basscon – Check out 15 Years of TNT featuring TNT aka Technoboy and Tuneboy, Audiofreq and Mekanikal on January 21, and Atmosfears’ North American GATE Tour featuring Atmosfears, Code Black and Tuneboy with a ‘Classics’ set on February 24th.
In closing, I would just like to take an opportunity to say a very special thank you to my friend Elise Valiquette aka DJ unicorns for her help with this article and for the continued adventures we have together, Joel Bevacqua and The Hard Data for continuing to allow me to contribute, and thank you to all my friends (too many of you all to name) who continue to come out to shows and create such great memories with me! 2016 was epic, have a safe and happy New Year and I hope to see you all in 2017!
– CabZ