USC – FREAKNIGHT 20th – Recap
A night worth never forgetting…
October 28th and 29th, the Tacoma Dome ran rampant with Vampires, Werewolves, Sword Swallowers and Cosplayers all alike. The 20th anniversary, 2-day USC’s Halloween event, Freak Night 2016 was raging better than ever this year with not only its lineup but its activities all alike. Luckily, having been to only a few events of this magnitude before, I was fortunate to attend this one.
On Day-1, we arrived to Freaknight fairly early around 6:30PM with no lines, and upon our entry into the dome, there was a display of candy ravers. It was such a beautiful sight to see as we stare directly down to see the entire bottom floor surrounded by circus tents, flames and performers. I was filled with excitement as I ran around the top floor staring at the main stage—Twisted Big Top, for the opening acts. The visuals were amazingly colorful as the Freaknight logo covered the large array of LED screens. Excited, we wanted to be part of the main floor festivity and so we did. Upon entry, we were first greeted by vendor booths selling an array of items from kaleidoscope glasses to LED light up shoes, but pass those, there was the Twisted Big Top stage staring us down while people were being mesmerized by its grand production.
As we wanted to change pace, the Bass Asylum was down a long hallway that led into a giant cave full of fire dancers and a crypt-like theme. The tone was definitely a lot more eerie than Twisted Big Top and nothing like I had ever seen before. Seeing the Bass Asylum stage production and visuals, the felt of the ‘wobs’ and ‘wobbles’ shaken the entire room which made it feel just right.
We only stayed in the cave for Gentlemens Club and most of Trollphace, which during his set had some of the most ‘dopest’ and ‘sickest’ visuals I have ever seen, to date. Not to miss any headliners, we made sure to head back to the mainstage 10-min prior to 3lau’s set. Every artist—Flux Pavillion, Galantis, Martin Garrix—from that point on forward, continued the momentum and kept
the crowd gazing in ecstasy (no pun intended). Out of that lineup, it is safe to say that Galantis stole the show, and I say this without any bias. Never have I ever seen a crowd so unified and connected in such a peaceful way. The visuals, the atmosphere and the ‘PLUR’ that Galantis setup for the audience is definitely a memory I will never forget.
Day-2 was essentially the same other than security seeming to be more polite and quick to get everyone in. Though the crowd was thin while people were still making their way into the dome, my friends and I wasted no time and headed to the main stage right on time for Pierce Fulton. Amongst your multiple amazing costumes (all of which helped convince me to back-out of the costume contest) you could feel the crowd, the energy and vibe growing as the lineup continued to pan-out with R3hab, Nervo, RL Grimes, Armin Van Buuren and Zedd.
Originally, my boyfriend and I planned on catching Pegboard Nerds at the Bass Asylum, but we couldn’t pull ourselves to do it. Every single person at the Twisted Big Top arena was so kind and caring; sharing and handing out gums and fruit bars. A group called the ‘Fan Clan’ handed out hand fans for people to use and make sure others were okay as well. We all ended up being guardian angels for one another. Not forgetting to also mention
the USC‘s Conscious Crew which themselves were some of the nicest and most helpful staff anyone could hope to hire.
Yet to reach my 1st full year of attending EDM shows and being as inexperienced as I am compared to others in this community, without a doubt, USC’s 20th anniversary FreakNight 2016 will always be a special event in my heart never to forget.
Can’t wait ‘till the next one…!!!
-Jeffrey Davis
