Diplo's Mad Decent Mausoleum

Philadelphia Weekly
October 3, 2007


Snapshot

by Joshua Valocchi

Click here for more snapshots from the show.


From the moment the first MySpace bulletin was sent out by Sean Agnew and his R5 cronies to the near minute-by-minute updates that followed, it became fairly evident that something beautifully sinister was brewing in the city’s Loft District last week.

The initial bulletin explained that the evening’s scheduled gig at the Starlight Ballroom featuring Diplo, Switch and Blaqstarr had been postponed until November. But the notice also hinted at a “crazy rave” taking place at a “super-secret location” with the evening’s scheduled Starlight performers simply moving their show a few blocks west.

As word spread and anticipation grew, Philly’s underground faithful geared up for a good old-fashioned warehouse party. “This is gonna be so hot!” squealed a faux-hawked lass while waiting in line for a coveted ticket. How right she was.

Stepping inside the newly christened Mad Decent Mausoleum was not unlike being airdropped into the heart of an Amazonian rainforest. As DJ Sega worked the decks from a narrow balcony overlooking the jam-packed main floor, sweat-drenched bodies writhed below, seemingly incognizant of the oppressive heat flowing throughout the room.

Undeterred by the palpable humidity, Baltimore’s Blaqstarr took over party-pumping detail and laid out bass-heavy synth beats deep enough to shake the balcony floor. By the time Diplo and Switch moved in, the party was in such high gear that Air Supply tracks would’ve been greeted with a sea of raised hands.

Yeah, the show was hot in every sense of the word.