Review: Laidback Luke & Friends Save NYC With Super You & Me

The Venue

This was my first time at Governor’s Island, and I’d heard nothing but great things from the year before. However, management of the venue changed from Pacha to Made Event this year, and there have been some disconcerting things published about it since the debut with Benny Benassi on June 9th: No caps on (boxed) water, long lines to get on the ferry, and also to enter the venue, etc. EHusky is pleased to announce that many of these issues had been solved by last night, as lines were non-existent, and a decent amount of people were allowed caps for their water, a commodity of the utmost importance at a dance event. Logistics aside, the Governor’s Island setting is beautiful; my new favorite venue for a show. Being from NYC, there’s truly nothing like listening to the music I love with the backdrop of the picturesque skyline of the world’s greatest city. The bottom line: buy tickets to a show at Governor’s Island this summer; you will not regret it.

The Music

(editor’s note: we unfortunately missed the vast majority of Oliver Twizt’s set, so I will not comment except to say that we are extremely disappointed that we missed it.)

Peace Treaty: In my opinion, Peace Treaty stole the show with high-energy tracks and a deep electro sound that just kept on giving. Only one of the members was present, but he represented to the fullest. From their own bootlegs and remixes to some recent classics such as Third Party’s “Thank You”, Peace Treaty delivered a set that surely had heads spinning. What did it for me was the incorporation of Ash’s “Papa”. The last time I heard that track played was at IDentity last summer, and it has never failed to fulfill my acid house needs. Perhaps the most riveting component of Peace Treaty’s set, however, was the fact that many of the tracks were unknown by so many audience members. Even so, they worked; Peace Treaty had the crowd rockin’ from start to finish, and it was magical!

Tommy Trash: Upon arrival I was most excited for Tommy Trash’s set, as he is one of my favorites at this juncture and I knew my inaugural Trash experience would be something to look forward to. Let me start by saying two things: 1) Tommy lost the crowd a couple of times. 2) Tommy also messed up a couple of mixes, one of which was extremely noticeable and unexpected. Now let me tell you why neither of these issues were really a big deal. To address the first: Yes, there were some lulls in the set, but once the Australian party animal brought the heat he had everyone goin’ just as crazy as his unkempt, flowing locks were the whole evening. And as for the second: It’s refreshing to hear a mistake now and then, because you know that the DJ is… well… actually DJing. There has been much controversy about this sort of thing recently, but we’re happy to say that Tommy Trash is no phony. Oh, and he played pretty much every Tommy Trash jam you’d want to hear, along with a slew of crafty bootlegs before closing with his highly coveted “ID” collaboration with Sebastian Ingrosso. All in all, Tommy was just as enjoyable as the bottle of Veuve Cliquot he was sipping on throughout the set… which from the looks of it, was extremely enjoyable.

Datsik: I am not big into dubstep, and this was my first experience with a live set in the genre. I have to say that we used the time as a break from the heat canopy above the chaotic dancefloor. However, speakers line the entirety of the venue and we still listened to the set. But we all much preferred it from a distance, being the melodic house fans that we are. And let’s get the record straight; I don’t dislike dubstep, but I saw Datsik’s set as an opportunity to rest my feet in between Tommy and Luke. In the opinions of many I talked to, Datsik did not really fit the bill in terms of the other artists there, and I very much agree. While I am a fan of diversity and can appreciate the exposure to different types of music, it didn’t seem right to break up the two biggest artists on the bill with a dubstep set. That’s my opinion; disagree if you will. One last thought: Datsik did play a very creative and entertaining set. I’m sure all of the bassheads in attendance would agree.

Laidback Luke: Any DJs main goal is to please the crowd. And at this point I am confident in saying that almost no one out there does it better than Mr. Laidback Luke. I’ve seen him twice now, and yesterday he passed my test. I brought three people to Governor’s Island who aren’t big into EDM, one of whom had never been to a show before. And my convictions have been magnificently reaffirmed; there is no better candidate than Laidback Luke to deliver an enjoyable first experience at a dance event. The biggest thing for many concert-goers is familiarity, and critics of house music are quick to denounce its appeal because there “aren’t enough lyrics to sing along to.” Laidback Luke manages to blend familiar and popular vocal tracks into even the hardest and biggest dance anthems time and time again, thwarting off the aforementioned criticism. Last night we were inundated by bootlegs that included Oasis’ “Wonderwall” mixed into Tiesto’s “Lethal Industry”, an old yet ever-appropriate anthem in any true EDM fan’s book. Then, the lyrics from “Empire State Of Mind” over “Rattle”. Couldn’t think of a more fitting track for an NYC show. He even played classics like his remix of “Better Off Alone”, and Benny Benassi’s timeless anthem, “Satisfaction”. On the ferry back to Manhattan, the verdict was in: Satisfaction had, in fact, been delivered in more ways than one. There’s nothing like dressing up as a superhero on a sunny Saturday and listening to some of your favorite DJs save the world, one track at a time.

P.S. Tommy Trash loved Luke’s set so much he decided to hop down into the crowd and party with his fans for a few minutes… But hey, that’s why we love Tommy!