Written by: Julia Baronti

They say that it’s all about the vibes, and if you’re looking for physically numbing ones, rather than socially tolerable ones, you should look into being executed by Excision during his tour this season. This past weekend, on 3/14, the Canadian dubstep demon, Excision took the city that never sleeps by storm at Best Buy Theater along with Vaski, and Paper Diamond. The crowd was full of bassheads, swarming the stage in hopes to be the first to peek a view of Excision’s “Executioner” light display that was shielded with a black curtain. With 100,000 watts of sound, and a 420 square foot stage production, Excision was ready to completely destroy the sold out venue. If that doesn’t sound appealing to all you heavy bass enthusiasts out there, I’m not sure what will.

Vaski, and Paper Diamond opened the night with bass driven sets that amped up the crowd, preparing them for what was yet to come. Paper Diamond’s set was inspiring and brought great vibes to the show as he dropped “Can We Go Up,” “Imagine the Possibilities,” along with remixes of hit songs, such as, “Sweet Nothing” by Calvin Harris and Florence Welch (Diplo/Grandtheft Remix). Although both performances did not compare well to Excision’s, you can’t really complain about live doses of rhythmic bass.

Finally, after a short intermission that followed Paper Diamond’s set, Excision was about to take the stage. Kandi-covered wrists, and “X” crossed arms raised into the air as the lights began to flicker, and the bass began to hum. The floor slowly began to vibrate, increasing with every second that led closer to the reveal of the monstrous, and robotic Executioner. The crowd was screaming, itching for the first drop of paralyzing bass. Suddenly, after a seventy five second build up, the Executioner lit up the entire room. With intricate and incredible animations filling the entire display, the crowd was instantly mesmerized and sucked into an endless trance from the beginning of the set. The first drop of bass was an electric shock. Sending over 100,000 watts of sound throughout the venue the bass reverberated and possessed every single person standing on the (surprisingly still standing) wooden floors.

Excision’s set lasted about an hour and fifteen minutes, of which every second immersed within was exceptional. From start to finish he brought endless mind blowing beats, and dirty bass that completely captivated the crowd. In comparison to his past tour sets, such as the “X Tour” last winter, he incorporated a lot more drum and bass, a couple unexpected trap tracks, and different remixes, which showed us a different side of his live talent. He dropped his classics, from “Deviance,” to “Wasted,” to newer tracks such as “Vindicate,” “Headbanga,” “Crowd Control,” and threw in a little Rage Against the Machine, “Killing In The Name,” which you can never go wrong with. At this point, I’m not sure if it’s even possible to be disappointed by Excision.

The Executioner production display definitely lived up to Excision’s claims, and only contributed more entertainment to his performance. The dynamic, 3D, visual monster was synced to every pulsating beat of bass and screeching rhythm. At one point in the set, the entire display turned to an underwater scene with sharks racing toward the audience, building up to the first drop of “Jaw Drop,” by South Central. The imagery was so clear you could see the edges of their sharp, eroding teeth.

The vibrations brought by the 100,000 watts of sound throughout the entire venue were captivating, almost immobilizing. You could feel every hair on your arm rising, and the chills that made your body shake even more from the vibrating floor. The volume was enough to make someone go deaf, but that will never stop a true heavy bass fan. The louder, the better.

Excision has always been one of my favorite DJ’s to see live, not only because I’m a huge fan, but because he takes the genre of dubstep to a different level. It’s robotic, grimy, demonic, and disgustingly beautiful. If you’re lucky enough to see him live, make sure you get your tickets. This is not a show that you want to miss. Prepare to be executed.