I witnessed firsthand what it takes to oversee a successful diy music event. It began as a cold, empty room, and evolved into a vibrant stage, surrounded by a crowded dance floor. In the past, I’d had experience putting together events at house shows, but this was the first time that I helped turn an empty space into something unlike anything on this planet— ok, maybe that’s an overstatement, but The Space Hall in Columbia is a master at transforming space into diverse environments. The event was called “The Bassment”, and it was put together by Anissa Christine (aka Platonic Bae). This event has been her “brain baby” for months, organizing the booking, promotions, and overseeing the creative vision of the night. Without her, and the slept-on people at The Space Hall in Columbia, this event would have never happened. The show featured three DJs that frequently play electronic shows in Columbia, and boasted an array of mesmerizing lights and projections.
The first act of the night was the Soda City gem, Platonic Bae. After seeing her turn out Art Bar at the official Indie Grits after party last year, I knew that The Space Hall was in for a treat. The hip hop and house inspired set perfectly set the mood for the night. A meager handful of people grew into a jubilant gaggle packed into what was once a cold, and vacant room.
Following her success, Contour, vocalist in the Charleston band of the same title, began his set with songs that probably made everyone wonder why Netflix cancelled “The Get Down”. High energy disco anthems, hypnotic house beats, and hot latin tracks continued the trend of endless dancing for the night.
Finally, the 3rd act of the night, DJ Celcius is known for having funky sets that are reminiscent of family reunions, and the music that your parents play at home on days spent cleaning. Despite his appearance, every song in the mix contained enough spirit energy to compel line dancing at a 4th of July cookout. Even though I’d seen all of the artists that performed at others shows in Columbia, it was interesting to see the inception of the event for the night, and experience the show as a guest and producer.
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This was also my first time getting to see the behind the scenes action of Vj’ing, which believe it or not, a ton of work goes into. I won’t get into the technicalities of what makes the video projections work, or how the 6 giant LED lights that we hung from the ceiling pulls everything together, --mainly because I’d do a poor job explaining it, but because the intimacy of the space that was created, and the sense of community that events like this spreads is more interesting. A picture is worth 1000 words, so it shouldn’t take much to convince someone how being at a show like this feels. It was truly one of my favorite shows that i’ve been to in 2018, and hopefully, there will be many more at The Space Hall.
