Thoughts on overall show:

Emily: I originally wasn’t planning to go because I had seen Jauz a good amount of times. However, my girl friends and I made the impulsive decision to go together because of the good group we had. So even though I’ve seen Jauz, I haven’t been to a show with this group of friends. Although shows are for the music experience, the people you go with is important too! Since I have seen Jauz before, I know that he always throws a good show. I was also excited for the openers, Habskrat and Tynan.

Anton: To be entirely honest I originally wanted to go to the show just for Habstrakt. A few weeks after I got my ticket, I found out that TYNAN, a relatively new artist in EDM, was also added to the bill for support. This turned my excitement up to 11. However despite how excited I was for the openers in particular, Jauz certainly knew how to throw a unique and interesting show. Although it was only a Tuesday, this might have been the most energetic crowd I had witnessed at the Knitting Factory so far. The energy kept me in the pit rather than upstairs or at the bar.

Favorite set:

Emily: My favorite set was TYNAN. This was surprising because I had no idea who he was prior to the show and was excited for Habskrat. I’m a basshead and TYNAN played a lot of bass, so it makes sense. Habskrat played a lot of house, which isn’t what I expected but it was still good! Funny thing, I actually met TYNAN at the venue bar. I was standing there and people whispered to me, “That’s the DJ, TYNAN!” So, I figured I’d say hi and tell him how good his set was. It was cool that he was chilling and hanging out with fans.

Anton: Now this is a tough question for me. I love TYNAN’s music, I found it interesting to have him open up before Habstrakt, since “Uncle Habby” (as his fans call him) has a lot of House music bangers. But it worked out really well. Either way, mix and music wise, Habstrakt was by far my favorite part. Tons of 4 on the floor house beats, and he played plenty of my favorites like his remix of Herobust’s “Vertabreaker”. Hearing those Habby favorites of mine got me more excited than anything else I heard musically speaking. But production wise, the show was clearly tailored to show off Jauz’s spectacular new show.

Jauz’s set:

Emily: Jauz’s set caught me off guard because at some point, his DJ booth started moving around in the air. I was so confused but it was cool and a great production! I did really enjoy his set because he played a variety of bass and house. At that point, I had a good group of people around and was feeling the good vibes all around. Towards the end of the show, there were a lot of mosh pits and I wish I could join but I’m so tiny I would probably get hurt. I wish there were girl mosh pits!

Anton: Ok. So I have some thoughts about this; I absolutely love the idea of “The Fin” which is what Jauz calls his new show and production. But it could be executed better in a few ways. The visuals and graphics left a little to be desired. Especially compared to some of the other shows I have seen lately. The lights and lasers however were tuned just right. All that said, Jauz had some incredibly impressive mechanical elements to the production. As Emily mentioned, the booth itself was on a hydraulic lift. So occasionally Jauz would be lifted above the fin shaped LED wall, as otherwise he would be hidden behind it. Other times, rather than getting lifted above the Fin, the Fin itself would rotate, and reveal Jauz behind the decks. These mechanical elements reminded me alot of deadmau5 and his new Cube V3 show, but work extremely well. All visuals and production aside, Jauz played an excellent variety of stuff. It was a good long set, well over 2 hours, and featuring plenty of different genres. By far my favorite moments involved any single time Jauz dropped a midtempo track.

Thoughts on the Venue (The Knitting Factory):

Emily: The Knitting Factory is one of my favorite venues. The Spokane vibe for raving is different than the west side and in a good way! I would consider the Spokane rave crowd “true ravers,” because that’s the vibe that it gives off. It’s all about the music and the PLUR. I also don’t go up to Spokane unless it’s for events, so it was nice being in the city. After the show, I went to a bar called the Red Room, where I saw one of our music directors, Anton perform. It was good!

Anton: I’ve always loved the Knit! It’s a venue with options. The sound by the bar seems better than anywhere else due to how the bass gets trapped under the balcony. The balcony itself allows for some great views. But the pit itself is unique. No matter where you are in the pit, it seems like you’re right up against the stage. But you turn around, and see that you’re really not that close after all. Creates for a great vibe in the crowd.

Sound/production:

Emily: The music was a bit quiet, but maybe that’s good for our ears. Although, I did hear some people complaining about it. That would be my only complaint because overall it was a good show.

Anton: I didn’t notice the music being too quiet myself, but I did spend alot of time right in the pit, that in itself could’ve made the entire difference!

Check out Habstrakt @ Lost Lands 2019 below: