Standing in the middle of the 10,000-plus person crowd on Sunday at the Road to Ultra music festival watching Afrojack’s 3D logo on the most astonishing set of futuristic video screens I’ve ever seen, I could only think of one thing: Madonna. More specifically, Madonna’s ticket prices.
On one hand, for around NT$3,000, customers could go see a day’s worth of entertainment at Road to Ultra, including the stellar line-up of DJs Armin van Buuren, Alesso, Afrojack, Ansolo, Fedde Le Grand and Robin Schulz. People dressed up as wild and as crazy as they wanted, waved their Taiwan flags and screamed, bounced and floated around while enjoying the spectacle.
On the other hand, Madonna’s Rebel Heart Tour tickets went on sale Monday with prices ranging from NT$30,000 for the front row to NT$800 for nosebleed seats. Madonna qualifies as a legend in every single way imaginable, and her two to three-hour show of singing and dancing is sure to be an extravagant performance. But a half to a full month’s salary for decent seats?
Photo courtesy of Shakaboom
I’ve owned a lot of Madonna albums, played a lot of her tracks and have generally enjoyed her transformations over the years, but I just can’t stomach the thought of spending that much money on one evening of entertainment. I’ll take the excitement, enthusiasm and value of Road to Ultra any day.
BABY RAVING
Straight(ish) outta Compton, Shakaboom is invading Taiwan for a weekend’s worth of shows at The Station, Daniel Pearl Day and Carnegie’s. This DJ/MC duo is less Dr Dre and Ice Cube and more Diplo, the Mad Decent crew and baby raves.
C Squared (real name Chris Coyle) is originally from Philadelphia and used to host weekly parties with Diplo there. This started out as Hollertronix, morphed into Mad Decent, Diplo’s label and has turned into private planes and DJ superstardom for Diplo.
In 2005, C Squared moved to Los Angeles and worked for the Compton school district. A DJ canceled on Rosecrans Elementary school’s Valentine’s Day dance so C Squared filled in.
“We had the lunch ladies twerking and kids were sweating down to their socks from going so hard,” C Squared said in an e-mail interview.
He kept deejaying the school parties, fundraisers in Compton and at his daughter’s elementary school, as well as private parties and Mad Decent events in LA with his partner, Mr Hamburger (real name Joe Toh Djojo), and baby raves were born.
“I kicked Hamburger the idea about making our own music and doing the baby raves for all ages on the side to get kids physically active and introduced to contemporary genres of music like EDM, trap, house and hip-hop all mixed with party classics and Shakaboom was born.”
Shakaboom promises to give us a taste of what is really “popping off in LA at the baby raves, dance clubs, swap meets and 64 Impalas,” which includes dancehall by Cutty Ranks and Major Lazer, Watch Me by Silento, as well as Soulja Boy, Rae Sremmurd, Kendrick Lamar and a bunch of Shakaboom originals.
■ Shakaboom play tonight from 8pm to 10pm at The Station, 50, Zhongxiao W Rd Sec 1, Taipei City (台北市忠孝西路一段50號). Admission is free. They play at Daniel Pearl Day tomorrow from 1pm to 10pm, Taipei Hakka Culture Park, 2 Tingzhou Rd Sec 3, Taipei City (臺北市中正區汀州路三段2號). Admission is free. Shakaboom plays the Daniel Pearl Afterparty from 10pm to 4am at Carnegie’s, 100, Anhe Rd Sec 2, Taipei City (台北市安和路二段100號). Admission is free with a Daniel Pearl Day stamp.
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