Ninja Nation tour comes to Portland, delivers

Aurora Angeles

The Ninja Nation tour came to Portland recently, and delivered so much bass.

On March 28, fellow Advocate writer Hayden Hunter and I made our way down to the Roseland Theater to attend a Datsik show. We were far from prepared for the bass that was about to come our way, but did we enjoy every minute of the show and maybe go a little too hard? Yes!

After attending many shows at the Roseland, I found this show somehow different. We arrived early, which is new to me because I never get to EDM (Electronic Dance Music) shows early. Since this was Hayden’s first EDM show, we arrived promptly at 7 p.m. One of the perks of arriving early was that we got a 21+ stamp to go upstairs and back down as we pleased. It doesn’t seem like a big deal, but it made the experience so much better. Usually there’s a super-long line mid-show to go upstairs, and waiting in it is such a buzzkill.

I have seen ETC!ETC! many times at EDM music festivals, so it was an awesome surprise when they started performing. How could I  not notice they were opening for Datsik? Silly me! But it doesn’t matter because I automatically recognized their electro house sound and started dancing immediately. ETC!ETC!’s sound is nothing like Datsik.

ETC!ETC! has more of a pop-electronic sound, whereas Datsik is way more dubstep. I love it when a mixture of EDM artists tour together. The variation in the sound is very much appreciated. ETC!ETC! got the crowd hyped, excited, and beyond ready for Datsik.

The curtain lifted and we all went apesh*t for Datsik. Aside from the sick intro, confetti flying everywhere, and refreshing mist, I was immediately intrigued by the vortex he was performing in. I had seen pictures of it online, but seeing it on stage was mesmerizing. Datsik performed in the middle of the “Vortex Lumen,” which is essentially an enormous circular contraption that has amazing graphics projected on it throughout the show. Whoever designed his motion graphics deserves an A+, because they were sick! Datsik has a very futuristic sound and the bass was bumpin’!

Mid-show, I turned over to look at Hayden. We smiled, gave each other two thumbs-up, and continued to rage. When it was finally time to leave, I felt so happy and energized. The whole crowd had this lively vibe and everyone was coming together (literally).

Music has always brought people together and you can’t help but live in the moment and enjoy the show. Fair to say, we really enjoyed Datsik’s performance. It’s not just dubtep, pretty lights, and crowds of sweaty people: It’s everyone letting go and coming together to enjoy an amazing visually, bass-heavy performance by one of the best.