Radiance NYE: (head)Bangin’ Success!
The end of any year is an exciting time: a time for reflection, celebration, and preparation for the next. But this year, we all were really just ready to rage 2018 away.
Radiance NYE had first peeked out interest around Halloween. With both Excision and Zeds Dead listed on their initial lineup, headbangers, bass heads, and EDM Fam from all over the Midwest were stoked to return to Milwaukee’s Wisconsin Center. This time, the Convention Center was decked with a Radiance NYE backdrop for photos, a newly-improved second stage with visuals in the hallway, and mountains of balloons suspended above the dancefloor inside for the celebratory balloon drop. The Monaco tasting bar was a nice touch for this event and fans certainly enjoyed the outdoor space for smoking and cooling off.
Milwaukee was certainly a-buzz on the night of the 31st. For many, the roads in were rainy, icy, and snowy but the weather in town was mild with no real precipitation. The nearby hotels had been completely booked for over a month and were now hosting a slew of young adults in Zeds Dead jerseys, “X” T-shirts, pashminas, and, of course, glitter! The hallway of our hotel had at least five pre-parties on the same floor, including our own squad’s meetup celebrating our last show of the year.
While Spock, Whipped Cream, Riot Ten, and Bear Grillz hyped the crowd in 2018, it was Zeds Dead who fans were most excited to see. After polling two relevant Facebook groups after the event (EDM Chicago & Radiance NYE Fam), Zeds Dead was ranked the favorite set of the weekend over headlining artist, Excision. Also surprising, Whipped Cream, a trending female DJ/producer from Canada, ranked higher than both popular dubstep acts, Riot Ten and Bear Grillz, who both have more than twice as many followers on Soundcloud. The Canadian queen played the second slot of the night and obviously brought her A-game!
The founding Deadbeats duo, Zeds Dead, dropped tons of classics including “Collapse” and “Elanor Rigby”, an unreleased Beatles remix they’ve been performing for roughly a year. Zeds Dead also played their new mix of “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” and teased their 2010 hit “Rude Boy”. They ended their set just before midnight with a mix of “Where Is My Mind” by the Pixies and definitely left us all wanting more Zeds Dead in 2019! While Zeds Dead’s only other current tour date is Holy Ship right now, they are a confirmed headliner for the Memorial Day music festival in Chillicothe, Illinois, Summer Camp Music Festival.
Excision’s set started just before midnight, perhaps closer than expected! There wasn’t much of a countdown which was definitely confusing and a little abrupt. “Maybe if the headliner didn’t completely miss having a ball drop at midnight. yikes 😬,” one fan posted to Facebook. But Excision took to Twitter to defend the mishap. Replying to one fan, Excision suggested technical errors that were out of his control resulted in the anti-climatic transition from 2018 to 2019. If you missed the few numbers that flashed on the screen, it was pretty clear what time it was when the plethora of colorful balloons fell from the ceiling and canons of white confetti showered the crowd of headbangers: 2019 was here!
The number of build-ups and drops Excision fitted into his hour-and-a-half set must be record-breaking: Excision is unparalleled in his ability to maintain such a high level of music intensity for so long. Accompanied by his strong visual set, he definitely puts on an incredible show. His visual set included bits from this year’s Paradox Tour and probably previewed some for his upcoming Apex 2019 Tour.
Overall, the night was a huge success! Roughly 86% of fans said they would return for this event in 2019, but with a few suggestions for next year: “It really should be two nights,” one fan responded to my poll. “I’d rather drive 5–6 hours for two nights,” which is probably a common thought for many who made the trek from Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, or Michigan. One group of fans flew in from L.A. just to see Excision on New Years Eve. “And we leave first thing tomorrow,” he laughed at the turnaround time.
“Wish it was in Chicago,” another fan responded suggesting a similar venue in Rosemont, though Wisconsin Center has a higher rating than Donald E. Stephens Convention Center, Aragon Ballroom, and All State Arena according to Facebook and Google ratings. Fans were also a little turned off by security: “That pat down was intense!” though I, for one, fully support good event security.
So who did fans want to see for next year’s lineup? Aside from Excision and Zeds Dead, Zomboy and Ganja White Night were the most popular suggestions. “Keep it heavy bass music. ♡♡,” one fan posted. And with music trending as such, I’m sure our ears will be happy in 2019 as well!
