Clear blue skies and crisp views of the Manhattan skyline, accompanied by occasional cool breezes made up the perfect setting for Saturday's Verboten StageOne event with Luciano, Carl Craig, Agoria, and Moodymann on the Williamsburg Waterfront. By four o'clock, the crowd was beginning to thicken with excited party goers, delighted by the afternoon sun and jazzy and soulful cuts Moodymann was delivering. People were strolling about the warehouse grounds, enjoying cool drinks under the tent or even playing ping pong around the side of the building. Few could resist turning around to take a few snaps of the impressive view that the DJs were playing to.
Agoria manned the decks after Moodymann created a quicker paced segue towards the end of his set. The crowd at that point, had already filled the entire open space, making it quite a spectacular site to behold from the stage. The skies were occasionally dotted by a few beach balls that were being thrown up high by dancing people below. Not afraid to mix dance with emotion, Agoria's set was intensified by breakdown moments where beautiful melodic tracks would take hold of the crowd and provide a respite from the beat while still channeling "hands in the air" feeling. He concluded his set with a favorite of mine, Rone's "Parade," which for me by itself already made it a magical evening.
Carl Craig arrived looking relaxed in a pair of sweatpants and T-shirt, taking to the stage for the sunset slot. Although there was no after party, the good news was the event was extended until midnight, allowing Carl Craig and Luciano to embark on an epic five hour back to back set. Each of them took control of separate sides of the stage, but still worked together to close the night off.
As the New York City electronic music scene flourishes, StageONE concept adds a nice diversity to our summer musical programming with a bit different train of thought. It takes the bits and pieces we enjoy about festival experiences (such as the open air environment, day time partying, and the ability to see more of your friends) and combined it with one night and one stage of excellent bookings. Now that is how you throw a summer party.