As soon as the doors opened and I stepped into the Avalon, I found the massive expanse of an empty club, the staff still cleaning from the previous night. Because it was my first time at the Avalon, I was surprised to see the sheer size of the venue. Plentiful lights and several large LED panels streaming hypnotic visuals framed the stage, which has accompanied by a wide dance floor that would soon be packed. The club didn’t stop there. In the hours I had, I had the chance to explore the maze of different rooms and bars inside the Avalon. I was pleasantly surprised to find a separate lounge on the club’s top floor that featured a resident DJ, bar, and lavishly decorated lounge chairs, complete with candle-lit tables and ashtrays. Who knew you could still smoke indoors in The United States?

As the clocked turned and people started to arrive, Florian Picasso took stage. Ravers flooded into the venue, adorned in Kandi up to their shoulders to complement their neon-blue cocktails, the notorious “Adios Motherf#%$er.” The heavy Electro-House beats fed the dance floor and had the entire audience in a trance. Florian Picasso knew exactly how to get the event started, dropping a remix of “Burn” by Ellie Goulding and finishing his set with “Fade Into Darkness.”

Then came the headliner, Lucky Date. At this point, the venue was packed from corner to corner and both floors were littered with people energized and ready to go H.A.M. He started off his set with “Spaceman” by Hardwell and slowly dropped into “Animals” by Martin Garrix. Prior to this event, I never had the opportunity to see Lucky Date, which is definitely a shame. His skills as DJ are prime; Lucky Date delivered a masterful mash-up of loops and samples, seamlessly mixed into great music, making everyone on the dance floor scream for more. Lucky Date, making a shout out to Dada Life, dropped “Born to Rage,” in sync with vintage visuals of aeronautical acrobats and old music videos from back when VH1 was actually dedicated to music.

2 AM rolled around and Nom De Strip took the stage, dropping a remix of “Yummy” by Gwen Stefani. Let me tell you this: despite being a fairly new name in the EDM world, Nom De Strip has DJ skills comparable to those of Eric Prydz. His entire set flowed so smoothly, starting off with a Deep-House feel and slowly transitioning to more of an Electro-House beat. Nom De Strip’s set continued until about 3:30 AM, and although the bar had already been closed for an hour and a half, the audience wasn’t going anywhere. This fresh new sound in EDM had the crowd locked in, hypnotized, and hit like a wrecking ball (think Miley Cyrus).

At the end of it all, it seemed that everyone was disappointed to leave. I, for one, was definitely surprised; I wasn’t expecting the venue to be so large and lavish and, because of my sobriety, I also wasn’t expecting to have as much fun either. Florian Picasso, Lucky Date, and Nom De Strip all gave spectacular performances. I certainly got my fix of raving that night. However, without question, I cannot wait for CONTROL next week.

*Photography is Courtesy of Skyler Greene