There were a lot of signs for me to stay in Thursday, but I could not miss the opening night of Datsik's Digital Assassins Tour in Philly, especially to get a chance to catch a glimpse of the Vortex Lumen Stage.

I arrived at Electric Factory in time to see heRobust's set loosen up the crowd and set the mood for a bass heavy night.  Literally you could feel the bass run through the body.  By this time, the venue was getting pretty packed with the rave and bass head crowd with all the glove lights and light toys you can imagine.

After a short break, GZA of Wutang was next with a live band performing all the classics, including one of my personal favorites, C.R.E.A.M.  Although a good portion of the crowd was not even alive when some of these songs came out, everyone knew all the words and joined in.

Side story:  Between songs towards the end of his set, an anxious fan in the front row was asking for him to sign something, to which GZA replied on the mic with "I don't have a pen."  Because I was in the pit and happened to have a sharpie due to my irrational fear of not having one on me at all times, I did not want this fan to miss out on an opportunity and handed it over to GZA.  He then grabbed it and put it in his back pocket.  The awkwardness of him straight up pocketing my sharpie gave the band and me a good laugh.  But after his set while the crew was setting up for Datsik's massive Vortex, he went down to all the fans in the front row and signed all their hats, shirts, and everything else.  I never did get it back but it was worth the laugh.

Datsik was on next and the Vortex did not disappoint.  I first saw him perform three years ago in Baltimore and have since associated him as a good performer.  Whether you are into dubstep or not, the energy in the room when him performs is intense and intriguing.  But the new stage took it on to a new level.  No matter where you were watching, the light show was mesmerizing.  Highly recommend going to see this thing live if you can get the chance.