Hundreds gathered in Webster Hall's Grand Ballroom as Opiuo's Live band rolled through NYC for the first time to what was expected to be a long night of funkadelic glitch hop.
HUCCI kicked off the night with a ton of trap and bass, getting our blood flowing and heart's racing.
A pause between sets and then Opiuo was up. The band gave us an amazing show for about an hour, and we were grateful for that.
At around 2:30 am, security guards started shouting, "Everyone out! Please vacate the building!" Confused, I started asking questions. I was told there was a kitchen fire; was their pizza bar to blame? Turns out it was actually an electrical fire in one of the back offices. As I exited, I could actually see smoke coming out of the vents. Opiuo announced it would be their last song and 30 seconds later, the lights shot on and the music came to a halt.
As guests evacuated the venue, a line of fire trucks with blinding lights and blaring sirens lined 11th street. A sea of confusion on what to do next led most of the patrons to Webster's sister venue, Slake. Even the band members showed up! With the announcement of free admission to Slake for Webster Hall ticket holders, the venue filled quickly as the residents, Cameron Kush, Alex English, Dali, and Hiyawatha spun us into the wee hours of the morning.
No one was hurt, as the staff evacuated the building safety. Webster Hall will resume business as normal tonight.