The rave returned to Rawhide Event Center on Saturday night as Shaq- otherwise known as DJ Diesel for this sidequest- brought his Bass All-Stars event to Arizona. The carefully curated lineup had the beats bumping throughout a long night of dancing in the desert.
While the grounds were full of food and fun for attendees, the real party was inside the warehouse space where the cube-shaped stage captivated the crowd clustered inside. Lights and lasers flashed while the plethora of screens projected constantly changing visuals for a blinding array of sensory overload backed by each artist’s pulsing mixes. Atlas walked into Jkyl & Hyde’s high-energy set that pulled fans into the room and had the barricade warriors headbanging along.
Shortly after, Ghengar emerged in his signature LED mask and hyped up the audience even more with a set that mixed pop music with his heavy EDM bass. The crowd got to alternate between singing to the latest pop choruses and throwing their bodies into the rhythm crafted by Ghengar onstage.
A montage of sports highlights and animated visuals preceded DJ Diesel’s bombastic entrance to the stage. Immediately stripping off his black shirt, Shaq was right there in the mix and connecting with the audience as they danced. With every transition, he simply gestured into the crowd, selecting a few lucky fans to jump onstage and dance with him before rejoining the press of bodies trying to get closer to the stage. From the audience’s reaction, DJ Diesel’s set was well-received and carried the event into the early hours of Sunday morning- and the party continued for hours as fans reluctantly surrendered the night after the final bass notes rang out.
