Written by Audrey Pierick
Photos by Juliana Bernstein, ALIVECOVERAGE, Bryan Kwon and OffBrandProject
Happy New Year and welcome to the Roaring 20s! Thanks to Cityfox Odyssey, we spent the turn of the decade raving, napping, raving again, napping again, and you guessed it… raving some more. The 27-hour tech-house event was truly an odyssey where thousands of ravers endured the test of time to make it to a legendary closing Âme B2B Dixon set.
The event kicked off at 9pm at the iconic Avant Gardner in Brooklyn, New York. We tried to conserve energy by starting our evening just as the clock turned to midnight with Sasha and John Digweed kicking off the new year. The duo played a whopping 4 hour extended set, which allowed us to dance for a few hours and then take some time to explore the other stages.
There were 4 stages throughout the main floor of the venue and a surprise 5th stage was added to a more intimate room up on the second floor. The Portal, or the main stage, was a sprawling warehouse with 3 bars, a VIP area, and production focused on an incredible laser show. The main stage had a nice blend of techno and house centered artists like Hot Since 82 and Jamie Jones.
Just next to The Portal was the Vortex. The Vortex was a circular, tented room with a massive sparkling disco ball placed right in the center of the tent. The overall lighting was darker and the tempo was more relaxed than the mainstage, giving it a deep, dark, disco circus vibe. Matthew Dekay threw down with YokOo to close the Vortex.
The third stage, titled The Bridge, had a unique setup with lights and chains extending from the ceiling to create a cube around the DJ booth. We were thankful that there were some padded benches in The Bridge so we could snuggle up and rest our feet while catching the sounds of Damian Lazarus.
Though all the stages were completely unique and impressive in their own way, The Void was our favorite by far. Cityfox was able to partner with art collective 404.zero to create an immersive exhibition that exceeded our expectations. Huge hollow metal squares hang from the ceiling in a line to create a tunnel. Light technicians used lasers and spotlights to create fluid visuals that never repeated. Our favorite set of the entire event was laid down by Ida Engberg at the Void. The visuals combined with seamless transitions between house and techno beats were unmatched.
In addition to the production and tunes, we were impressed by the overall flow of the event. We know New York City sometimes gets a bad rap for a moody crowd, but the vibes couldn’t have been more welcoming. There was lots of seating for those who needed a rest from the marathon, though we were disappointed when security wouldn’t let us disco nap at the venue. We ended up making a quick trip back to a friend’s apartment so we could nap and make it through the closing. The event was so long that they also had multiple food menus, complete with brunch options and special drink meals. Can you say mimosas?
All in all, the Cityfox Odyssey NYE was a success in our eyes. There’s no better way to bring in the new year than by dancing under sparkling lights to world class music with world class friends.
The post Welcome to the Roaring 20s: Cityfox Odyssey Brings in the New Years in NYC appeared first on Festival Squad.
