Shit was bananas. Literally. A night of confetti, bananas, and mayhem. That was the storming set Dada Life threw down on Friday at House of Blues for their “Back to School” Tour.
A flurry of concert goers braved the chilly air to queue outside the concert hall, eagerly chatting about the show. Some were dressed brightly with glow stick necklaces, fur, and fishnets – others were hardly dressed at all. Little seemed to hinder their good spirits and excitement. After all, they were about to see Dada Life, one of the most dynamic duos in the EDM industry.
Unfortunately, due to health reasons, Olle was unable to perform at the show, yet Stefan still managed to effortlessly transform Boston’s venue into the highly coveted Dada Land, the place where there are no rules except the Rules of Dada. This was not a show of high emotions, elated feelings, and complex melodies that makes one think, “God, I love music.” There were no hand hearts; there were no airplanes. This is was a show of filthy bass lines, gritty electro synths, booming kick drums, and crisp snares that rattled bones.
Unleashing an arsenal of original tracks, bootlegs, and remixes, Stefan proved why Dada Life is one of the top names in dance music. His song selection was impeccable and his transitions flawless. Playing some of the biggest records on the Beatport Charts, Stefan interacted with the crowd regularly, whether it was throwing Dada Life flags into eagerly reaching hands or informing the crowd on how ugly they were — a counter-intuitive comment which, rest assured, is quite a compliment.
Original hits like “Kick Out the Epic Motherfucker” and “Feed the Dada” sent massive jolts of energy rippling through the crowd, rewarded by stomping feet and screams of satisfaction. Keeping the performance dynamic, Stefan mixed various original a cappellas over popular songs, a highlight being the mashup of “Payback” by Steve Angello, Dimitris Vangelis & Wynman with the vocals of “Boing Clash Boom”. It takes great skill to read a crowd when performing, yet Stefan did it with ease.
Ever the party starter, Stefan even invited fans dressed in banana costumes to join him on stage, dousing them in champagne. At times he even came down from his mixing booth to throw blow-up banana balloons into the crowd, culminating in a massive blow-up banana that served as crowd surfer for the night. Hundreds of hands pushed and punched the giant iconic fruit around in a whirlwind of madness.
When two hours of chaos finally drew to a close, audience members expressed their sadness and disdain. “One more song!” they chanted, yet their wishes went unanswered. Thanking Boston for coming out, Stefan came to the edge of the stage and shook hands with screaming fans before disappearing backstage.
As the crowd funneled out of the venue and congregated in the streets, it was evident by the look on their faces and in their eyes that their trip to Dada Land had been a major success. Yet even though their visas expired for the night, many of them commented on how they would definitely be coming back.
Next time you open a Traveler Magazine, don’t be surprised if Dada Land is on the list of top vacation spots. Forget Ibiza, Mykonos, or Miami. This place knows how to party.