Category Archives: New Hampshire

Winter White Tour @ UNH

Wednesday night, thousands of EDM infused UNH students packed into Whittemore Center in preparation to see some of their favorite Djs in action. The Winter White Tour Brought to you by NV Concepts & MASS EDMC was in town and they were ready to get the party started.

Winter White Tour @ UNH

As I descended the steps into the gym, I gazed down upon an electrified sea of white. Most of the attendees decided to dress in all white attire to reflect the Winter White theme. I on the other hand, stuck out like a sore thumb with my all green Celtics t-shirt. Apparently, I didn’t get the memo.

Winter White Tour @ UNH

First one on the decks was the Dutch Dj R3hab. Known for his prolific remixes, R3hab set the tone with a high-energy set. He played mixes of In My Mind by Ivan Gough & Feenixpawl and Feel So Close by Calvin Harris, which to no surprise, were crowd favorites. My favorite of them all was his Rihanna & Calvin Harris We Found Love XS Remix—shit was fire.

I have to admit though, It would be nice to hear more original material by him. I used to really like R3hab but he has started to fall off for me. I really wanted him to prove me wrong and reinvigorate my spirits Wednesday night but he definitely fell short. That being said, I still like a lot of his work and hope he gets back on track. I’m definitely not as critical of him as UK Dj Funkagenda. I was shocked to come across a Twitter battle he had with a couple fans a few weeks back. Long story short, he was blasting R3hab, saying how horrible a DJ he is and that anyone who likes his music should ” … straight up cut off their ears”.

If I have to answer the question “How can you like Skrillex but not R3hab?” for you then you should straight up cut off your ears.

— Funkagenda (@Funkagenda) January 25, 2012

 AND

It’s like asking me “How can you like Breaking Bad but not like Keeping Up With The Kardashians?”

— Funkagenda (@Funkagenda) January 25, 2012

Ok, last one…

What’s the big deal? I recognize one artist is talented. I believe another is not. It’s my opinion. Much like arseholes we all have them.

— Funkagenda (@Funkagenda) January 25, 2012

I guess you can say Funkagenda doesn’t really like R3hab lol. I definitely thought it was a dick move to blast him like that but opinions are opinions — and as he said, like  assholes, everyone has them. At least R3hab isn’t working with Paris Hilton (cough) Afrojack. When I found out that Afrojack was kickin’ it with Paris and had plans to collaborate on a future album, I thought my head was gonna explode. Looks like he’ll do anything to get his D wet even at the price of his music and reputation. I mean for crying out loud, Hilton’s last album made even deaf people shudder — IT WAS DISGUSTING…so it totally makes sense why he would collaborate with her…

Winter White Tour @ UNH

Up next was the rockin’ and rollin’ Swede Alesso. After coming off a massive year with huge releases that included ”Raise Your Head“,  ”Calling (Lose My Mind)” and a remix to David Guetta’s “Titanium”, Alesso’s momentum has been huge and certainly didn’t show any signs of slowing down Wednesday night. He’s been receiving a ton accolades including being ranked 70 in DJ Mags top 100 and MTV named him EDM artist to watch in 2012. His performance at UNH definitely justified all of this praise.

Winter White Tour @ UNH

When he started to play Avicii’s Levels you would have thought Avicii himself was in the booth. The crowd went absolutely wild — chanting the lyrics in perfect harmony as they gazed upon Alesso in his throne of a DJ booth towering over the crowd. One of my favorite tracks he played was a mix of Florence and the Machine’s You’ve Got The Love with Avicii’s Fade Into Darkness. I wish I captured it on video but I honestly was so enveloped with the song I couldn’t move. He also crooned the crowd with his remix to “Good Love” by DEVolution Amy Pearson which is another favorite of mine.

Alesso did a masterful job at building tension throughout his set by finessing his filters around drops and transitions. You could really tell he wasn’t just playing his set, he was FEELING it, and in return, the crowd FELT it. I’d highly recommend seeing Alesso in concert if you haven’t already. This was the first time I saw Alesso in concert but it surely won’t by my last. Check out his tour dates which go all the way until July.

Winter White Tour @ UNH

The lights dimmed and Guetta’s intro music cued up. The crowd began chanting “GUETTA! GUETTA! GUETTA!” as if they were trying to summon him from the booth. This is the DJ everyone has been waiting for. DJ mags #1 ranked DJ in the world. The man who has collaborated with the likes of Usher, Chris Brown,  Sia, Taio Cruz, Snoop Dogg, Nicki Minaj, Lil Wayne and Timbaland just to name a few.

Winter White Tour @ UNH

It’s hard for me to accept the fact that Guetta’s 44 years old. There were moments in the night where I gazed up at the booth and said to myself, “Weird dude, that’s like my dad DJing up there”. However, age and jokes aside, he still put on a killer show. Even at the age of 44, he’s still able to connect with the youth of America and the world for that matter, to sell millions of albums and pack arenas at the drop of a hat.

I could write an entire article on just Guetta’s transition to mainstream and how people have a love/hate relationship with him now but I’ll save that for another post. The guys been DJing since the 80s and has definitely paid his dues — in my opinion. I’m not saying he’s right in collaborating with everyone and their mother to get a buck, that’s his own decision. However, I will say he IS a good producer, DOES put on a good show and DID put on a good show Wednesday night at UNH.

When Guetta played his throwback jam “Gettin’ Over You” the crowd went bonkers. It’s definitely one of my favorite songs by him. All the songs he did with Chris Willis are straight fire (Love Don’t Let Me Go, Love Is Gone, Tomorrow Can’t Wait etc.). Willis has such a phenomenal voice — he’s definitely the reason “Gettin’ Over You” was such a massive hit.

I want to thank MASS EDMC for letting us cover such an amazing event and for bringing these great acts to New England. I also want to thank our amazing photographer Andrew Foster for taking such ballin’ ass photos! Lastly, I want to thank all of you guys for making Stop Breathe Bump such an amazing music community of like-minded individuals. LIFES TOO SHORT FOR BAD MUSIC.