Grimy. Dirty. Filthy. These are words that, in the electronic dance music scene, can be used to describe an atmosphere that is great for fans.

The new rise in electronic music is called trap, which is a mix of hip-hop, dubstep and dub (repetitive and low-frequency focus). Krewella, an electronic dance music group, is made up of Rain Man, Yasmine and Jahan Yousaf from Chicago. Krewella, formed in 2007, came to fame in 2012 with the release of their EP “Play Hard.” The band performed on Thursday night at The Westcott Theater.

The doors opened at 7 p.m. with a fair mix of locals and students in the audience. Even with temperatures as low as seven degrees that evening, showgoers didn’t let the wind chill discourage their good time. The show was full of energy and heat, despite Syracuse’s chilly landscape.

Through openers DJ Shamrock, Lazerbass, Direktor and DotEXE, the crowd grew slowly throughout the night, with scantily clad girls with tutus on their hips, gemstones on their chests and flowers in their hair filling onto the dance floor. A line quickly formed outside of the women’s restroom surrounding the coat racks, as the restroom doubled as a changing room. Layers of clothing came in and plenty of flesh walked out.

Krewella didn’t come out to perform until 11:30 p.m., nearly five hours after the doors opened, but the group’s presence rejuvenated the crowd. The lucky audience members surrounding the barricades got to touch the group’s hands as they greeted fans on their way toward the stage.

“Oh my God, she touched my hand. I’m never washing this hand again. Her hands were so soft,” remarked Louie LaGambino, a sophomore in the College of Visual and Performing Arts who succeeded in reaching over the barricade to touch Krewella member, Yasmine.

The audience seemed to be a little worn down by 11:30 p.m. until Krewella’s hit “Alive” started playing, and more girls climbed on shoulders to sway. Even the shyest dancers in the room were enjoying themselves and letting loose. The performers let their audience members know the show isn’t about dancing the best or being the best. The bands encouraged the crowd to not worry about looking like a fool, since the next person might be dancing three times harder.

Many dancers incorporated lights and skill. Orbitals and glovers were scattered throughout the crowd, popular for boosting the party atmosphere and providing light shows as entertainment for fans. A glove set is a set of gloves with colored LED lights at the fighter tips. An orbital is a simple square of colored LED lights on a string that’s twisted and contorted to appear in streams of light.

These “orbital artists” frequently got hugs from appreciative showgoers. One orbital artist was sophomore Emily Callahan. Callahan said orbiting is exhausting, since it’s tiresome enough to dance at a show, but she still loves it.

“Well, I like orbiting because it becomes a reflection of music, and it takes a lot of practice to really get the smoothness down,” Callahan said. “And there’s a real sense of showmanship to master, it’s hard keeping it from becoming repetitive.”

Krewella kept up the energy of the crowd through songs like “Killin’ it,” “Play Hard” and “Feel Me” throughout the end of the night. It was well after 1 a.m. by the end of the show, and the sweaty, exhausted and happy crowd cheered as Krewella thanked Syracuse for coming out.

Published on February 11, 2013 at 12:40 am

For more information, contact Autumn at: aboatner@syr.edu