Dubstep Finally Returns to Philadelphia

Originally from Philadelphia, Joe Torre (MitiS) makes a stop in his hometown for the Oasis Fall Tour with fellow bass producers: Bear Grillz, Skrux, Kicks n Licks, and MaHi. District N9ne is a great venue for this show in particular since it landed on a weeknight, D9 isn't too big or small for the decently sized crowd who attended. The sound system was more than capable of handling the insane vibration of the heavy bass at the incredibly high volume this music is intended to be played at.

The attendance rate wasn't too high but the size of the crowd was perfect for the kind of music being played because everyone who's a genuine dubstep advocate knows that each individual needs about a 6-8 foot radius to dance the way they want to. I think that if it was any more packed than it already was, it would have been uncomfortable and hard to enjoy dancing so close to other people.

As the show's headliner, MitiS exceeded everyone's expectations by a landslide. I have only seen him once before and remembered not hating his set but not quite loving it at the same time. This time around, I was thoroughly impressed by the set he put together and found that he looked like he was having so much more fun on stage than when I saw him the first time. I'm not saying he ever looked miserable, it just seemed like he was genuinely having an amazing night playing for his hometown fans and dancing around just as much as everyone in the crowd.

• "I just wanna share good music, have it be through performance or a small, simple social setting. Music is what I do, I wouldn't change that for anything. Have it be a Chopin piece playing in a hall, or a dirty bass kickin' the club's ass, I'm down for either".

Kaylan Brown (Skrux) has made quite a name for himself at only 20 years of age. His crisp melodic dubstep style has gained a massive amount of support from other significant artists like Krewella and Adventure Club. He has absolutely killed it in past performances across the country and Philadelphia was no exception. He added more of an emotional aspect to the show because of his usage of melodic dub instead of the hard, heavy dubstep people are used to hearing. Melodic dubstep can please a variety of interests because it contains those familiar dubby womps and wobble sounds but also adds a nice twist of string ensembles and more uplifting elements to harmonize with each other creating a beautiful tune for everyone to vibe to.

I was most excited to see Bear Grillz because I have never seen him perform before for one, and two since I happen to be a dirty dub head myself, I knew he would successfully set the mood for the crowd and get them hyped up at the beginning of the show. His identity is a mystery, but I think that's pretty interesting because not many producers have a hidden alias. As he stepped up behind the DJ booth in a completely full-body bear costume, I think it's safe to say that every single person in the crowd laughed and clapped together in honor of the life-size plush toy preparing to drop some filthy dubstep.

Bear Grillz had me exhausted within 20 minutes of his set. I was right up front dancing like nobody else was in the room throughout his entire performance. Aside from dubstep, he dropped a fair amount of trap music which was probably smart on his part considering Philly is known for being huge trap fans. I was more than satisfied with his set and I look forward to any future opportunity I may have to see him play again.

Andy Joplin and Jerrod Jordan, AKA Kicks n Licks, had a stellar performance dropping lots of trap music strategically placed after Bear Grillz exhausted the crowd with non-stop dubstep. They exerted swingy rhythms and exciting bass drops and 808 patterns to please those thirsty Philly trap heads. They also threw in a couple dubstep tracks for a little change here and there but they definitely kept that consistent trap feel going throughout their set. It was a nice switch-up to have in between Bear Grillz and Skrux to give the dubstep crew a little break from going too hard!

Aaron Cole (MaHi) also changed up the dubstep loaded lineup with his funky house beats that make it hard not to shuffle or dance around in one way or another. He opened the show with a short but high-quality set. I was fortunate enough to be able to watch him but the venue botched up his performance because they weren't ready to let the public inside yet so MaHi was left playing his groovy music to me, security and the bartenders basically. Some people caught the end of his set but for everyone else who didn't get inside in time really missed out on some grade A house music.

Crywolf and Dotcom made a surprise guest appearance at the show which heightened the whole crowd's already sky-high energy level. Crywolf is known for his beautiful lyrics and melodic dubstep tracks, while Dotcom drops top shelf trap beats that never ceases to impress.