I've been to many VICE parties in the past and sometimes getting in, even if you're on a list, can be an issue. So I made sure to get there as soon as doors opened. When I arrived there were maybe 40 people in line, which is nothing. It took us about 15 minutes but we got in. Considering that there weren't many people waiting and the doors just opened I was surprised to walk into a nearly packed room. Apparently some press and VIPs had been there partying since 7:30.
The Black Lips were on the main stage DJing when we got in. We took a quick tour of the main floor and then grabbed a few drinks. They were serving up free rum, vodka and Grolsch. There were bars in just about every inch you could cram one - a setup I very much approve of. There was not going to be a shortage of booze tonight, that much was certain.
We hung out on the main floor as more and more people funneled in. Word is there ended up being quite a line outside. Familiar faces started popping up all over the place including Hima from Das Racist, Rob from Wild Yaks, Nick Zinner, various VICE Guide To Everything reporters and every photog ever. It was pretty much impossible to take ten steps without someone taking your picture. Good for posterity I suppose.
The call of nature arose and we went in search of the bathrooms. It was at this point that we discovered the downstairs vault. There was a whole other party going on downstairs and it was awesome! It reminded me of a Brooklyn DIY party back in 2005 or so, only with endless free booze and better sound.
The late discovery of the downstairs made me curious if there were any other nooks and crannies in this behemoth. I took a stroll back upstairs to see what I could find and that's right around when DFA 1979 took the stage. I never saw this band before so I was stoked to see what all the hype was about. Obviously I'm familiar with their tunes but from what I hear they're pretty unbeatable live.
They ripped into a ferocious set and all hell broke loose up front. I was up there at the time and had to put my old 90's hardcore pit moves into practice on some poor, dumb bastards to protect myself. It wasn't very violent but there was an old bank kiosk right in the middle of the pit and it got kinda dangerous.
After a few songs I needed a breather and went back on my tour. I walked around the side and tried leveraging my press credentials to stand side-stage. No dice. But I was told at this point there was an outside yard area and an upstairs as well. I headed to the upstairs bar which I think was VIP. Half the people up there were somehow famous, not like famous-famous but you know what I'm saying. It was pretty boring and cramped up there so I split after 5 minutes.
When I came down it seemed like DFA was done so I went downstairs and hung there for a few minutes. It was eerily empty though so I went back up. That's when I noticed DFA was still going strong. Doh! Not only that but the singer was climbing on the bank counter which ran the length of the floor. Shit was getting crazier. I grabbed more booze and hung back until the dust settled.
At this point the night gets pretty blurry but I ran into an old friend who had VIP. On the ground floor there was a VIP area which ran the length of the building and had it's own bar. Through here you could also get to the VVIP side stage area. I was not VIP, and certainly not VVIP, but she told me to just walk into the VIP area like I owned the joint. I gave it a try and got right in.
Rick Ross took the stage and I was standing right there on the side for the first few songs. I could see the main floor and shit was just pure insanity. I'm not really a big Rick Ross dude but anyone that can get people going apeshit is cool by me. The sound in the VVIP area fucking sucked and security were starting to check peoples wristbands so I split and headed back to the main floor. I really don't even know what happened after this. Rick Ross finished up and I jumped in a cab. The rest is a blur.
I've been to shit tons of parties that would blow your fucking minds (like Nas' private birthday party) but this was one of my favorites. Yes it was VICE, who are huge. Yes there were tons of sponsors. Yes there were gigantic internationally known bands playing. Yes it was almost exclusively industry in attendance. Despite all of this it was rowdy as fuck. To get a bunch of jaded bastards to completely bug the fuck out like they're 17 year olds at a house party is not an easy task. Well done VICE, well done indeed.
Link:
This shot by DBB pretty much sums it up...
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