Last weekend the west coast had the opportunity of a lifetime to experience the gathering of the harder tribes. Q-Dance, the mastermind behind the famous international hardstyle hit events such as Qlimax and Defqon.1, decided to make a trek to Los Angeles and bring The Sound of Q-Dance. The City of Angels welcomed this night with open arms as many have arrived from different states and even countries all for the first ever Q-Dance standalone event to take place in North America.
With some experience of the Q-Dance stages, there was a lot to look forward to when it comes to production and line up for this event. Before entering The Shrine, there was a lot going through my mind. What stage would they bring? What kind of production is going to be utilized? How will the indoor space house the amazing Q-Dance lighting production? Then, like a thunderstrom,  The Shrine was transformed in to a hardstyle arena that awaken the senses and came equipped with the largest and most decadent of production. A brand new stage with its own unique qualities was brought out for LA that not only epitomized the style of Q-Dance but utilized the venue perfectly. A huge LED skull sat the center of the stage guarded by a circle of flashing bulbs and anchored by  wingsto really light up the most complex of hardstyle beats. The most interesting production skill to take place was the complex light designs and patterns that had reflected on to the skull and wings, giving more variability and style to every moment of the night.
Bass was perfected, and a line up packed with artists that have not yet even touched American soil and are unfamiliar to the North American crowd brought their A-Game on this historic night.
Psyko Punkz set their tone for the night with insane tracks such as the chanting ‘BassBoom’ and the hard hitting ‘H3Y!’ by The Prophet. A memorable moment from the Punkz was the vocal chorus all the west coast weekend warriors shared in unison of Dash Berlin’s ‘Till The Sky Falls Down’ remix by Isaac.
The night then took a turn when Noisecontrollers approach the stage and began with an epic mash up of Camo & Krooked’s ‘Run Riot’ and Knife Party’s ‘Bonfire’ that had the crowd going towards a different genre direction while still hyping them up for their set. ‘Gimmie Love’ was a Noisecontrollers track that stuck out with its trance sounds mixed with hardstyle beats. The phrase “I give my love” echoed throughout the room until it led to a massive bassline that ran with vigor to shake up The Shrine.
Things didn’t end there when Coone stepped up to the decks to introduce his set with his big room anthem breakout ‘Madness’ done alongside Belgian duo Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike. Â Coone sent out all the best that the genre had to offer with his Sandro Silva ‘Epic’ remix and a unique hardstyle take of DJ Fresh and Diplo track ‘Earthquake’ by LNY TNZ & Yellowclaw that took trap to a whole new level.
The night was filled with what LA needed, a sense of community for the harder tribes, a beautiful display of production, and honest hardstyle beats. From the lights, to the sound, to the overall vibe, Q-Dance brought something that night which was special to Los Angeles. People waved their Q-Dance flag proudly and stomped in synchronization as the LA community came together to become weekend warriors. They managed to bring the power, ritual, and the intensity of their hardstyle events to the City of Angels with all the thrill and chills to accompany it.
