Halloween came early this year.

Bunny suits, animal masks, rainbow tutus, Native American headdresses and copious amounts of glitter were seen at The F-Shed at the Market on Wednesday at the concert of the famous electronic dance music artist Skrillex.

The DJ jumped onto the stage, took photos of the crowd and high-fived all of the crewmembers in the pit before starting his set.

“Come on, ‘Cuse,” the six-time Grammy award winner said to the crowd.

Skrillex’s enthusiasm was unwavering as he jumped around the stage. His contagious energy reached the audience, where people were crowd surfing and dancing nonstop throughout the night.

Rae Walters, a senior at Whitesboro High School in Whitesboro, New York was one of the first people in line for the concert. She eagerly waited in line for three and a half hours with a group of friends.

“The first time we saw him it was dirty, hot and sweaty, but it was all worth it,” said Walters, who saw Skrillex for the first time in June and has been a huge fan ever since. “This time we made friends wait in line. This experience is definitely a story to be told.”

Walters wasn’t alone in her fervor over Skrillex — a diverse line of fans from as young as eleven to mid-fifties roped far down the venue’s complex.

As the doors opened, concert-goers were greeted by a fresh-faced DJ named Direktor, a largely unannounced surprise DJ from Syracuse. Direktor delivered heavy beats as concert-goers trickled in as doors opened at 7 p.m.

Valentino Khan, an LA-based producer and DJ who has produced music for musical icons like Bruno Mars, 2 Chainz and Tyga, officially started the show at 8 p.m. He continued to keep the crowd animated by being extremely energetic from start to finish, taking over the stage with flailing dance moves and banter that engaged the crowd.

Then, Nadastrom, an LA-based duo comprised of producers Dave Nada and Matt Nordstrom, took the stage following Khan. The crowd seemed to lose the excitement they garnered from the Khan’s set as the duo performed.

As strobe lights turned on, Big Gigantic burst on to the stage decked out in white from head to toe. The band with hip hop and jazz influences from Boulder, Colorado is comprised of Dominic Lalli, saxophone player and producer, and Jeremy Salken on drums.

Big Gigantic played all their top hits , throwing in remixes of popular cult classics. The multi-colored lights jumped off the white walls of the venue. The vibe and the setting was reminiscent of a ‘90s old school rave.

As Big Gigantic left the stage and waited for Skrillex to arrive, the atmosphere was electric — the crowd was more than ready for the headlining DJ.

When he finally came out, he first took photographs of the crowd before jumping straight into his set. Skrillex opened the show with classics such as “My Name is Skrillex” and “Bangarang.” He also played new remixes of popular external songs .

Skrillex broke away from his position behind the DJ booth and was acrobatic in his movements, jumping up on his booth intermittently, his silhouette shown starkly against puffs of white smoke, strobe lights and bright, electronic designs.

Cassandra Couwenberg, a freshman television, radio and film major, said Skrillex was “one of the first dubstep guys (she’s) gotten into.”

“The whole night had me feeling nostalgic,” Couwenberg said. “He’s incredible. You just feel his music in your bones when you listen along.”

People left their inhibitions at home, shedding their clothing as EDM lovers packed themselves into the tight space. The music took over, as many people completely let the song take control of their bodies. Short spurts of water trickled down from the ceiling throughout Skrillex’s set, covering concert-goers.

Skrillex mixed his beats for an hour and a half to a smoke-filled venue. Concert-goers’ hands swayed through the air in utter contentment as they jumped up and down in synchronization to the bass drops.

At the end of the show, the opening acts came out to take a bow.

Said Skrillex, “We love you guys.”

Published on October 23, 2014 at 10:40 am

Contact Madysan: mgfoltz@syr.edu | @madysangabriele