Event Review – elrow Horroween Southampton
Do elrow really need an introduction? No! But for those who don’t know, now you know; elrow was born in Barcelona, 2010, and since then the event experts have become seriously in-demand for their no-nonsense approach to partying, and their simple yet specific objectives; entertainment and amusement. An elrow experience is always so unique, full of colour, creativity, top tunes and good vibes. Everything you need in life.
They host various types of party themes including the ‘Psychrowdelic Trip’, Chinese Rowyear’, ‘Rowllywood’ ‘Sambodrow Do Brasil’ and with Halloween swiftly approaching on October 31st, elrow were certainly going to get involved and unveil a ‘Horroween’ series which was to be hosted at spots in Madrid, Barcelona, Granada and Southampton.
The Southampton event was hosted on Saturday October 20th at the Mayflower Park, and it was a massive 10 hour bonanza from 1pm to 11pm, garnering approx. 6k attendees and it was easily the biggest party Southampton has ever seen. If that’s not enough, the hardcore ravers could also attend an after-party at Switch which run from 10:30pm – 5am too. Madness.
The elrow Horroween line-up of artists performing at the event was also scarily epic, this included Claptone as the headliner, whilst Fisher was the special guest, alongside Mele, Mason Maynard, elrow resident Eddy M, and local talents Ronnie Spiteri, Collective States, Tom Clark and Joseph Cartwright.
The arena design for Horroween was spectacularly creepy, inside on the ceiling there were giant cobwebs, hanging skeletons, pumpkins, moons, crucifixes, Dracula and his family members, grim reapers, ghosts, and witches, everything associated with every horror movie imaginable. To the side of the DJ stage there was also a giant dragon, and also a giant deathly-looking clown staring into the crowd.
The stage where the artists were to perform from was the ‘Horrow House’ built on 2 floors, the DJ on the bottom floor, and the floor above had windows where all things associated with death would pop-out and peer into the crowd unexpectedly, including more vampires, zombies and ghosts. Hanging skeletons, bodies cocooned in spider-webs, and bats were also attached to the Horrow House too.
What also makes elrow such a unique experience is the team who get dressed up in Halloween-themed attire and walk around in the crowd entertaining attendees, this included a giant Frankenstein, a voodoo doll, a red-headed vampire lady, scarecrows with pumpkins on their head, Jack Skellington, and more. There were also giant inflatable snakes, giraffes, parrots and elrow branded record tapes, and lilos handed out for the crowd to throw around too.
My favourite DJ set of the day came from Aussie artist Fisher, the guy who is a crazy on Instagram as he is talented behind the wheels of steel, in the mix. His set oozed so much energy, unreleased records, anthems and emotions. The main weapons in his set to get the crowd riled-up included his ‘Stop It’, Solardo & Camelphat’s ‘Accelerator’ and Cloonee’s ‘Gospel’ which makes you feel like you’re in a church, singing a chorus, but in our case, an elrow graveyard.
Before you know it, he’s creating an emotional rollercoaster by giving PAX’s unreleased remix of Rui Da Silva’s ‘Touch Me’ a run-out, with the crowd singing along, and also Camelphat’s remix of ‘Hang Up Your Hang Ups (The Only One). The Fish also has an ear for a solid remix of a classic too, as Tom Staar and Kryder’s remix of Basement Jaxx’s ‘Bingo Bango’ and Carl Cox’s remix of Ninetoes’ ‘Finder’ also got the crowd grooving on the dance floor.
The highlight of his set, without any hesitation in deciding, was when he dropped his anthemic ‘Losing It’ which spent a massive 61 days as Beatport #1. Throughout this moment he was strutting his stuff behind the decks, #FlickOfDaWrist style, full of energy and presence and also accompanied by a giant werewolf and a ghost in the booth too. Then, when the drop kicked-in, wallop, confetti cannon’s let rip, the co2 sprayed everywhere, and giant balloons dropped from the ceiling into the crowd, who were screaming and dancing away. Picturesque.
Another thing I appreciated about the DJs who performed at the elrow extravaganza was the fact that they proved tracks, vocals, or samples from the past, classics, are still relevant in today’s DJ sets, and the crowd will always embrace them. Highlights of throwback tracks/vocals/samples dropped throughout sets included Mylo’s ‘Drop The Pressure’, Florence + The Machine’s ‘You Got The Love’, Justice & Simian’s ‘We Are Your Friends’, Chicago’s ‘Street Player’ and Armand van Helden’s ‘You Don’t Know Me’. Timeless.
Overall, I also rate my elrow Horroween experience as a success; tickets were available from as little as £25, a proper bargain, and the artist line-up was world class, from start to finish their sets were great, showcasing why they deserved a slot at an elrow event, and why many view them as top talents.
Throughout the day staff were also kind and helpful, and I feel it’s evident elrow invest a lot of time and money into ensuring attendees have the best experience possible by kitting-out the staff in A* Horroween outfits, whilst the arena truly represented a derelict haunted house/graveyard, and the sheer amounts of effort put into production via confetti, co2 and lasers I’d imagine is expensive too.
Finally, elrow really do go that extra mile for their shows, it’s evident to see why their shows always sell-out in minutes, and after reading this, if you haven’t experienced elrow yet, please do go and get involved!
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