Avalon Hollywood was the place to be last Friday where the line stretched literally around the block to see gLAdiator, LOUDPVCK, Branchez, and Milo & Otis perform on one of the best sound systems on the West Coast. The place was almost at capacity by the time I was able to sneak in (about a quarter of the way into Branchez’ set, traffic is a *****) and I’m sure most of those people never made it in… which is a shame because this was one of the best trap shows I’ve seen in LA ever. Live and learn I guess, live and learn.

Initially I didn’t know what to expect from NYC’s Branchez but I was delightfully surprised by the fun, sort of wonky opening set he performed. Though I missed the beginning, I was really pleased by his selections of future bass and jersey club and from the way the rest of the club was popping off, it was obvious I wasn’t the only one. While there are lots of smaller venues that offer that kind of music, it was really, really nice to be able to experience it on the Avalon’s system… and let me take a moment to say… I’ve been around my fair share of listening environments but last Friday was the best sound I’ve ever experienced at a club anywhere, ever. I’m not kidding, I had a 20 minute discussion about it. They’ve engineered the acoustics such that the piercing highs (and their reflections) are reduced without yielding any energy from the subs: the result is a very crisp, clean sound with chest-rattling bass except you can actually talk to people without shouting in their ears. As one who works with sound professionally, I appreciate the kind of planning and effort it takes to create such a listening environment and I’m grateful that there are some venues that actually care about tuning their sound systems rather than just cranking speakers from either side of the stage.

Next up was the hometown duo gLAdiator who, sporting their LA shirts (ugh, Lakers… man, I can’t even…. who are we tanking for? BUT I DIGRESS ), delivered a thankful monologue recounting their first gig in the Avalon in the small back room (now disappeared) 4 years ago. Needless to say, they were warmly received by their fellow Los Angelinos as they hopped around the stage and played out nearly all their big tracks as well as a few new bangers (new to me at least) to the crowd moshing below.

After about 40 minutes they were joined by their LA brethren LOUDPVCK who continued the Friday-night LA-all-stars trap session with some of their signature bassy hitters. From the front to the back, everyone was having a really good time and it seemed like the theme of the night was fun, goofy performances where nobody took themselves too seriously. What a dream! The attitude was absolutely infectious and even my brother who lives up in San Francisco was impressed by the quality of the crowd in attendance. When’s the last time you heard anyone say anything good about the people in LA? Exactly.

Finally, Milo & Otis took to the stage to soothe the still hyped, still crunked crowd as last call loomed upon us. Of course, they only exacerbated the crunked-ness with a medley of fresh beats and remixes (including a sweet Bro Safari x UFO! remix). I’m not entirely sure how I made it out of there alive (my doctor has advised me to turn down), but here are some beautiful pictures of the event courtesy of Skyler Greene that you can view here. My personal favorite was this:

Wow. Such Much. So Trap. I’m telling you, Avalon Sound + Visuals are on point.

Friday April 4th, Avalon will be hosting Brillz, Caked Up, and Thugli so take it from me, friends: this is going to sell out and it’ll probably be worth the extra $ to just get a ticket if you can. It beats waiting in line for a dubious (not as good as it sounds) guest list ticket before 11pm!