Taking over both the indoor and outdoor mainstages of Knockdown Center and adding a Lot Radio stage behind the main performance space, music was abundant and overflowing at the massive Queens event space and everywhere you looked, avant-garde, progressive sounds overpowered your eardrums. Arriving just after Titanic's set (bummer, I know), the Iceage frontman Elias Rønnenfelt heated up the Ruins stage with his crooning swagger and solo material that channeled pure '90s alt-rock nostalgia with hints of Oasis and even the major melodies of hit makers like Third Eye Blind, an unusual inspiration, perhaps, for the usual punk rocker, but this set was alive with energy and the crowd reveled in the moment, letting the heavy, rocking tunes make it one of the night's more straight-forward sets. YHWH Nailgun directly followed for a brief, yet intense set that lasted just under fifteen minutes. Their wailing blend of hardcore, noise, and flamboyant electronics was rowdy and engaging, but ended in the blink of an eye before things could really get going.
Back inside, Aya let loose with grating industrial noise that took over the main hall with blaring blasts of grinding noise and screams from deep within and strobes flashed around the building. It was disorienting and intense set that still drew you in, the occasional rhythms letting you move with feeling and it served as a wild warm-up for what was to come next. In support of her excellent new album Written Into Changes, Avalon Emerson brightened up the room with her warm, dreamy techno-pop that was lush with shimmering synth textures and gorgeous acoustic-electro guitar riffs that put everyone in a daze of whirling sleek melodies and sensational grooves that had everyone elated, like a burst of pure euphoria blanketing the crowd. Again, one of the more accessible and joyful sets of the night, it was a blast of unfiltered bliss that hung over the room and kept the mood building. Los Thuthanka brought the noise back with their next set, as the duo shredded away, one standing behind gear boards and the other wailing away on electric guitar for more industrial blasts of experimental cumbria music that evolved into trance-like moments. Another progressive set, it was a real see-saw moment that shifted between the mini-festivals more pop-friendly moments with those of real, intense abstract electronics. Kicking things back to a more rowdy energy, Nourished by Time was clearing plagued by some technical issues and his frustration showed, but that didn't stop the Baltimore native from bringing the hits and the crowd absolute ate it up. By far one of the more party-forward moments of the night, people were bouncing and dancing along, screaming the lyrics right back to him as his nostalgic flavored R&B sounded bigger and better than ever and like the artists I always knew he could one day be had, indeed, fully arrived. The tracks were brimming with purpose and overflowing with passion, the crowd right there with him at every hook and ready to explode when any beat dropped. Capping off the night, Arca played more intense and dirty electronics, but added her own spin to things as she repeatedly climbed on top of her decks to strike poses and dance right along with the flowing crowd. Lighting up cigarettes and thrusting her back, the crowd was alive (even as the time pushed past 3:30am) and she knew her place as the rightful headliner of the night.
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