Imagine a bass so loud it makes you vomit.
Some unlucky individuals who ventured out Monday night to Town Ballroom experienced such a high-voltage phenomenon as headliner Datsik took the stage shortly before midnight.
Datsik performed at Town Ballroom on Oct. 1 as part of his Firepower Tour. The night featured other fellow Firepower Records artists Delta Heavy, Bare Noize and AFK. But the evening's surprise heavyweight appeared when the "vortex" bolted to life - a vortex-shaped DJ booth idea Datsik came up with earlier this year.
The recently unveiled DJ performance booth funneled around Datsik, as the man got down and dirty with heavy dub step, disorientating the audience as an additional 50,000 watts blared atop the venue's already built-in sound system. Hammering through the crowd harder than a Pikachu punch in the face, some crowd goers ran from Datsik's audio experience in search for the nearest bathroom.
According to Michael Richards, 49, of Syracuse and head of the audio department at National Audio, the phenomenon is caused by sub frequencies that vibrate the body. High pressure condenses an individual's organs, which re-expand when the music calms down and the pressure drops.
It can lead to nausea.
The vortex functions by beaming sound through coned speakers that have a greater chance for hearing damage especially if played at a high frequency. Some people accidentally caught in this beam's projecting path can become overloaded as their body cavity constricts.
"If you cross that beam, it will hurt," Richards said, calling it "an improper use of [Datsik's] equipment, for sure."
Girls gathered in the restroom soon after the sound exploded from Datsik's set, dabbing their noses with torn toilet paper as the bass vibrated through their nasal cavities and throat.
"It's past the red line - this is ear damaging," said Nick States, a senior digital media studies major.
Richards refutes worries of any permanent damage being brought by the extreme collection of sounds, but the body's response to the frequencies may leave the listener with temporary hearing loss, possible vomiting and diarrhea due to the intense pressure's wear on the body.
The venue, which usually holds a capacity around 1,000, was packed unusually tight Monday night due to the pending construction plans to turn Main Street's massive sidewalks into one way lanes, introducing cars driving parallel to the train's path through downtown.
The openers played an amazing set causing havoc and spontaneous dancing among LED flashing ravers, a Mario brother and a few men in spandex suits.
The show went on without complaint until Delta Heavy's set came to a close and a small intermission gathered as the stage crew rapidly assembled the massive vortex, which was used only during Datsik's performance.
Hordes of fans, hoping to capitalize on the moment for a quick smoke, were quickly disappointed as security took control of the traffic movement between the doors to the outside gated area. The construction markers cut into the sidewalk, forcing the barriers to be placed closer to the doors, which confined the usually large smoking area and forced security to strictly monitor the people flow to the outdoors.
With the added construction enclosing Ballroom space and Datsik's vortex experience, fans may have wanted to spend Monday somewhere that does not lead to spontaneous trips to the bathroom for the next few days.
That is for sure.
Email: arts@ubspectrum.com
