Cleveland was absolutely unhinged on Saturday night as The Winchester Music Tavern transformed into a full-blown rave cave. The show was sold out minutes after the doors opened, and by the time the music kicked in, the place was shoulder to shoulder, sweaty, and buzzing with that “something’s about to go down” energy.
Jesse Hawk cracked the night wide open with a set that felt like a steel factory colliding with a Berlin warehouse. Heavy techno, gritty industrial vibes, pounding bass, the kind of stuff that rattles you to the core and makes you forget what time it is. It wasn’t just an opener; it was a warning shot.
Next up, Bleep Bloop, the tag team of Queen of Chaos and Ian Mariano, came through with a set that oozed personality. They leaned into nostalgic burners from Kraftwerk and Gorillaz, flipping them with a modern twist that had everyone nodding hard. Then Queen of Chaos dropped live vocals over the mix, not your typical rave hype lines, but legit, classically trained vocals that cut through the haze like lightning. It was weird in the best of ways and it absolutely worked.
Then the moment everybody was waiting for, The Crystal Method hit the stage and blew the roof off. The Winchester felt like it was vibrating out of its foundation. Scott Kirkland dove into dark, driving classics like Busy Child, instantly yanking the crowd back into that golden age of big beat mayhem. When he dropped a remix of System of a Down’s “Toxicity”, it was pure chaos, the whole venue screaming along like it was an arena rock show, only with way more bass shaking the floorboards. People weren’t just dancing, they were losing it, bodies bouncing in perfect unison, strangers hugging, fists pumping, sweat flying. It was one of those “you had to be there” moments.
To cap it all off, Thunder St. Clair went back to back with L3FTONR3D, slamming the room with a bass heavy, end of the world style set. Even after The Crystal Method’s sonic onslaught, the energy never dipped. If anything, the remaining crowd doubled down, jumping and riding the low end until the very last drop. By the time the house lights came up, people looked wrecked but blissed out, like they’d survived something epic.
Nights like this don’t happen without serious vision. Huge shoutout to Anita Bass LLC and SUB:MERGED for pulling together one of the most electric, sweaty, unforgettable nights Cleveland has seen in a long time. If you weren’t there, you missed history in the making.