Venue: The Masquerade - Atlanta, GA
Presented by: Mirage

Mirage's Epidemic may not have had the highest of anticipation with the other acts and events coming through Atlanta recently, but it still went off rather well. Held at The Masquerade, featuring all three rooms with distinct genres in each, the format seemed rather fitting to appease the diverse tastes of the EDM crowd.

I arrived later than I would've liked but heard that T.mouse sampled some infamous Arnold Schwarzenegger pranks during his set, which automatically deems it a worthy one. After his performance in Hell was DJ Keri, who — for those who have not seen her perform — provides her own vocals over the records she spins. It was rather impressive and often times hard to tell whether the vocals were part of the track or being sung into her mic if you weren't looking in the booth's direction.

All the while, in Heaven, Phantom 45 was stuck with an unmotivated crowd more concerned with protecting their hearing than anything else. Rightfully so though, considering the ear-piercing bass that was beyond unbearable. It was so loud that many patrons could be seen with their hands covering their ears in an effort to prevent tinnitus. Beyond the audio torture, the visual stimulation featured screens above the stage showing Jet Li and Tron clips. Meanwhile, on the floor, representatives from the Burn Unit breaking crew were putting on a clinic for all the faker insta-breakers waiting their turn on the outskirts of the circle. This was truly a sight to be seen, and long overdue seeing as some sort of standard desperately needed to be set to preserve the integrity of the "breaking circle."

Soon after, Danny tha Wildchild went on and was largely ignored before the majority emptied down towards Hell. Unfortunately DTW was punished by the disturbing auditory environment with even his emcee sensing the unresponsiveness of the crowd when asking for a "rewind." From this point on, Heaven never seemed to recover, but Hell more than made up for it.

Doc Roc was very into his set and had the majority moving. By this time 75% of the venue's crowd was located in Hell. The breaks he spun were enjoyed by all and were more appropriate for the circle that also migrated downstairs. While interacting with the crowd, Doc was seen scratching records with his chin at one point. When he called out to all the "ol' schoolers" in the crowd, it was amazing to me how many there were in attendance...really. Anyways, Doc Roc closed with some comedic Cheech & Chong sound bites that were entertaining and then Micro stepped up to the decks. He opened up in style starting things off with Underworld's "Born Slippery." Soon thereafter a remix of U2's "New Years Day" was intermingled into the set. Other notable tracks from his Tech-Mix Live @ Avaland Boston were mixed including but not limited to Voodoo Serano's "Blood Is Pumpin'" and "Synaesthesia" by Thrillseekers featuring Sheryl Deane. And no set would be complete without "Rapture" which was played as well. By time Micro got going, nearly everyone within the confines of The Masquerade were condensed into Hell for arguably the most highly anticipated set of the event. It didn't help things either considering the number of patrons oblivious to the prerequisite for taking your shirt off. Maybe if it stood for the same thing as bearing the bare chest at Backstreet, more would stay clothed for their own good, much less their peers. Overall, Mirage's efforts were a success, and we have upcoming events at The Tabernacle to look forward to.