The sounds of dark techno, deep house and G-house could be felt together in Boston Sunday night. Yes, felt — not just heard — as the walls of Bijou Nightclub vibrated with sets from Rezz, Justin Martin and Destructo.
Located on the outskirts of Chinatown, Bijou appears to be a little hole in the wall from the outside. However, step inside and realize that this tiny club often pulls the biggest names in electronic music: Pete Tong, Robin Schulz and most recently, Destructo.
Born Gary Richards, Destructo is a G-house, or gangster house, producer and DJ. His tracks often feature rap lyrics and hip-hop beats and give the listener a grittier, tougher feel than regular house would. Beyond his music, he is also the founder of the HARD event series, including HARD Summer, HARD Day of the Dead and Holy Ship!
Holy Ship! is an EDM-filled cruise and essentially a giant three-day boat party. The first cruise occurred from Jan. 3 to Jan. 6, and the second cruise leaves Feb. 10. During the interim period, Destructo has been touring on his Ship2Ship Tour — stopping for 15 performances within the country — with techno artists REZZ and Justin Martin.
Sunday’s show at Bijou was the fifth stop of Ship2Ship, which was warmly welcomed by a sold-out crowd. The crowd differed from the stereotypical club crowd, representing its fandom through casual outfits.
Fans of Justin Martin were noticeable through their DIRTYBIRD t-shirts and snapbacks, while past Holy Ship! attendees, or “Ship Fam,” repped their “OG” robes from the cruise.
REZZ’s opening, heavy dub-filled set was a complete crowd pleaser. All were head-banging and shuffling to her crashing bass lines all throughout Bijou, bringing something new and different to the club.
At the stroke of midnight, Justin Martin took over the decks to bring the club into deep house heaven. His set showcased what DIRTYBIRD fans know and love from the label — a steady bass clap rhythm combined with some future synths and tones, all laid over a deep bass line.
Bijou’s walls reverberated with Justin Martin’s tracks, sometimes even so much that it was difficult to make out the track. However, this certainly didn’t seem like an issue to the crowd, as the club continued to dance as one while welcoming more.
Destructo finally came on stage at 1 a.m., welcomed by CO2 cannons and colorful Ship2Ship graphics. With looming silence and a plain black button-down, Richards began his set with a deeper sound than expected. His gangster style soon crept into the set, specifically when he dropped his new track “4Real,” which features rappers Ty Dolla $ign and iLoveMakonnen.
The set continued to give the crowd a heavy dose of hip-hop house, including a drop of the popular track “Party Up,” which features YG. The word “POWER” flickered across the screen, pulsing along to a bass line that made the club shake. A steady bass clap rhythm later led into the drop of French producer MALAA’s newest release, “Notorious,” which made the crowd go wild. Sampling lyrics by The Notorious B.I.G., the track induced a Bijou sing-along of sorts.
While Destructo certainly provided his reliable G-house sound fans love to groove to, he also provided a newer spin on his set, invoking sounds similar to that of future house artists Tchami and Oliver Heldens. With various future synths and tones incorporated into his gangster set, Destructo gave fans a glimpse at what could be regarded as a dirtier, grungier, future house.
After this transition, Destructo went back to his roots and dropped “Higher,” which he originally released two years ago. Though dark in the club, you could tell the crowd was smiling at the familiar sounds.
What kept the crowd smiling, however, was a new remix of recent rap hit “Jumpman” by Drake and Future, bringing the set back to his regular G-house sound.
Other crowd-pleasers included GTA’s remix of “Party Up” and his hit single featuring Problem, “Dare You 2 Move,” which closed out the night.
When the club lit up at 2 a.m., the crowd erupted in cheers and “Holy Ship!” chants. The mass that flocked to Destructo upon his exit asking for pictures and autographs only further proved, along with his dynamic set, that Destructo is continuing to serve as a dominating force in the EDM industry. He’s here to stay.
