Most of us idolize heroes; their capes, their masks, their macho bravado; their ability to care about none, but care for all. While most of us fantasize of what it’s like to be one of these heroes, on Sunday in New York City I got the chance to be one of them at Made Events ‘Super Hero You & Me’. Here is my tale from under the villains mask.
We arrived at the ferry about 5:30 ready to board; I in my wolf man mask, my partner in crime in his penguin. We weren’t really sure what to expect until we heard the music. We saw a few batmen, some supermen, but where were the villains? How can you have a superhero ball with no villains to crash it? Well we sought to put an end to that. Our first encounter was Wonder Woman with her mastery of house beats, their enticing trance sounds hypnotizing us, sweeping us up in the atmosphere of the ball and dragging us to the front of the stage. It was there that Gina Turner made her stand; she unleashed an onslaught of hard style songs hoping that she could shake us off of our game. Unfortunately for her we are professionals and we danced our way out of danger and into the VIP section to see what all the fuss was about. It was there that we met reinforcements.
You wouldn’t expect it from the leader of the #ChipotleGang but Carnage is a villain at heart; at least for this night. Sporting his Jason mask, Carnage came out of the gate ferociously; unleashing heavy trap beats on the unsuspecting heroes. He unleashed banger after banger, pumping up the crowd more and more. We maneuvered through the crowd to the front again where we showed our appreciation for our fellow villain by opening up a large mosh pit on his command. The heroes were not ready for the amount of rage that Carnage unleashed on them for those 90 minutes, no one could be. It was too fast too heavy, it wasn’t fair. But dammit all, NYC responded the only way we know how: savagely. We raged, we thrashed, we broke it down and built it back up. The crowd thrived off of Carnage’s energy and threw it back at him ten-fold. By the end of the night even he was drenched in sweat and it wasn’t from the heat.
As for all good stories, this must come to an end. After Carnage destroyed the crowd it was Adventure Club’s turn. Why? Seriously, why? We were spent, all our energy put into ruining the superheroes fun, and now they throw one of their crowning achievements, the author of Superheroes Anonymous Volumes 1 & 2 at us? It’s not fair. We were spent, but we rose to the challenge. We were serenaded by the soft techno beats, the voices of the Krewella girls filling the evening air. Even all villains must take off their mask and bow to this greatness, and so we did. The problem with Adventure Club is that one minute he’s your best friend and the next minute he’s forcing us to dance until our feet are sore. If you’re the type who likes to sip on their brandy and sit back while enjoying their music, then do not go see Adventure Club because they will make you get up and dance and they will bring out the best within you.
Now this is what I don’t understand. We saw our hostess, we met our villain, and we met our hero (albeit anonymously). So where do we categorize Laidback Luke? Main attraction, shining light, omnipotent being? Well on this night he was the Dark Knight so depending on your view of Christian Bale, he could be whatever you want him to be. He was setting the score for a movie about triumph and defeat, heroes and villains dishing it out in a dance contest for the ages. LL guided the crowd along seamlessly, masterfully blending his songs together as if it was one long beat. He won over the crowd with his incredible rendition of Frank Sinatra’s ‘New York New York’, fitting for baseball’s All-Star Game weekend, then brought us back to the island with more of his hard-hitting electro house beats. He ended the night with a filthy rendition of Cinema to close out his magic movie and with it put an end to a story book night. As the crowds attempted to file out to the ferries, and the cleaning crew descended upon the warzone, the heroes left triumphantly knowing that they laid it all out there on that Sunday night, and they left smiling, feeling the music resonating through the air, carrying them higher than any mask ever could.
