Holy bananas, where do we begin? The Dada Land Compound has finally come and gone, and some of us are just finally starting to feel beautiful again. We had an absolute blast getting to explore to Compound and become Citizens of Dada Land for the night. Of course it was a bummer that Olle wasnt able to join us, but we wish him the best as he continues to recover. We could go on for hours about how amazing the show was but somehow we doubt you’d still be with us so we must give only the highlight reel. Tell us your favorite parts of the Compound at the end, we’ll happily relive the adventure with you!
The Rules of Dada, including the newly added Rule #8
Walking into the Compound felt like we were in a different land. We were welcomed by a sign outside WaMu Theatre informing us that we were now entering Dada Land and that there were no rules but the Rules of Dada. More on that later. Upon walking in the doors, friendly Dada Land Immigration Officers were waiting to give us our official Dada Land Department of Immigration stamps. Since the Compound is an outpost of Dada Land, it is crucial that every Citizen of Dada Land go through the immigration process in order to fully integrate. The immigration stamp seals that deal, and one of our DMNW citizens even got his real US Passport stamped! It’s well known that at the Compound, there are no rules but the Rules of Dada and there were tall banners scattered throughout reminding us of those rules. One thing we love about Dada is that the rules are all rules that are insanely fun to follow, especially their rules for pillow fights. Also more on that later.
Yes, that is a Dada Land stamp on a Passport!
The night began with the Ambassador to Dada Land, Andybody. For someone who just had his first stage appearance in the USA in July for the Dada Land Voyage, he is certainly already comfortable on our stages. Having been hand-picked by Stefan and Olle to be the Ambassador after discovering him playing ukulele on the street, Andybody has a lot more adventure headed his way. His stage presence is a fun one and his electro house sound makes him a shoe-in to be the Dada Land Ambassador. We can’t wait to see what else comes from his mentorship with Dada.
After Andybody were the insanely energetic Bixel Boys. As expected, they brought a deliciously bouncy goodness to the early stages of the night to get us ramped up for Tritonal and the main event. They played some of our favorite remixes of their as originals Empire and Clutch. Like Andybody, we are grateful for the opportunity to have gotten to know them before they inevitably get bigger. Ian and Rob are welcome to come back here to party any time!
Tritonal dropping Dare You was one of the highlights of their set. Photo by Tina Irion.
Getting the opportunity to see Tritonal twice for the second time in less than a year was an awesome privilege. Their Paradiso set blew us away, and as difficult as we thought it would be to say, this one at the Dada Land Compound was even better. Getting to hear Anchor now that almost the whole crowd had the opportunity to hear it on the Metamorphic III EP was beautiful as we all sang along. Chad and Dave have let us know that they have a special place in their hearts for Seattle and it was incredible to be able to give that love back to them. Their live-mixing of the visuals along with the music gave us an incredible experience, especially when Dare You came on and they lowered the vocals while many in the crowd held each other to belt the chorus out. Other highlights of their musical journey were their renditions of Wonderwall and Pompeii, along with dropping Galantis’ You towards the end of the set.
The moment we all were waiting for was moments away once Tritonal wrapped their set up. Stefan was about to take the stage as the official Dada Life representation. Stefan took us on a nearly two-hour long adventure of their classics and their new songs such as Kick Out The Epic Motherfu****, Born to Rage, One Smile and more. Dada citizens were not disappointed, as our rations of mischief were distributed in the form of an inflatable Dada Life banana drop, incredible amounts of confetti, and oh yes, a little bit of Happy Violence.
The pillow fight we had been hoping for happened as Stefan jumped to the front of the stage and assisted in distributing dozens of big, plump, fluffy pillows. He instructed the citizens to hold on to the pillows until the appointed time, then as the initial notes of Happy Violence began, pillows flew and stuffing came out, and next thing we knew fluff was floating in the air as dozens of joyous citizens gleefully pummeled each other with pillows.
Olle was certainly missed, but Stefan did an epic job of bringing the energy. A lucky fan was pulled up on stage to Arrive Beautiful, Get Ugly as Stefan showered her and the front of the crowd with champagne. Later in the night a giant banana also made its way through the crowd to the joy of the citizens who assisted it in passing through. We missed Dada Life dearly since their last visit in 2012 and they absolutely did not disappoint.
Playing in the pillow fight aftermath from the Dada Land Compound
Now that the show is over and we’ve had a few days to think on it, we can say with confidence it’s one of the best experiences we’ve had in recent memory. For those of you who had to miss out, we are truly sorry. Fortunately there were many cameras around so we have a feeling there will be more footage to come of the night, in addition to the goodness that is already making its way to YouTube, as fans upload what they took at the Compound. Keep an eye on Dance Music Northwest for the interview we got to have with Stefan the following morning; we can’t wait to share with you what we talked about. What were your favorite points of the Compound? Are you still feeling ugly from it like we are or have you bounced back to your regular routine?
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