Brillz Sells out Showbox Sodo: TWONK di’Nation Tour

On Friday (February 26) Showbox Sodo was packed with tons of fans feeding the fire that is Brillz.

The night was kicked off with DeafMind who had a short set but, for us here at DMNW, was a really great one that we particularly enjoyed and are very excited to hear more from this artist. They opened the night proper and were able to create a sound that was easy to dance to. Their set was full for the limited time they had, but not forced in any way. It did so in a way that felt natural and wasn’t ever too repetitive or stale and had smooth transitions.

This brilliant set was followed up by a sound that was truly reminiscent of the artists name, Y2K. While the previous set had us feeling good and ready for the rest of the night, we found ourselves a bit alienated during Y2K. We were waiting with welcomed anticipation, but found that we were met with a sound that had somewhat choppy transitions at times that made it hard for us to vibe with the artist the entire time. That is not to say that the artist didn’t have the crowd going at various points throughout their set.

Like reality, it wasn’t the end of the world. Y2K, though at times transitions weren’t subtle, still definitely had the crowd going off at many times and by no means killed the buzz. By this time people were bumping into each other near the front of the stage due to the herd mentality of wanting to be near the artist front and center. And though this is common for the scene nowadays, or so it seems, we would like to add that there was always a few folk dancing and getting into a groove as best they could. As this may be a total birdwalk as an aside, we would like to add that it’d be rad if people actually just danced at dance music events and just moved how the music made them feel instead of stand facing towards the DJ in a strange sort of stupor.

That isn’t to say that JACKAL, whom followed up after Y2K, didn’t play dance music. The heavy 808s and artistic control of reading a crowd showed throughout his performance. It definitely reflected a trap style of electronica, but wasn’t cheesy by any means. Though nostalgic at parts, it wasn’t over the top at any time and was surely one of the more hyped sets of the evening. Here at DMNW, we can’t say enough about this guy and his immense sound. When words don’t do an artist justice we really think you should just give them a fair shakedown and give them a listen.
Party Favor also had a great set which fed the vibe of the night and kept it going while subduing the crowd somewhat from JACKALs insane performance in preparation for the headlining Brillz. Party Favor did a brilliant job for the DJ slotted right before the headliner. While easily being a headliner themselves they got the crowd moving while not tiring them out too much before the final set.

And last but not least was, the one and only, Brillz. He took the stage and was met with an eager audience. The mind that brought the world TWONK was at it again and was on a mission to TWONK di’ Nation. We don’t precisely know what that means exactly to be dead honest, but all we know is it was an insane set. In Brillz words when we asked him what TWONK meant he offered a response that was somewhat zen-like by saying simply, “whatever it means to me is whatever it means to you.”

Later on in his set he would somewhat elaborate on TWONK and said that it was about positive vibes and love. He also defined TWONK to mean “How sick you are right now” referring to how incredibly hyped the crowd was. He also said to his Seattle fans that “I [Brillz] will always love you.”

The set was incredible and as it was expected there was trappy 808s and high hats and other hip hop influenced bass, but the performance went deeper than that. Brillz reaches deep into bass culture and continues to bring innovative sounds to the world of electronica that are genre bending and proves it by continuing to sell out shows. We’re definitely excited to see Brillz continue to grow as an artist and are curious as to what he will do with TWONK and what it will mean in the future. TWONK will continue to grow and perhaps develop into something even more rad and far out than it already is because again in the words of the man himself, “whatever it means to me is whatever it means to you.”

We don’t know if we were TWONKd, but Brillz is sweeping the nation one stop at a time. As he is a brilliant producer, he is also a brilliant DJ and knows when to show some love for other artists and knows when to pull out that perfect throwback or play those never fail legendary music classics. Our favorite moment of the set was when he incorporated some Queen with their We Are the Champions he did so at such a perfect point of the night and transitioned back into his sound artfully. We particularly liked his definition of TWONK as it seems to be a fluid word, perfect and aptly suited for a musician. T’was a good show. Here at DMNW, we have nothing but respect for Brillz and are certain he means what he says about love and good vibes. We’re certain he puts his earnings to good use and gives back to his local community.

The night was sold out and rightfully so. It was lit with guest appearances including GTA and others but honestly you just had to be there to really know. Peace out and stay trippy. We out here.