Words: Miljan Milekić
There is a bunch of artists out there who I got to see quite a few times, and I never got bored of it. Chase & Status are one of those artists. It’s been more than ten years since I saw them for the first time and less than two months since I last caught them live. And once again, they delivered an equally eclectic and heavy set.
Still promoting their most recent album ‘RTRN II JUNGLE,’ this set wasn’t much different than the one at Exit Festival, but honestly, why should it be? The album is still fresh, it’s still full of bangers, and I’m not sure if this tour hit Budapest earlier in the year. And seeing the reaction from the crowd, it was a bullseye. Not only that fans went crazy during the show, but the cloud of dust that rose from the ground was so massive and thick, that I almost couldn’t see was if it was Will or Saul behind the decks, and I was in the front row.
What was even more impressive to me is that the place was packed, although a bit later that night, there was a massive Blackout event featuring Black Sun Empire, State of Mind, Prolix, Redpill, and Mindscape. I also like the fact that, apart from the regular Chase & Status or drum and bass fans, the floor was full of skateboarders and other extreme sports fans, just showing how much has the group and their music ingrained into the underground and urban culture.
Musically, as I said, the set didn’t offer any surprises, but rather – being just over an hour-long, consisted mostly of the tested crowd-favorites. ‘RTRN II JUNGLE’ was, obviously, a big chunk of the set, with heavy-hitters such as ‘Program,’ ‘Retreat2018,’ ‘Murder Music,’ or ‘Delete.’ Throw in classics such as ‘All Goes Wrong,’ ‘Can’t Get Enough’ or ‘No Problem,’ with insane dubstep drop that wreak havoc in the crowd, and you’ll get the picture. After so many years on the stages all over the world, and so much great music under their belt, Chase & Status know how to fire up the crowd at festivals. And they did just that.
