The morning after....Thankfully we have a whole extra hour to rest and recover from last night's Halloween's festivities. As promised, I return with a recap of the KCRW Masquerade Ball.
The radio stars DJ'ing the event (Jason Bentley, Raul Campos, Liza Richardson, Garth Trinidad, etc.) were perhaps only overshadowed--pun intended--by a special guest appearance by DJ Shadow who spun downstairs in the grand old MacArthur Park-adjacent Park Plaza Hotel. Other talent were Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes, Little Dragon and Sea Wolf.
I can't tell you how many personal memories of club events past this stellar venue brought up. In fact I probably saw Jason Bentley spin here back in his early pre-KCRW days. It remains--in my humble opinion--one of the best spots to throw a club event in LA with its multiple upstairs-downstairs rooms, grand staircase-imposed foyer, classic architectural ambiance filled with sexy, romantic nooks, and just plain grandeur.
In a film town like LA, I wouldn't have expected any less than the awesome, creative and often elaborate costumes I saw at last night's jam-packed party. Group costumes like "penguins," "'80s aerobicizers, and Alex and gang from A Clockwork Orange seemed to be more popular this year. Legendary LA house DJ Marques Wyatt (there as a "civilian") was also clad in Clockwork Orange attire but corrected me saying he was there as the guy from "A Clockwork Blood Orange." Some folks went all out in the Dangerous Liaisons period garb. I was happy to see few of the old low-commitment "blood on the mouth costumes."
The event was super well planned out and DJ sets ran surprisingly on time. Everyone seemed to be having a blast, especially outside by the front entrance where several food trucks including the famous Korean mobile vendor Kogi and gourmet cupcake bakers Sprinkles were parked. I couldn't help picking up a couple Red Velvet myself.
By 1:30 a.m. things seemed to be winding down and thinning out...guess everyone got their Halloween beat fill. I queried one reveler as to whether he felt the event had been worth its $75 entrance fee. He replied that he'd "paid more for less" and had had a great time.
Photo © KCRW
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