By Akshay Bhansali
Fans of Afrojack relished his return to New York on Friday night (or Saturday morning, rather), as the Dutch electronic-music producer played his first show of 2011 at Pacha. The performance was sold out weeks before Afrojack (aka Nick van de Wall) hit the the Big Apple club's stage.
At around 2 a.m., while bare legs in stilettos shivered outside behind the velvet rope, a sweaty mob numbering easily more than two-and-a-half-thousand chanted Afrojack's name as opener Roxy Cottontail handed over deck command to the over-six-foot-tall van de Wall. He launched into his set with a mix of his hit "Bangduck." He then proceeded to play most of the best-loved tunes in his already extensive original catalog, including "Let's Make Nasty" (a track with Larry Tee and Cottontail), "Replica," "Funk With Me" and "Louder Than Words," his hit collaboration with David Guetta. And, of course, how could he not play "Pacha on Acid"? For an added treat, van de Wall also treated fans to a few unreleased and as-yet-unnamed singles that, judging from the crowd response, are sure to be Afrojack classics. The performance lasted for more than two hours, winding on into the wee hours of the morning.
The gig came on the heels of the debut of Afrojack's new residency in Las Vegas. In addition, van de Wall recently posted video and pics of studio sessions with West Coast DJ/producer Steve Aoki and Omarion, as well as photos with his buddy Tiësto. Fans can only hope the two have cooked up some club bangers together.
Props and thanks to Jasja and Ludvie at team Afrojack, and Eddie and Rob at Pacha New York for the invite and hospitality.