Assimilating back to real life after Holy Ship!!! is no easy task. The 60 hour non-stop party all starts to feel like a dream as you get back to the never-ending stream of emails. Holy Ship!!! is the brainchild of Gary Richards and the crown jewel in his Hard Events portfolio. The three day cruise included beach parties, sharks, crazy back2back sets, buffets, 16 decks, 4 venues, and much much more.
We had a firsthand look at the Holy Ship experience. From the beach to the Pantheon Theatre to the elevator parties, it was something special.
Here are 10 moments that we'll never forget even though we drank a considerable amount:
10. Gorgon City's surprise set at the Zeds Dead Cigar and Scotch party.
Headed back from the beach party on the second day we were talking to Matt from Gorgon City who gave us a tip that they might be making a special appearance at the Zeds Dead Cigar and Scotch party. Sure enough once the scotch had been poured and the cigars had been lit Gorgon started rocking the makeshift stage they had set up. Diplo was on deck to catch the intimate set. Check it out below.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EoW_hmIE0-4[/youtube]
9. Disclosure rinsing out "F For You" (TEED Remix) on the beach.
The first beach party was definitely a bit quiet. The shippers who hadn't learned that the trip was a marathon not a sprint still were in bed after quite the hectic first night. Nevertheless the people who did make it were treated to sets from the likes of Armand Van Helden, Boys Noize and Disclosure. One of the biggest moments came when they dropped TEED's massive remix of "F For You". The rolling drums and deep sounds got the beach hopping.
8. Griz wandering the hallways with his Saxophone.
On the last night young phenom Griz and Skrillex wandered the hallways with his Saxophone he uses during his live show serenading shippers with the George Michael classic "Careless Whisper". Just a great moment that showcased how integrated artist and shipper was. Exclusive footage below:
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZ_-9o_VDCo[/youtube]
7. Skrillex throws down a classic dubstep set on the beach.
You hear a ton of talk about how dubstep is dead these days and I'd be inclined to agree. Skrillex managed to bring it back to life Saturday with a set that reminded me of the golden days. Lots of Doctor P and Flux Pavillion, some Skrillex classics, and some Skream had the beach party head banging like it was 2010. Watch some of the madness below
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRiZjKwsx2k[/youtube]
6. Tiesto shuts down the Disco.
On the first night it was revealed the super secret special guest was none other then Tiesto. No one other then Gary Richards could make that happen. According to Gary it all started with some Jager shots at Stereosonic with Zedd where Tiesto mentioned that he wouldn't mind taking some Jager shots on the boat as well. One thing led to another and eventually Gary got on the phone with Tiesto's agent and the rest is history. Tiesto's second set was in the upstairs Disco. The room got so rammed security had to be posted everywhere not letting a single other person in (except for a very convincing young man with a media pass). It was great to see a guy that usually drops festival anthems show a different side and play out some disco and deeper tunes. Claude Von Stroke was loving the set so much his dancing almost disconnected some equipment.
5. Pharrell makes it to the beach.
The king of cool. You'd be hard pressed to find someone who had a bigger year then Pharrell Williams. On Saturday's beach party he was running very behind schedule. Skrillex extended his set as everyone was asking where the man of the hour was. Turns out Pharell has a fear of helicopters and didn't get into the copter until around 3:30 when everyone had been scheduled to leave by 4. Gary Richards called an audible and delayed the departure so Pharrell could play his set. Pharrell running through his hits on a beach with some bikini-clad women on stage did not disappoint. Props to Gary.
4. Dirtybird b2b featuring everyone.
Claude Von Stroke was everywhere this weekend. You could find him taking in everyone's set from guys like Baauer to Flume to Skrillex to Brodinski. When he took the stage in the disco I think there was four or five guys up there each playing a track and rotating. It was nuts. Justin Martin, French Fries, Kill Frenzy, Amine Edge & Dance, and even Tiesto was up there at one point. Track after track of hard hitting house music. The disco was shaking so hard I thought the floors might open up. The head honcho of Dirtybird proved once again why he is a force in the industry.
3. Fool's Gold rap party stage party.
I'll admit I'm a bit biased. I love hip hop. There's something about it that just gets the party going. I was looking forward to this party all weekend and it DID NOT disappoint. A-Trak, Just Blaze, Diplo, Baauer, Disclosure, RL Grime, Flosstradamus, and more were on deck for one of the best parties of the whole cruise. The set I was most excited for was Brodinski's alter ego The Boogieman. He rinsed out some huge A$AP Ferg and Drake anthems and went b2b with A-trak. Just Blaze played out all the classics; and watching Howard from Disclosure dance around to Jump On It was just fantastic.
2. Flume's Thursday set.
I could go ahead and say this was the best set of the ship. There was stiff competition but the buzz surrounding the young Australian's appearance in the Black and White lounge was massive. The room was packed to the brim and backstage was full of onlookers like Diplo, Skrillex, RL Grime and more. Flume lit the room up playing out massive tracks from the album and some new unreleased material. When Emoh Instead arrived they played a few tracks together from their collab project What So Not. As the massive vocal chants of "Jagua"r dropped the room responded with insane energy jumping up and down. This record was only matched by the last song of the set and arguably the biggest tune of the weekend – Flume's remix of "You and Me" by the Disclosure boys. This guy had a huge 2013 and if this set was any indication of what 2014 looks like… Be ready.
1. Diplo opening up the cruise with Enya's "Sail Away".
This song will never be the same for me. It's that song your parents used to listen to a couple years ago but Diplo transformed it into the opening anthem for this weekend of debauchery. As the entire ship gathered to hear the Mad Decent label boss start the cruise the calming chords of the track blasted out from the speaker. As everyone looked around slightly confused with the song, the chorus dropped and 3000 people started singing along to Enya. The song got looped into a slowed down edit of "Express Yourself" and the party began. I've found some partial footage to the moment below but it truly doesn't do it justice.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZJDdlHqziU[/youtube]
My brain and body hurt, normal life seems dull, and I can't seem to find half the clothes I brought but it was all worth it. When does 2015 booking open?
