“The trick is,” my friend said to me, while absent mindlessly crushing a tall PBR and staring intently at the ground “is to not let on that you’re looking for money on the ground.” Yup, it was 1:45AM all right. The old scouring-the-bar-floor-for-dropped-change scenario: we all end up there at some point, don’t we? Maybe we all also end up surprised at how lucrative it can be. In any case, the official kick off of CMW had been fantastic thus far and Kids & Explosions set at the Garrison was promising to keep bringing it.

Though drinks were flowing and people were amped to see the DJ set, the mood was generally calm – it was late, absurdly hot out for a March night and people had been out for a long night already. But that’s not to say it was messy – the atmosphere was upbeat and people were having fun while chatting enthusiastically. The event, which was created by the Young Lions Music Club, had Shad K introduce the DJ, as he was the host of last nights’ Artist Select Series. Giving him a warm welcome, Kids & Explosions stepped up to his MacBook that is marked with SHIT in big duct tape letters.

The last Kids & Explosions set I saw was at a big high-energy party, so this show was a little surprising. His mixes definitely fit the mood, often gravitating towards heavy beats with hypnotically mixed electronic pop overtones. While he played a set that was very much “Kids & Explosions”— i.e. heavy 90s hip hop beats mixed with a wide array of pop tunes (anywhere from White Stripes to MGMT) – the set and atmosphere was very conducive to really listening to the music being mixed.

The stand out moment, for me, during the set was the interplay of his music and visuals. At one point, the projected background showed one side of a long distance Skype conversation. On loop, a girl looked down at the webcam from a hotel room, moving only subtly before being jerked back to the beginning of the footage. This footage was totally in line with the chopping of heavy beats and pop as photographers were feverishly snapping away, through swaying and bobbing bodies.

Thanks to Kids & Explosions, it’s safe to say that my friend’s search for loose change did not last very long.

Photos by Andrew Weir