Blade Rave

No leather corset or bare tattooed back was spared as the ravers seethed with fanged glee beneath the crimson rain. For a few hours, it was truly weird and wonderful to see a sea of giddy daywalkers living out fantasy bloodlust.

Aspiring Vampire Enjoy a Blade-Themed Blood Rave

On October 9, BBQ Films and Deacon Frost invited all vampires from New York to a once-in-a-lifetime blood rave and together we raised La Magra in the most epic way possible.

To celebrate our rightful place atop the food chain, over 1,000 guests partied with the spirits of the 12 vampire houses to awaken La Magra—the Blood God. With electronic musicians The Crystal Method—with support from Pictureplane, a place both wonderful and strange, and DJ Choyce Hacks—ravers enjoyed four floors of interactive experiences and fang-tastic performances. The night ended with an much-anticipated downpour of blood rain.

A portion of ticket sales, along with a raffle collection at the event, was donated to the American Red Cross. And besides experiencing a classic rave straight out of 1998, and both ticket tiers (Vampires & Familiars and Purebloods) were treated to an unrivaled immersive evening that included:

A screening of the original BLADE film on the roof
Costumed actors bringing BLADE scenes to life
A Deacon Frost step & repeat photo opportunity
Sword-fighting demos from SWORD CLASS NYC
Vampire dance moves from THE DANCE CARTEL
The vampires of POISONOUS PINUPS (Comic Con booth 2955)
A DJ Bloodbath Photo booth from Shootbooth

A relaxing space inspired by Deacon Frost’s Lair
Projected visuals by Sean Dack
Raffles & giveaways of limited BLADE-themed merch
A live painting installation of Pearl by Adriano Moraes
VIP day-after dry cleaning provided by butler service Alfred
Custom fangs created on-site by Father Sebastiaan, official fangsmith of the event
And most importantly, (synthetic) BLOOD RAIN from within Terminal 5

Visit Tee Public to purchase custom Blade Rave apparel to commemorate the evening.

LA MAGRA IS COMING from BBQ Films on Vimeo.

BBQFilms presents: The Blood Test Quickie from BBQ Films on Vimeo.

We can think of no better act to headline Blade Rave than The Crystal Method. Scott Kirkland and Ken Jordan took US dance music to new heights long before anyone in the mainstream had heard of EDM. Their debut album, Vegas, was certified platinum in 2007. The LA-based duo has since regrouped to release last year’s self-titled fifth studio album, The Crystal Method. The group contributed to the soundtrack of the second film in the franchise, and have appeared on dozens of television and film soundtracks since.

The Crystal Method

Travis Egedy is Pictureplane: an electronic musician, designer, producer, rapper, and DJ getting ready to put out a new LP (TECHNOMANCER) around Halloween on acclaimed avant-garde hip-hop label Anticon. Egedy says it will feature a “darkwave hip-hop sound,” but his musical influences run the gamut from goth to industrial, noise to hip-hop.

Pictureplane

We feature musical talent with film roots whenever possible. For non-Twin Peaks aficionados, a place both wonderful and strange is the “occult electronic dance performance art moniker” of Russ Marshalek, Niabi Aquena, and Bridgette Miller. The Lynchian group is dark, expressive, challenging, and (trust us) playful all at once.

a place both wonderful and strange

Christopher Choyce (aka DJ Choyce Hacks) has been raving and DJing raves for 20 years, and has the vinyl library to prove it. These days, Choyce spins as a third of the Brooklyn-based Adventure[s] crew, who are responsible for the incredibly popular Robyn and MySpace-themed parties.

DJ Choyce Hacks

The Dance Cartel is after a new brand of dance experience. Taking note of a dance world that often suffers from anemia and esotericism, the Cartel strives to create dances that are vibrant, immersive and often participatory. Without sacrificing technical expertise or a rigorous artistic approach, they’re working to employ the social nature of dance, the charge of a party, and the sharpness of a music video to a fresh dance vocabulary that any Joe can get down with.

The Dance Cartel