Surprise Diplo DJ-set creates a frenzy at Uniun

Hormones ran high Thursday night as hundreds of Toronto partiers flocked to Uniun Nightclub in hopes to get an earful of Diplo (Mad Decent label founder, DJ and rising super-producer) and quaff some sudsy Buds, Bud Light Platinum that is.

A group of a few hundred media, industry members, and professional partiers — a.k.a. "influencers" — were initially invited, but the floodgates were opened to the masses a day before the event, which caused a mad rush to sign up with a "first come first served" disclaimer. Unfortunately many didn't read the fine print, as hordes of people were being turned away when I showed up at 11pm.

It's been a while since I've seen a Toronto crowd this hyped up for anything. Everywhere I went on the sprawling dance floor, people were jumping into each others arms, grinding, winding, and getting down with new make out partners. Never underestimate the power of free American beer with a "bold, smooth, triple filtered" 6% alcohol content and a sexy ad campaign featuring edgy, high contrast photos of tattooed babes in sheer, lacy nightclub wear and dudes in chambray and plaid shirts.

I don't think Diplo was really bringing his A-game to the night but unlike the beer, the sound was not light or watery. He even dropped some poppy crowd-pleasers like a remix of Rhianna's Birthday Cake, and a couple "Oppan Gangnam Style!" samples between the jackin' car-alarm Moombahton beats.

Prior to arriving, I was a bit concerned that the sponsors would ask him to tone down his sound given the corporate nature of the event but this was a balls-out rager. Getting to the downstairs washroom required pushing through the frothy orgy of fun-loving bodies. The table of cowboys in plaid shirts, hats and boots, fresh off the plane from Calgary didn't seem to mind either, and were some of the last men standing on the dance floor.

Many factors came together to pull off a decent launch party, so cheers to the crew for pulling it off. Even when he's not bringing his A-game, Diplo's pretty darn good. The Food Dudes truck parked at the exit doling out snacks to exiting partiers was a nice touch too.

Photo by Conrad M. Stocks