Purple strobe lights illuminated a crowd of Northwestern students dancing to a pounding bass, forming the letter “W” with their hands as they participated in a “Wu-Tang” chant led by Method Man.
NU students filled the Riviera Theatre in Chicago Saturday night for this year’s A&O Ball, which was headlined by the DJ duo Major Lazer. Wu-Tang Clan’s Method Man and his rhyme partner Redman opened the show with an hour-long performance of hip-hop and rap songs.
Method Man performed “Bring the Pain,” the first single released from his debut album “Tical,” and a DJ homage to Jam Master Jay. He also performed several songs by the Wu-Tang Clan, a rap and hip-hop collective established in 1993.
Vivek Sudarsan, co-chair of promotions and public relations for A&O Productions, said Method Man’s past work as a member of Wu-Tang Clan drew numerous fans to the show.
“Method Man obviously has a big following,” the Weinberg senior said. “Everyone that was up front seemed to know his Wu-Tang songs.”
At one point during the show, members of the crowd held Method Man up by the legs as he sang above the crowd, and he crowd-surfed again later in the evening. Weinberg sophomore Ezra Olson said Method Man did a good job of getting the crowd excited and involved in the performance.
“I really appreciated the energy he gave,” Olson said. “This was a tribal experience — in a good way.”
By the time DJs Diplo and Switch of Major Lazer began their performance, the area in front of the stage had filled in almost completely, and the energy of the crowd increased.
Throughout their hour-long performance, Major Lazer wove a variety of electronic mixes in with well-known songs like Rihanna’s “You da One” and Far East Movement’s “Like a G6” and featured portions of “Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites” by Skrillex. They also played their well-known dance mix, “Pon de Floor.”
Like Method Man, the group tried to involve members of the audience, bringing several students onstage to dance.