Review: 2000s Rave - Party Like It’s 2003 (February 13 @ The Atlantis)

A couple decked out in fishnets, a spunky older woman with a pixie cut, and a pair of teenagers with tails walk into a music venue. This may sound like the setup for a joke, but it’s really just a fair representation of the crowd at last Friday night’s 2000s Rave at The Atlantis.

After trying to pick up our tickets from the wrong counter (these recent DC transplants do not know the difference between 9:30 Club and The Atlantis), we stumbled in from the cold and were transported back in time. DJ CJ was the first of three to take the stage. The crowd started out a bit low-energy, but when “Unwritten” came on, people couldn’t help but scream the lyrics to the strangers next to them. Aperture Sound was next, and he carried the momentum with hits like “Clarity”, “Roses”, and even – in a departure from the nostalgic theme of the event – Ice Spice’s 2023 “Princess Diana”. 

Last but certainly not least, Groovecube reinvigorated the crowd not just with his pop-based set (featuring 2000s icons Katy Perry, Carly Rae Jepsen, and, of course, Britney Spears), but with his motivational “Cube-isms”, as we’re choosing to coin them. “YOU HAVE THE POWER TO CHANGE THE WORLD!” he shouted over “Lose Yourself”. Despite his strange mashup of the Wii theme music with Creed’s “One Last Breath” – or perhaps because of it – he was the clear crowd favorite.

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Natalia Gonzalez-Chelala is a freshman in the SFS. She finally got to live out her Pitch Perfect dreams when “Since U Been Gone” was played.

Lorelei Schwarz is a freshman in the College. If anyone knows a twenty-something guy who really likes balloons, please send her his Instagram.