It was only too appropriate that the first real snow of the season would fall as people warmed themselves up to a night of wubs and dubs to close out the year. This year’s two part Lucid Nights NYE shows - put on by local production company SIMshows - swapped the previous few years’ Snowtafests at the Armory for a back to back night of ‘Zed’-derivative electronic music (Zedd & Zeds Dead).

With Zeds Dead packing the house for night 1, so-called deadbeats knew they were in for an assaulting, moving night of bass heavy fluctuations and sensational lights and visuals. The group has been packing international venues for some time, and while they didn’t release anything new in 2023, they put on several tours (including a previous visit to The Armory back in September), so it was a real treat for them to come back to Minnesota so soon afterwards and pack the Armory for a second time.

The variety of styles in the openers (Renno, Levity, Tape B & Dirt Monkey) captured the imagination of the crowds as they slowly flowed in the from the Timberwolves game just a mile away, steadily filling the massive space from wall to wall for a packed, intimate and intense night of music.

Everything built to a beautiful climax as Zeds Dead turned everything into complete overdrive well past midnight, massive jets of flame announcing their sonic arrival. Their mountainous walls of bass-driven sound collapsed on the wide eyed deadbeats, and all was well. There wasn’t a single person missing a smile at that point in the night - the duo’s ability to capture and capitalize on energy is a skill every DJ possesses, but Zeds Dead are particularly fantastic live, combining a real attention to sonic detail with having a great sense for how to keep the flow of energy oscillating, shying away from complete overload but keeping everything a solid, even keel. With more flashes of fire and a shot of fireworks, the two closed out the night around 2am, an incredible night of EDM and good vibes.