Both my roommate Gabi and I have seen the famous dubstep DJ Excision five times but that did not stop us from catching our 6 AM flight to Chicago from Charleston last Friday to see him on his Apex tour. I am lucky enough to call Chicago my first home, so after we arrived back at my house we spent Friday exploring everything the city had to offer. We woke up Saturday exhausted from the day before, but ready to spend our night our faces melted off by 250,000 watts of bass.

We arrived at the music venue located inside Chicago's famous Navy Pier at 5 PM and waited in line for an hour with the other 12,000 Headbangers, despite the fact Excision did not go on until 10:00 PM. We arrived so early because as amazing as Excision is, his openers will blow you away just as much. He uses his fame within the EDM community to help up and coming artists, as well as some artists more well known. He makes sure the DJs who may not see this volume of people or level of production for another few years get this first class experience into the world of EDM.

Excision's Chicago show was supported by many great, young, artists which include: HE$H, Yakz, Spock, Squanto, Sullivan King, Bear Grillz, and Phaseone. All of these artists have their own unique sound that compliment Excision, yet stand out from his soul-crushing bass drops, and really get the crowd excited and into the spirit before he comes out with his production.

As soon as I walked in and heard the bass my body was taken over, and I could not stop myself from dancing and headbanging through the crowd stopping to join the different groups we passed. Apart from the music, the community experience of an EDM show is something I have never experienced at a show of any other genre.

It's a great feeling walking into a show, dancing with your closest friends and the random people you connect with in line knowing there is absolutely no judgment. You are able to let the music take over and express yourself however you want and be praised by other attendees rather than feel that you may be judged. When I arrived at Excision's show, I immediately ran into some other friends I have made through this scene and I knew it was going to be one of the best nights of my life. The openers were amazing to begin, but my excitement grew the closer it got to Excision's set.

As the curtain dropped and the lights from Excision's Paradox stage lit up the entire convention center, you could feel the excitement radiate through the sold-out crowd. You are immediately in awe staring at the bright lights, lasers, and the almost lifelike visuals. These elements never fail to blow me away, causing me to take a second to comprehend what I am seeing every time, and getting to witness the faces of people who have never seen his production brings over this feeling of immense joy. My favorite part of this particular show was the lasers.

Excision is known for its 3D, life-like visuals, but for his Apex tour he has increased his use of lasers and I did not know how badly I needed them until I saw those beams darting out into the crowd. I spend a lot of my time going to different shows and festivals but Excision's production has yet to be beaten by anything else I have seen. I spent the night headbanging till my neck broke with my friends and taking in every moment of his show.

Would I do this again? HELL YES. Dubstep may not be for everyone but if you have the opportunity to see Excision TAKE IT. Nothing will beat the insane production and the overwhelming feeling of community. You are standing there with thousands of strangers but for that two-hour set, you come together and become one big family. EDM is everywhere. Some of the biggest songs out there are produced by big-name DJs. For example, Kanye West's "Black Skinhead" is produced by Daft Punk and Justin Bieber's "Beauty and A Beat" is produced by Zedd. This community feeling of acceptance and home is one you can find in any genre of EDM, not just Dubstep. If you are skeptical of EDM or Dubstep, I would say to take a look at what songs and genres you are currently listening to and go see a show by any DJ, big or small. I have made some of my closest friends from going to shows and have created another huge fan of EDM, my roommate Regan. I could not imagine spending my time doing anything different from anyone else. At the end of the day, this experience was worth the money and time invested.