You know that song, “Tuesday” by Drake? That song perfectly encapsulates the vibe that was surrounding Champagne Drip-Sam Pool’s, show at SERJ nightclub in Charlotte on Tuesday night. One of the openers, Saligia even played his own remix of the song, and said, “Y’all know I had to.”
The small nightclub parking lot quickly filled with adoring fans around 9:45 PM or so and continued to grow very quickly until 10:00 PM when doors opened to the public. This was my first time at SERJ nightclub so I had no idea what to expect, as well as being my first-time seeing Champagne Drip and his support Veil. She hasn’t performed under that name for very long, but the Philly native definitely made an impression on me.
When Veil took the stage around 11:00 PM, it didn’t take long at all for us to realize that she had found her sound in this scene; refined chaos. Weaving together elements of dubstep, drum & bass, serving us up a cavernous slew of deep, rolling basslines and growling synths. I actually had the privilege of meeting her before the show, as she was walking around the club talking to fans. She was so sweet, down to earth, & super humble. It’s always so nice to be able to meet artists who don’t let fame and whatnot go to their heads. It was a very refreshing experience. She is definitely an artist I will be keeping an eye on because I can see her doing big things in the future. At 11:45 Veil ended her set and you could just feel the anticipation brewing for Champagne Drip to take the stage.
Sam Pool-Champagne Drip got his start in Drum and Bass producing music under the moniker SPL. In the summer of 2014, Pool realized that he could no longer push the boundaries of SPL and decided to launch another project more tropical and uplifting. He released his debut EP Radio Bikini in September of 2014. The first year of the project had many press outlets fascinated with the unique sound. Radio Bikini was subsequently remixed by electronic upstarts Big Wild, Lazerdisk Mayhem, and Son of Kick and released in the spring of 2015 as Remix Bikini. In the fall of 2015, Pool released his second EP Journey into the Champagne Sea. His first EP had more tropical overtones, whereas this second EP went into deeper and darker territory. Pool then spent one whole year refining his sound and making it what it is today.
As soon as he went on, the dance floor erupted with excitement. He eased into the night with “Acid Drop” from the Champagne Trip EP. Then upped the tempo with tracks like “Blood on Me” by Svdden Death & SLANDER, a bass-heavy song with melodic lyrics and heavy drops that make you want to headbang to the beat. “In My Dreamz” is a slower tempo with heartfelt vocals by Linney, beg you to sing every word was also off the Champagne Trip EP. He also performed “Cold Case”, a 2021 single featuring G-REX, a crowd favorite that always, in the words of Chazz Michaels, “gets the people going”.
Champagne Drip continued to perform a phenomenal set that had the entire nightclub jumping & headbanging in unison. As the night came to an end, he closed with “Eternal Now” an LSDREAM & Champagne Drip single from 2019, as well as an oldie but goodie, “Machines Can Be Our Friends” from his 2016 EP Of Course I Still Love You. All in all, I’d say the show was a success. His set was a perfect balance of older & newer tracks, making it a show any fan of any length of time would enjoy while still paying homage to the OG hits that made us fall in love with his music. I was overjoyed that he played my personal favorite track “Me & You”, a collab with one of my absolute favorite female DJs Lucii. I really connected with that song specifically because I heard it for the first time at a drive-in show; one of the first events that I was able to go to once the pandemic shut the world down. I cannot tell you what it meant to me to hear that song again a year later from the other half of the collaboration. It felt as if things had come full circle.
If you weren’t at this show you really missed out. The intimacy of the venue plus the dubstep genius of Champagne Drip really made for a great night. If you happen to be reading this and Champagne Drip hasn’t made his stop in your town: GO. Simply get your tickets and go. If you even slightly like EDM music this show will absolutely blow you out of the water. Or should I say out of the Champagne? Either way, it’s one I wouldn’t miss.
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