Full programmatic control. No committee. DJ SS built the lineup himself and the bill he put together in that room told you exactly where his priorities were: 2Cents opening, Crissy Criss, Subflo, Bailey, Noisia, Goldie — and Sub Focus in the middle of it.
2Cents — Jamal and Aye~n of the Compression Crew out of San Francisco — were already on the World of Drum & Bass tour circuit. WOMP TV had been documenting WoDnB dates in SF, Miami, and LA. San Bernardino was the next stop, and Sub Focus was the reason for the 90-minute drive each way from LA.
Sub Focus had exactly one UK top 40 hit to his name in March 2010. “Rock It” had charted at #38 the previous year — his third UK Dance Chart number one, and his first time breaking into mainstream chart territory. The debut album had been out since October. RAM Records. Dance floor DnB with enough discipline to move units outside the core audience, enough weight to hold up in a room like this one.
He was a known quantity inside the culture. Outside it, he was still on his way. The room was empty when Sub Focus started. By the time he dropped “Rock It,” it was packed from the stage to the back wall.
The setup was Technics 1200 MK1s alongside CDJs — not unusual in 2010, but not settled either. The CDJ was still working its way into the DnB booth. That generation of DJs had come up on vinyl. Most hadn’t fully let go, and neither had he. The turntables were in the rig and in the mix.
The moment that defined the set came midway through: “Rock It” VIP into DJ Hazard’s “Mr. Happy.” A number one into jump-up. The two ends of the dance floor spectrum bridged in one transition. The room answered both.
MCs on stage for the set included Insomniac resident MC Dino, Question Mark, and MC Aramanni — Mental Sharp, Atlanta. Green lasers cut the smoke above the crowd. Hands up front to back.
This footage was shot by Rico Che on a Sony FX7 HDV — handheld, on-board mic, slow shutter to manage the low light. The audio is what it is. The picture is the document.
Beyond Wonderland 2010 was the last time a rave on that scale felt like something that had been buried and dug back up. The Bay Area scene had been gutted in the early 2000s — venues shut, events killed, the cultural infrastructure dismantled after a manufactured media cycle pinned a death on the rave scene and gave city governments the cover they needed. That vibe had been gone a long time.
San Bernardino brought it back for one night. DJ SS ran the room. Sub Focus filled it. WOMP TV was there.