Human Soup: the mixture of dancing bodies, exhausted deodorant, sweat and frenetic stirred lovingly by an artisan DJ that is the signature of any good dance club experience…

Entering the District 30 on Thursday night the usual early-evening club atmosphere presented itself as the crowd milled around the bar, ordering drinks and preening in the see-and-be-seen milleu of Sacramento’s newest trendy nightclub. Local spinner DJ Benji worked the booth in anticipation of the headlining act, coaxing people on to the dance floor with a selection of club-friendly hits. At first, patrons’ directed their focus on the bar with the exception of a few intrepid girls dancing it up on the floor.

Although there were a few people valiantly trying to bring back rave culture by dressing in furry boots, or sporting the occasional glo-stick-as-hair-accessory, most of the crowd was well-dressed thirtysomethings and nerdy white guys eagerly awaiting the appearance of one of electronic music’s trailblazers.

The Crystal Method stormed the booth at 11:30 and from that moment they took over to the very end of their set, the floor was crammed with bodies all facing the booth. They started their set, continuing the vibe with melodic tunes to get the crowd into the mood. At a quarter to one, the dilettantes began to clear out as they transitioned to more hard-hitting Drum ‘n’ Bass/Jungle styled beats.

Established fans of the group were disappointed at the lack of older tracks as the guys focused mostly on cuts from their newer works such as “Divided by Night”, and the current EP/single “Sine Language.” However this did not stop the crowd from flooding the dance floor for the entirety of the Crystal Method’s nearly three-hour set. Arguably, the biggest response of the night came when they mixed in a taste of their most well-known song “Busy Child” from their platinum-selling album “Vegas.” The crowd roared in response to that familiar hook and unbelievably, the dancing became more frenzied.

The Crystal Method flitted from track to track with hummingbird intensity and if there was one real complaint it was that in their urgency to keep up the energy they only focused on a song for a few minutes before moving on to the next track. That meant that if one were at the bar and heard something intriguing, by the time one pushed through the crush to a spot on the dance floor, the moment had passed. This left little option but to plant oneself on the floor and dance all the way through. Luckily this was not a problem for the crowd. (It was however, not as good for your intrepid reviewer, who found it difficult to take notes while being jostled by enthusiastic clubbers.)

They finished their set at nearly two and almost immediately the crowd emptied out of the club, leaving DJ Benji to play out the staff and the last of the stragglers closing out their bar tabs. Soon the only ones remaining would be the poor schlubs left to sweep up the remains of the human soup.