Do you like live music? Do you like parties? Do you like having nights where you can go wild with your friends? If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, then you should get yourself to Mash Bash tonight!
Hosted by All Around Entertainment, Mash Bash is being hailed as the ultimate dance party. Lincoln Square Mall has been rented out for the event, and the main corridor is being turned into a dance floor. “It’s going to be very, very cool,” said Mitchell Schoeneman, one of the organizers of the event. “There’s going to be video screens and curtains along the side, and bars set up everywhere.”
The mall was chosen for the event because All Around wanted to do something creative for the night. Schoeneman said he likes doing shows in venues that aren’t intended to be venues, and thinks the fact that 3,500 people can be concentrated in an out-of-date mall will add to the overall party attitude the event is striving for.
Local and national DJs will be spinning the night away, playing mash-ups and dubstep music, along with regular club music, with one of the ladies from E!’s “The Girls Next Door” serving as the emcee for the night. The main event, though, is to be when electro-hop group LMFAO takes the stage. LMFAO will be playing for over an hour, performing, of course, their hits “Shots” and “I’m in Miami Bitch.”
If you’re not an LMFAO fan, don’t let that turn you off from going to the show. “It’s not about being an LMFAO fan,” said Schoeneman. “It’s about wanting to have a good time, wanting to party and dance all night.”
Schoeneman said they’re aiming for Mash Bash to be like a club event you’d see in Chicago or New York, and hopes that University of Illinois students and the Champaign-Urbana community will recognize the opportunity that’s being presented with the event. “It’s about to be part of the culture and tradition, with musicians, mash-up DJs and dubstep DJs all coming together to play this event,” he said.
In addition to the party atmosphere, Mash Bash also has a charitable goal in mind. A portion of the profits will be going to the Jennifer Lynn Snyder Teen Heart Foundation, which seeks to raise awareness about sudden cardiac arrest in teenagers and young adults, and raise money for programs to screen teens for potential heart problems. Another portion of Mash Bash’s profits will be donated to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation. “Everybody in some way has been touched by breast cancer,” said Schoeneman. “Maybe people will feel more ownership and connection to the event because of this.”
A week prior to Mash Bash, ticket sales had already hit 50% capacity for the event, with tickets going fast. Tickets are $25 if you order them on mashbashtour.com, or $30 if you buy them at the door. For $40 you can get a VIP pass, which includes a reserved table and bottle service.
Mash Bash itself starts at 9 p.m., but a pre-party will be taking place at the Red Lion, on the corner of Green Street and 3rd Street, starting at 7. All drinks will be only $2, and buses will be provided from the bar to Lincoln Square Mall.
Schoeneman said the ideal turnout would be for the entire Illinois student body to show up. “I think it’s great timing for people to leave for Thanksgiving break on a high note,” he said.
If you go to Mash Bash, don’t expect to get away with being a wallflower for the night. “Come ready to dance, be wild and have a good time,” said Schoeneman. “Take advantage of the opportunity to just lose yourself to the music.”
For tickets ahead of time, either go to www.mashbashtour.com, or call 847-287-2344, 847-732-0680, or 847-922-8261.