Excision - Armory - Minneapolis MN - December 19th 2025

Excision live at The Armory on December 19th 2025

Review and photos by Jesse McKinney

Walking into The Armory for my first EDM show, I didn’t really know what to expect. I’d known of Excision for a while now but only really listened casually, and he was the only name on the lineup I recognized going in. The entire show was just as fun as I thought it would be!

What stood out right away was the crowd! I heard EDM shows brough out wild, colorful outfits, and that was absolutely true. The Minnesota cold didn’t stop anyone from dressing for the night. Once inside the vibe only got better. I’ve been to a lot of shows, and this was easily one of the nicest crowds I’ve experienced. Even in a packed room everyone was nice and didn’t complain as I moved through the crowd to get to another spot. I also had multiple strangers offer to take my picture, which has never happened to me at a concert before. People were handing out bracelets, stickers, coins, and little trinkets, and everywhere you looked people were smiling, dancing, and fully locked into the moment!

One of the biggest differences compared to other concerts was how the visuals shaped the experience. Most of the time at concerts you have everyone fighting for the cloestest spot to the stage so they have he best view of the band but at Excision, being farther back didn’t feel like missing out at all. Another big difference was how they changed from arsitst to artist. ’m used to set changes and gear checks between bands, so it was strange in a good way when one DJ would finish and the next would start almost immediately. The night flowed smoothly without breaking the energy.

The openers did a great job setting the tone and getting the crowd moving early. Jantsen brought a fun, bouncy energy that kept things loose, while Kai Wachi also kept things fun but also managed to bring the energy up even more! Kai Wachi seemed to have the most fun out of everyone during his set. You could even spot him in the crowd dancing with the fans during Excision.

I had high expectations for Excision and he completely delivered! The sound, visuals, and lasers were on another level, and it was alomst overwhelming in the best way. I didn’t know many songs, but that didn’t matter. The nice thing about EDM is alot of artists will mix in popular songs, so changes are if you go to a show you’ll hear something you know!

The set was immersive from start to finish, and it was easy to see why he’s held in such high regard in the EDM world. Watching The Armory lit up like that was unreal. It couldn’t have been a better first EDM show. The energy never dipped and the crowd made the experience even better! The production was on a scale I hadn’t experienced before! I’ll definitely be attending and shooting more EDM shows in the future, and I wouldn’t be surprised if a festival or two ends up on that list as well.