I'm speechless. And not because I completely lost my voice but because this weekend will go down in the books as being one of the best displays of electronic music being blasted throughout the sickest environment I've ever seen! I really gotta hand it to Vegas - this venue was 100x better than the LA Coliseum. The main stage (Kinetic Field) was supposedly the largest in North America, with insane LED lighting to match. Insomniac turned the Vegas Speedway into a ravers' paradise. While standing up in the VIP stands I took a panoramic snapshot in my head starting with the neon lit ferris wheel, to the crazy display of fireworks above our heads, to the thousands of people dancing and jumping to the beat - they literally looked like ants; every inch of the grounds were covered. Now let's get to the music!
Friday
Wolfgang Gartner - After his awful Roxbury set, Wolfgang redeemed himself again. He played all of his hits including Illmerica, Wolfgang's 5th Symphony, Space Junk, and Undertaker. I wasn't completely blown away but then again Wolfgang has already set himself up at a bar that is hard to outdo.
Dirty South - Dragan tweeted before EDC " i don't play dubstep..it's ok to listen to....sometimes.....but i DO NOT play it in my dj sets.." and this is why I love him, probably the best set of the night. I made my way to the very front and was surrounded by massive speakers that I could feel vibrating through my body. Was stoked to hear my favorite remix of Kaskade's Sorry and was in heaven when Phazing came on. He killed it by dropping Red Hot Chilli Peppers "Otherside" mixed into Nicky Romero's remix of Green Velvet's Flash; that drop was mind-altering.
Tiesto - I went with a crew of 10 wearing matching "Tiesto is the Besto" tanks, so needless to say, I was more than stoked to see the legend himself for my second time. The first was at the Shrine a couple year ago and I had been anxiously awaiting his EDC set. He played a perfect mix of Tiesto originals, remixes, and other DJ's new jams. There were giant colored monsters on stage and at one point the LED lighting behind him made a giant boom box! His set was definitely the most crowded of any set all weekend, he drew in around 50,000 people (or so they say) but it looked like way more. From as far as I could see there were people in the crowd with zero open spaces. One of my favorite parts of the entire weekend was when Showtek screamed "I want everybody to jump!" then watching from the stands above I witnessed all of the music-lovers jumping in unison. Here's the link so you can see it yourself --> TiestoJump
Steve Angello - Not as amazing as his Coachella set but still pretty epic. He of course played both Swedish House Mafia hits Save the World Tonight and One. But I was most excited when his awesome remix of Pendulum's The Island came on and fireworks burst into the sky! There were even acrobatic dancers bouncing off trampolines near the front of the stage doing flips high into the air; this was quite the production and an amazing nightcap.
Saturday
Bassnectar - The last time I saw Bassnectar was about four years ago, and only because I was dragged by my sister, but was peculiarly surprised by how much I liked his style. I generally hate dubstep but he fuses the wobbly bass noise with an eclectic mix of sounds, whether it be rappers or pitch shifted vocal samples, it somehow all comes together to make funky harmony to my ears; definitely a great way to start out night #2.
Benny Benassi - I love Benassi but this was not his best set. Not only did he choose to pass up his perfect original version of Cinema for the Skrillex remix (even the Laidback Luke version would've been better) but he was all about the dubstep Saturday night. When House Music came on, I was elated until the drop went directly into that wobble noise that literally turned my smile into a frown. I forgive you Benny but please stick to what you do best - HOUSE MUSIC!
David Guetta - Hate to say it but he played way too many top 40 songs for a rave. We hear Love is Gone, When Love Takes Over, Where Dem Girlz At, and Getting Over You every day on the radio so why wouldn't he pull out some new stuff or even some of his old dirty house songs? Guetta is an amazing producer and I was luckily able to listen to some of his unreleased songs that are insanely similar to Daft Punk, so I just don't understand why he decided to go so mainstream at an event that draws in people who know their electronic music and want something fresh.
Chuckie - I might have to say that he had the best set out of everyone all weekend! After his mediocre Coachella set I was not expecting the filth he brought to Vegas, some of the best drops I've ever heard! Maybe he brought his A game because it was his birthday, as he announced to the crowd. He opened with his original Mutfakta then dropped into Guetta's One Love mixed into Move it 2 the Drum, another sick Chuckie original featuring Hardwell. He also dropped the Sidney Samson remix of Ferry Corsten's Punk, one of my faves. But the best surprise of his set was the Gregori Klosman remix of Avicii's Sweet Dreams. Every single song bumped hard and I could not stop myself from dancing. Step aside Afrojack, when it comes to dirty dutch - Chuckie takes the crown. Check out his live set here: Chuckie's EDC set
Dada Life - That shit was bananas, literally. Perfect way to end my night/weekend was getting to hear White Noise Red Meat, Fight Club is Closed, Cookies with a Smile, and of course their amazing remix of Kaskade's Dynasty. This was my 4th time seeing them and they always put on a good show - how can you not have fun when there's a crowd surfing gigantic inflatable banana in the mix?!
When I first found out that EDC was no longer being held in Los Angeles I was very disappointed, however, it turned out to be one of the best massives I've ever attended. The venue could not be beat, it was surprisingly organized, not as many teens as the LA raves usually draw in and did I mention that it was in VEGAS?! Now time to recover..
