"Smells Like Glowsticks..." - EDC Day 1 Review

[zin 25]

You know that nervous anticipation that built up before your very first festival? That all too familiar feeling of uncertainty about whether or not it will live up to the hype or falter according to the media? Going into this year’s 15th annual edition of Insomniac’s Electric Daisy Carnival, no one knew exactly what to expect. Even the most experienced festival attendee was feeling like the new kid again! I guess that’s what happens when you book a new venue in a new city in a new state! Would the festival falter in a city that rarely caters to a music festival demographic? After all, many of us know how Vegoose didn’t last as long as it should’ve when it came to town a few years ago. All these questions had many nervous about Insomniac’s risk of moving to a new city.

 

However, I for one am glad they took that risk. Click on read more for the rest of the article!

 

As with previous editions of EDC in years past, we planned to leave early and get in line as soon as possible knowing that traffic and wait times could be horrendous. However, we were pleasantly surprised to find out that traffic on the I15 all the way up to the venue was little to none. We pulled into the large FREE parking lot and obtained a spot that was literally right in front of the gates. That’s one major point for Insomniac.

 

Once we walked up to the gates, we realized that people were already lining up at the ID checks. It was about 6:58 when we entered the lines, and the ID checks opened around 7:25. We chose the furthest ID check away from the parking lot thinking it’d be the least packed, but boy were we wrong. The furthest away was also fed by adjacent parking lots on the other side of the street as well as those who still need to pick up their will call tickets. There were only two ID check tents at the main gates, but they were more than sufficient. After the initial crowd that had lined up early, there literally was NO line. After you pass ID check, you had a choice of four major gates. Once again, we made the horrible choice of choosing the furthest one away from our initial parking spot. This was the longest line out of the four that night and boy was I pissed after seeing the other three whiz on by.

 

However, once you get past the security check, you forget all the issues that the line had, because guess what? YOU’VE FINALLY MADE IT TO EDC VEGAS! Walking through the bleachers, you had a sense of chills crawling slowly up your back. It’s as if you close your eyes and everything moved in slow motion. You’re thrown into this colorful world of flashing lights, white hot pyrotechnics, and trippy performers. It’s heaven on earth if one existed. From this point on, it was time to put on our adventure hats and go exploring. There was way too much eye candy going on that you didn’t know WHERE to go. We decided to walk around and find the rest of the GSCers that were attending that day. Cell service was stellar when we first got in, so we were able to shoot out a few texts before it got too crazy. We’ve finally met up with Demo, Illusion, Rorok, and Jaredhimself.

 

We decided to go check out a few of the stages, and the production that went into these designs we’re insane! However, it was apparent that some of the little details weren’t able to be put up in time before gates open. The decorative “scrims†at the kineticFIELD and cosmicMEADOW stages were not put up yet; but even without them, the lighting and visuals were just way above par. We ended up catching the end of Christopher Lawrence’s set at the circuitGROUNDS stage, and he was just tearing it up as a cloud of dust from the gravel dance floor started rising. After he ended, we headed to the heinekenDOMES to see what all the hub bub was about. Obviously, this was a 21+ area so some of our group had to wait outside. As those of us of age showed our IDs and walked right in, we were blasted with an air conditioned dome that housed a round bar that served Heineken on tap. After that dome is another dome that had many house DJs with a powerful soundsystem that rivaled those of the bigger stages. Joey Mazzola was on the proverbial wheels of steel, and he dropped many classics like Late Night Alumni’s Empty Streets. Once again, it was air conditioned and both domes felt like igloos! Once we left our air conditioned heaven, we opted to check out the beginning of Dirty South’s set and he was providing banger after banger as the dance floor thrived with excitement and sweat.

 

We then left during his set to explore the grounds some more, and we ended up riding many of the rides closest to the circuitGROUNDS stage. As we were waiting in line to get onto the “figure eight†ride (it literally had no name that was clearly visible, so we gave it our own based on the motion), I noticed it smelled like glowsticks to which I proclaimed, “It smells like mad glowsticks up in here.†It was here that we realized that it’s a bit sad that we all know this smell all too well. We had a bit of a laugh and that’s when we found out Demo’s glowsticks had started leaking. Riding rides with GSCers is an experience in of itself. It was full of laughing, smiles, and just overall great vibes. Let’s not forget the moment that Rorok’s bottle came up to his face for an intimate moment during these rides. Boy, did I wish I got footage of that.

 

After a few rides, it was back to what these festivals were originally about, the music. We split up and Rorok, my friend, and I opted to go to Richie Hawtin pres. Plastikman. This legendary artist had stellar visuals pulsating to his insane, original, minimalistic, and groovy techno tracks. I was sober, but still was enthralled by the insanity that flashed in tones of red, white, and black. It was visuality and aurality mixed in harmony at its best. When he dropped Ping Pong, I went nuts! I’ve been waiting for years to see this artist live and to finally hear it on such a massive sound system was amazing! During his set the first fireworks show started, and I was fighting the urge to watch the fireworks and the visuals. It was tough to decide! If my eyes could split like a chameleon, I would’ve done that, but sadly I’m only human. Towards the later part of his set, he decided to jump out in front of his visual screens and played a few tracks. One such track, Spastic, was welcomed with open arms by the crowd. It’s one of his better known tracks that has been sampled by many other EDM artists.

 

Right after Plastikman, Demo and Jaredhimself decided to join us. Good thing too, as Sub Focus was just about to come on. He dominated the cosmicMEADOW stage with his range of style from drum and bass, dubstep, to just craziness. As his set lingered on, the crowd multiplied. No longer were you able to sit in the grass and watch, you must get up and join the insanity! He dropped Last Jungle, Rock It, and a brand new track called Falling Down. I will say this though; does a set this crazy really need an MC? If you’re going to MC, at least come up with some original material. I’ve heard the same thing over and over and was just getting bored with this guy who was ruining the moment.

 

Overall, I was amazed by the stellar production that went into this year’s Electric Daisy Carnival. Insomniac went all out and it certainly brought the vibe up from last year. There was so much room to dance and I felt secure and safe. Stay tuned for Day 2 and 3!

[Rorok 8]

Arriving in Vegas with Jaredhimself Thursday night/Friday morning, was just the opening start to how this weekend would begin. Meeting Zin and Wushuraver off of the strip was amazing. After our 2 hours of crazy shenanigans, involving jareds car, to hiding pit stains while glowsticking. We decided to call it a night.

 

Jared and I tried to check into our hotel early, and they wouldn't let us. We had nothing to do but wait outside. I slept about 4 hours in the car, jared got no sleep at all. Around 9:30, we decided to go somewhere to get out of the heat. Hitting up a local McDonalds for some food, the AC felt great. Leaving there around 10:30am, we decided to head out to gameworks to kill some time. Both of us bought 2 hours of game time to wait for Demo and his friend to come into town. Around 2pm we left gameworks, and headed to the hotel. After going inside, I get a call around 2:30pm from Demo saying he was outside. I immediatly jumped up to go outside and say hello. Demo, Jared, Julli, and I waited in the hotel til we could check in. After 3pm finally hit, we all rushed in the hotel room. We all unpacked our stuff and got ready for EDC: Day 1.

 

After we all got ready, we carpooled out to EDC. Of course the car ride was full of shenanigans. Since it was on Friday, we had to sing the song by Rebecca Black. And another song with a EDC twist, "DRI.VING.TO.E.D.C. DRI.VING.TO.E.D.C. ROROK. IN. THE BACK. SEAT." After about a 30 minute drive, we arrived to park at EDC. I was stoked, for this being not only my first EDC, but my first massive, and west coast trip.

 

Walking to the gates took us about 15 minutes. I had to go to willcall since flavorus didn't send me a ticket in the mail. There wasn't even a willcall line!!! Jared, Demo, and Julli wound up going inside first to meet me inside. I wound up choosing the gate with the most people sadly Everyone was in way before me, the wait was just anticipating! Around 9pm I finally get in, sadly I missed Wippenburgs set. After meeting up with my group at the bassPod stage, we hung out there til about 10.

 

Shortly after, Zin texted me to have everyone meet at the lockers. We met up at the lockers, and ran into Illusion. I was stoked to meet him, I didn't even know he was gonna show up! After we got together, we explored the area. We checked out the different stages, and found where everything was. Us as a group started to ride some of the rides. Standing in line, this unknown, but familiar smell came out of nowhere. Suddenly zin goes, "what smells like mad glowsticks?" We laughed, and then noticed Demos glowstick was leaking. After riding some rides, we all had to stop in the unforgettable DiscoParty stage!! The stage was awesome, loads of room, oldschool tunes, and vendors all around. Leaving there, and riding some rides, we tried to get the rest of the GSCers to meet at the kineticField. Wolfgang gartner was closing, and Dirty South was opening. I was never a fan of Dirty South, but we all stayed for a bit, while Zin tried to find the missing GSCers. Dirth South opened with a nice remix of "Otherside - Red Hot Chili Peppers". About 10 minutes into their set, I was dying to see Cosmic Gate at the circuitGrounds. We all decided to split. Demo, Jared, and Julli, went to the bassPod, as I went on to see Cosmic Gate. Their set was amazing. I was so excited to finally hear some trance on a booming system. About halfway through, they dropped "Above and Beyond - Sun and Moon". As the vocals came, they dropped the noise, and I, as well as the crowd, sung the lyrics. This was an amazing moment, to hear such a positive reaction from the crowd, to the artist. Around 1am, I left Cosmic Gate, to go to Plastikman. I never heard much of Plastikman's music, but Zin said it was worth seeing. I texted Zin, and realising Most of us didn't have great cell service. I just headed to the cosmicMeadow, hoping to see Zin. I wound up getting right up front, and noticed a Kandi Kid next to me. I traded a piece with him, which was a memorable moment. After I kept looking back, I noticed Zin looking for me. I ran to get his attention, and Zin, his friend, and I, went back a little to sit down and watch Plastikman's set. His visuals were insane, and I mean insane. Starting off with some basic stuff that would "look like something you would see in WinAmp", said Zin. To growing into more beautiful screens of art. The visuals would go with the techno being dropped. As much as Zin didn't think I liked it, I loved it, the music wasn't what I expected, but it was mindblowing, with the visuals. Around 12:45, Fireworks started to go off to the right, near the circuitGrounds stage. The fireworks were distracting, but that didn't keep me from missing plastikman's set. Around 1am, I went to find Jared, Demo, and Julli. I wanted to get everyone over to see Sub Focus live, and also to get my Insomniac Water Bottle. After finding Jared, Demo, and Julli, they were all exhausted, I told them I would be at the cosmicMeadow stage for Sub Focus. They followed me as I filled Zins, Zins friend, and my water bottle (I'm such a nice guy). We went back to the stage and met back with Zin. Sub Focus started shortly after we got back around 1:15am. He opened with Rock It. Me and Zin stood up, singing the melody. The only downfall to the set, was the MC. Personally I thought the MC's could of done better, but this one did a lot better then the one at the bassPod stage. After that, he dropped a dubstep track (can't think of the name off the top of my head) then did a special live drum and bass mix. After that timewarp was dropped, and the energy flowing from this was amazing. Shortly after, Demo wanted to go see Dieselboy. I followed him, Jared, and Julli. I'm not a huge fan of dubstep, but Dieselboy did an amazing job. From what I heard, I was digging the set he had. There was a lot of flaws at this stage though. The MC couldn't of been more annoying and boring, kept saying "lemme hear ya say hell yeah", "now let me hear you say fuck yeah", and kept asking about the "mosh crew over here". 2 mosh pits happened during the set. Personally I didn't like the moshing during the set, or any electronic music, so I wasn't a fan of that. After Dieselboy ended, I turned around to noticed I didn't see Jared, and I couldn't find Demo or Julli. The service was bad, my texts weren't going through. I know Demo and Julli, wanted to leave early. So I left as well, hoping to find them. I left getting a bundle of flyers, which was amazing. I finally called Demo, he was halfway to the car, still no sign of Jared. Suddenly I got a text from Jared wondering where we were, I told him were on the way to the car. After the confusion, we all got to the car safely and headed back to the hotel to crash. This being my first EDC, Day 1 was unbelieveably amazing, and I was stoked for day 2.

 

Stay tuned for a review on day 2 and 3.

[Tico 24]

I am absolutely jealous of you guys, one day, one day I will be at EDC and you guys will be visited.

Other then that, Zin, I'm sorry they served you Heineken (mumbles something about it being nasty beer and such)

 

Cheers