So this year is a bit special, 2 EDCs! I indeed went to EDC Mexico as a last minute thing, and it is a pretty good scaled down version of EDC Vegas. It was a lot of fun, but of course it doesn't really compare with the real EDC, honestly I think nothing in the world, does.
In the last years, a lot of people are now camping by EDC, which helps the traffic somewhat:
That said, I've heard the shiftpods in CampEDC, are a joke, and that the heat is unbearable in them despite some AC that can't keep up with the Vegas sun. To be honest, it always felt like a bad idea to me, and I guess RVs are probably the only thing that are somewhat reasonable and indeed save you the daily 1h+ commute in and out. I still went with that using the premium shuttles which kept the travel time to 1H or less, but they are not cheap ($250-ish per person). The regular shuttles are half price, but the lines are much longer...
Great to start with this reminder:
yes to plur and good vibes!
This is what the craziness looks during the day:
but of course that's nothing from the magic at night:
So, let's go back and look around:
The Grounds:
Few people can ever say they saw all of EDC, because even if you try there is a lot, and if you count Passport that few people have access to, all the VIP areas, or the big Skydeck area for Kinetic Fields, with its own grounds and attractions, or the Artist/DJ Village, few people have access to all of it. And even if you do, it's easy to miss some small corner somewhere or even something not that small like No Man's Land by wasteland:
The VIP areas were cool:
this rain/water maze was definitely fun
nice raised area by Kinetic Fields
Passport is also a nice area as always and good vantage point of the craziness:
great views from there
Of course you'll also find random stuff like video games:
Downtown EDC was moved, but the square area in the middle is lots of fun:
kandi casino was awesome again
More nice areas:
And more:
Plenty of vendors. Most were fine, but I wasn't a huge fan of the vaping one looking to hook more people to nicotine, and I don't overly mind the pot vendor(s) since honestly at least that provides some benefits to some and isn't nearly as addictive:
So many rides again, too bad the lines were so long...
yes, you can get help :)
As always, a good way to see EDC, is from higher up, and the ferris wheels are the best way to do it:
Fireworks and Drones
Of course fireworks are one of the best things from EDC, 01:41 every night this year:
Fireworks video here:
The People
I often tell people, especially in Europe, that one of the things I really enjoy about US festivals, is the amount of costumes and other cool outfits. Obviously I do my best to participate to that trned:
TFSF Group picture:
Of course, running into friends is a good part of the fun:
and fun totems, 'this is the way'
I've made some great friends from EDC/Dreamstate shows, some are engineers like me :)
Hi Ulrich! :)
TFSF Crew
Kandi is serious business :)
More TFSF Crew
The Insomniac entertainers were fantastic as always:
check out the costumes!
Pixie again! Much love.
And it was so much fun to be able to meet favorite DJs as always:
Got to see Daxson 4 times in 2 weeks :)
haha, normally I clean my lens better than this :)
Kepik, the new 7 lions!
But anyway, let's get on with the festival:
Day #1
Just like last years, took an uber on the first day to get there early since the shuttles get stuck in commuter traffic on fridays, and went to enjoy the grounds. The shuttles were nice, but I don't understand why the first shuttle got moved to 18:30 instead of 18:00. Taking the 18:00 shuttle allowed to arrive for 19:00 and not miss the first set, leaving at 18:30 guarantees arriving late :-
interesting new church design for Kinetic Fields
Quantum Valley was again fantastic this year
Paul did a nice set this year
seeing GO again just a few days after Rong/Malta
Video Summary:
Day #2
Day #2 was almost mostly spent at Quantum Valley, because trance! :)
Great to see Miyuki rise all the way to EDC, congrats!
seeing sunset is always lovely
Video Summary:
Day #3
Day 3 was time to roam around and go check out everything else. 15 stages total counting the art cars, that's a lot! (actually I think there were more stages if you count passport and others).
Made sure not to miss Seven Lions at Circuit Grounds, epic set!
Then Cosmic Meadows:
And finished the night all the way to sunrise at Quantum Valley:
Stayed mostly until the end, always nice to see sunrise on the way out:
Video Summary:
Should you go? Would I go Back?
At this point, note that this text is mostly the same as last years, since it's still valid :)
EDC Vegas is probably the most impressive EDM Night Festival in the world. Tomorrowland is a rival but it's not a night festival as more challenges I'm not as much a fan of (never mind of course the distance for me or the fact that you mostly can't buy tomorrowland tickets, while you can for EDC).
Like previous times:
Decors are just fantastic, along with so many performers. That's the best part about EDC. Even better now that I know and recognize some of the performers (Hi Pixie)
Like other insomniac festivals, all the staff truly cares and goes all out. Many small details that get sometimes missed elsewhere, are usually flawless. I'll even add that actually they are the most detail oriented, over achieving people I have seen. The amount of small details I absolutely do notice, how every corner of the racetrack is used for decors, the amount of light strings and LEDs, across ridiculous distances, and it just works all night, every night (nothing seems to ever break)!?!? I have no words.
This year again, security was more than reasonable as usual, thank you. Enough police onsite to help keep things safe, I personally like that.
19:00 to 05:30 is 10:30h of partying for 3 days, lots of fun! Actually first day does start at 17:00 (Cosmic Meadows only), and the next 2 days that used to start at 17:00 do not anymore, but I'm sure that for those at Camp EDC, there are plenty of parties there.
So many free carnival rides, lots of fun, but the lines were too long for most, wasn't able to justify spending the time in line to enjoy them.
So many stages also, 15 if you count art cars this year!
Is it worth flying across the world for? Yes, absolutely, there is nothing else like this on earth.
Conclusion/Other thoughts
Thoughts about this year:
Insomniac: please give exact GPS pin locations for the projected shuttle stops. Sometimes they are 1 mile away from the fake address given and it really makes a difference when picking hotels
Insomniac: why were the first shuttles moved to 18:30? Please put them back to 18:00 so that you can take that and not miss the first set.
Insomniac: I'm sure you read the comments on people with a very bad experiences and serious medical issues (heat exhaustion) related in Camp EDC. Given the cost of those, please make sure they have proper shade, burning man style, or it's not going to work and continue to ruin the experiences of people who can't deal with that amount of heat in the day.
Insomniac: Quantum Valley was absoutely gorgeous this year again, way better than all stages from dreamstate queen mary combined. Please bring back upside down U megastructures for dreamstate.
I got used to the 2 day only trance lineup and going around to enjoy everything else on day 3. All in all that's actually a good thing.
Moving Quantum Valley next to Kinetic Fields and the shuttles entrance/exit was sooo convenient for me. I'm of course biased about my own preference there, but loved that :)
EDC continued to add new art installations, removed a few, moved stages around, kept things fresh. I liked that.
I'll repeat that all the insomniac staff and insomniac entertainers were top notch as always. I mean seriously they were jumping and smiling all night each time I saw them. I know it's their job, but kudos to them for having so much positive energy for so long.
The toxic waste depot in the tunnel where pixel forest tunnel used to be, was a very cool new installation
The visuals on all stages were top notch again. Nothing beats EDC there.
Thank you to everyone at the insomniac team, all the performers, all the volunteers who put so much effort into making so many details right all over the place, with the great result that we all got to enjoy..
Just like EDC 2023 only had 2 days of trance this year at Quantum Valley, EDC 2024 on, it was nice to have another Dreamstate Pre-Party at Area15. Area15 was better this year than last year, they worked out some of the kinks from last year, which was good.
This year, we got to get in via the normal area15 entrance, which is prettier and more fun:
cool entrance
This year had a great lineup, and some very interesting B2Bs:
Great to see Daxson again just a few days after just a few days in Malta
Miyuki!
lovely to see thorgodofbass again
good crowd
Rinaly!
:)
Then we had cool B2Bs:
Then the night ended with a unique B2B between Blastoyz and Infected Mushroom, I have most of the set recorded below:
And here is a video summary of the rest of the night:
It was a bit of a last minute trip, and challenging to attend as all tickets (GA, GA+ and VIP, although they had different weird names), had sold out. In the end, although it felt risky, I was able to get some on stubhub, and thankfully they worked.
Just like EDC Vegas, it is also located at a racetrack in the middle of Mexico City, although I would say it is maybe only 50% of the size of EDC Vegas, but all the bits that mattered were there and I was quite impressed by the setup for what I was worried might be a lesser EDC. I was delighted to be wrong.
The one thing that may have been a surprise was the altitude (7350ft or 2240 meters) which will definitely get people out of breath. Thankfully I had just gotten home from a snowboarding trip at higher altitudes, so that was not an issue for me, but I could tell it was for others. The one surprise I didn't know about was a nearby volcano that has been constantly putting some amount of ash in the air, and that was affecting the air quality, making breathing harder, especially for those with allergies. Actually the ash was bad enough that it cancelled the fireworks on the first 2 days, and cancelled most flights a few days later as enough ash in the air will actually damage jet engines.
Back to EDC, arriving the day before helped a bit, and getting there via uber the day of, was not too bad (nearby hotels were booked or too expensive). The one downside was it was a very long walk from the dropoff point. It was so long of a walk that you could pay people on bikes to bike you part of it, but even then it took 15 to 20mn from the street to being at the security gate.
So, let's look at EDC Mexico. How does it compare with EDC Vegas? The venue definitely has room, although the footprint used is smaller than EDC Vegas. Yet, it was still big and all the things from EDC that I've come to enjoy, were there:
The Grounds:
lots of people getting in when we arrived on day 1
outside the venue was filled with unofficial vendors
after a long walk or hired bike ride, you got to the rainbows
nice owl during the day
and nicer at night, even :)
other nice burning man-like art
a much smaller pixel forest, but still nice
Many food vendors, including dicks :) but since they required that "stay in line to get some and lose anything left over every day" wristband money, didn't get anything, and vendors lost out:
Ah, one thing I need to mention is that smoking was prohibited across the entire festival, including vaping. One thing I read said "all nicotine containing products". Obviously nicotine is not great for you, but I personally don't mind if others vape. Not sure if it's over reaching or not, altough I personally didn't mind:
I already mentioned it looked like a smaller EDC Vegas, and it did. Electric Avenue was nice:
road to kinetic fields
definitely a good job decking out the place with lights
oooh, shiny :)
VIP area also had video games. Why not? :)
They had 2 very nice Ferris Wheels, which I always enjoy to get a view from higher up:
Let's have a look at the grounds from higher up:
stereo bloom
yes, it was in the middle of skateboard park, which made getting around awkward when it was full
nice LED art :)
The People
Great to see the insomniac performers, awesome team as always
the performers deserved extra credit for wearing costumes in warm weather and working in thinner air
OMG, and ran into pixies.poly, hard to recognize under that costume :)
Running into good friends, as always :)
and more :)
Also, finally got to meet Thor Wixom, videographer extraordinaire:
woot!
Day #1: Trance Day at Stereobloom. Mexico Love Trance!
Day 1 was mostly spent at Stereo bloom, as it had a great Trance lineup that day. While the stage was literally on top of a skateboard park, it was a bit weird from the attendee side, but the stage itself was stellar and the visuals quite good. They were not dreamstate mainstage or quantum valley good, but very close.
had just seen Rinaly weeks before at Unkonscious, but happy to see her again :)
Day 2, arrived a bit earlier (it also started earlier), but warmer air is more thin, harder to breathe and hot. Unless you're a local, it was definitely harder to party until the sun, until it set. No trance on day 2, so it was a good excuse to walk around and check out all the stages and other music:
kudos for wearing this in the sun :)
first time seeing kinetic field, it looked identical and as pretty as the Vegas one
Bionic Jungle was stellar, and used the beautiful jaguara from Burning Man, which was fantastic:
I have to give props to the visuals guys again, they were awesome
Went to check out VIP for kinetic fields for an OK-ish side view:
such a beautiful stage
Circuit Grounds also looked fairly similar to EDC Vegas:
Day #3: Another trance at stereobloom day, lovely!
Arrived just in time for some psytrance with Lumina
Interactive Noise
a bit of techcno in the middle
so went to check out Circuit Grounds in the blazing sun
Back for John 00 Flemming
John is always having such a great time :)
David Forbes barely made it (late plane), but did make it!
Then Will Atkinson came to bring the energy even higher!
By the time infected Mushroom arrived, the place was packed to hell, in an unsafe way (almost impossible to get in or out)
Maddix
Then back to mainstage just before Armin:
they did have lasers, but they weren't used enough in my opinion
finally, fireworks were allowed!
And that was it, end of day 3. Managed to get out in a dense crowd and catch an uber back.
Video Summary:
Security
First, I need to state that while some parts of Mexico need to be avoided carefully, the mexican government allocates security to keep big cities and tourist areas safe, so basically going to Mexico City (also called CDMX), is perfectly safe.
Security was impressive. They were *very* thorough, as apparently locals like to cheat, have fake wristbands and jump fences ;) and yet they did a fantastic job having the most thorough perimeter security I've seen, including double checks of tickets and thorough checks of wristbands before entering VIP areas.
More importantly I really appreciated that they focussed security on what mattered, while not being dicks at the entrance and during searches, unlike some other festivals I won't name, like one at a beach in holland :) I'm told that locals can be a hard to handle bunch, and they honestly did a great job without any unnecessary show of force, which I've seen in other places. This takes special training and restraint, and I was positively impressed.
The search getting in was thorough without being over-reaching, and yet efficient:
Should you go? Would I go Back?
After the flight to mexico city, it was easy to get to the festival or to/from hotels
Overall mexico city is way cheaper than vegas
Ah, but they had that bullshit wristband money that was required inside the venue. That is the one thing I was quite unhappy about as always. Not only forcing its use for people who already have contactless credit cards, is not ok, but worse, 3 day wristbands were 3 single day wristbands, and you lost the money you had on the previous day's wristband if you didn't use it. Absolutely unacceptable, but more generally while cashless is ok, forcing wristband money is not ok. I bought absolutely nothing in protest of this BS. I'm not standing in a long line to put money in a wristband to stand in another line to get what I wanted just to do it again forever unless I put a lot of money that I won't get back if I don't use all of it.
Festival was from 14:00 to 02:00 due to neighbors. I don't mind festivals starting in the afternoon, but the sun before sunset was punishing. It was quite warm and we went hiding in the shade until sunset.
that said 14:00 to 02:00 is 10:00h of partying for 3 days, so that's plenty, even the first hours under the sun, were be rough
I have no idea how they got away with going until 02:00 when people literally lived behind the stage blasting bass :)
Altitude and air pollution was no joke for many. Not a reason not to go, but keep it in mind
Like other insomniac festivals, all the staff truly cares and goes all out. MAny small details that get sometimes missed elsewhere, are usually flawless
Not as many carnival rides as EDC Vegas due to lack of space, but still a few and 2 nice ferris wheels
Smoking prohibited throughout the festival, was pretty cool, even if not 100% enforced.
Can't go to Vegas or afford EDC Vegas? If so, EDC Mexico is a very fine choice, you will not be disappointed.
Looking for a different vibe/atmosphere? Mexicans know how to party. The atmosphere was fantastic!
Conclusion
AMy first EDC Mexico, although it was sold out, it didn't feel too crowded. I think the capacity limit was probably related to the ability to evacuate, and except for stereobloom that was kind of a death trap with a big choke point if it was full, the rest of the venue worked out great.
Thoughts about the Mexico location:
it was easy to get to (10mn away from airport and enough hotels within 20mn drive)
Driving yourself may have been a mess, not sure how parking worked out, but while I was worried about not getting ubers on the way out, after walking 10mn away from the venue, was able to get an uber all 3 nights. Traffic was a bit gridlocked, so walking away from it also helped.
Kinetic field looks just like the Vegas one, honestly the whole thing looked like a smaller version of the Vegas festival while still feeling very well done, including lots of decors.
2 days out of 3 with lots of trance at Stereo Bloom (the local quantum valley). 3 day was used to go see everything else. It worked great.
Again, I'll repeat that lots of teams did a great job for this pretty flawless end result. Well done! But please stop the required wristband money bullshit, that part is not ok. Wristband money should only be for people who don't have contactless credit cards/pay by phone. It is not faster, it is definitely not secure, and keeping leftover money at the end of each day, is absolutely unacceptable!
It's hard to get numbers, I'm not sure if it was as many people as last year, or even more, but the shuttles sold out in pre-sale and the event looked quite packed.
Glad to be back, as always:
30 years!
The Grounds:
Great to have a look around to see all the art installations:
Random things:
if you party way too hard, you can actually get an IV :)
Loved pixel forest again:
loved the pixel forest tunnel again, so good
Lots of run rides:
The rave hangar was also fun althought it filled fast, and there were other dancing rooms:
VIP even had a sky dome that was pretty sweet:
For downtown EDC, the most fun place was by far the Kandi Casino:
plus several other small dance floors and attractions:
and you could get EDC married or real married:
And the artist village was also beautiful:
Skydeck was also super nice:
not cheap, though :)
As always, a good way to see EDC, is from higher up, and the ferris wheels are the best way to do it:
Great to see the LED Acrobats again, great show as always:
Fireworks
No drones this year, oh well. The fireworks were still super pretty:
Fireworks of all last 3 days:
The People
As always EDC has been great because of the people who attend and the many friends I made over the years:
TFSF + TFLA meetup
The Insomniac entertainers were fantastic as always:
Still happy to see other people bringing LEDs :)
who are you guys? didn't get your info
And it was so much fun to be able to meet favorite DJs as always:
fantastic to see my friend Chris perform at EDC
But anyway, let's get on with the festival:
Day #1
Took an uber on the first day to get there early since the shuttles get stuck in commuter traffic on fridays, and went to enjoy the grounds. The first day was the only time opening at 17:00 this year (why?) and given the shuttle mess this year (midstrip shuttles cancelled due to road closures and other roadwork), taking an uber was easier. As part of that, got a tour of the camping grounds for those staying there.
and finally arrived to see the welcome sights:
everyone was coralled in Cosmic Maedows until 19:00
rest was empty
I spent most of the day at Quantum Valley for trance:
above and beyond unfortunately conflicted with Blastoyz :(
back to QV for Blastoyz
Video Summary:
Day #2
Day #2 was more trance at Quantum Valley, finishing with our friend Triode:
dope visuals
Video Summary:
Day #3
Day #3 was the wildcard day, no trance at QV anymore, so that was an excuse to go around and check out the grounds and other stages:
Armin played a good set
While it was a bit disappointing not ot have trance at QV on day #3, the blow was softened by the Dreamstate pre-party at Area15 before EDC.
After Armin, there was some time left to enjoy the grounds, and catch a shuttle that wasn't too late, so as to arrive at the airport in time for the return flight.
jag
Video Summary:
Should you go? Would I go Back?
EDC Vegas is probably the most impressive EDM Night Festival in the world. Tomorrowland is a rival but it's not a night festival as much.
Decors are just fantastic, along with so many performers. That's the best part about EDC
Like other insomniac festivals, all the staff truly cares and goes all out. Many small details that get sometimes missed elsewhere, are usually flawless
Security is more than reasonable as usual, thank you
19:00 to 05:30 is 10:30h of partying for 3 days, lots of fun!
So many free carnival rides, lots of fun.
So many stages also, more than 10 if you could the art cars.
Is it worth flying across the world for? Yes, absolutely. Do it!
Conclusion
Another year. This one was quite busy, maybe the most people at EDC ever? Some complained of over crowding, and it's unfortunate that the shuttles sold out so quickly.
Thoughts about this year:
People complained it was a bit cheaper than usual, a few things missing (minor in my opinion), no drone show, people complained about the lineup being weaker (the trance lineup sure was and was only 2 days)
Some new installations like the Kandi Casino were absolutely awesome
All the insomniac staff and entertainers were top notch as always
Kinetic field was beautiful again, the face with eyes and hands moving was really well done
The original pixel forest tunnel from 2019 was back, it was my favorite
The added multiple signs with directions, which was good for people who get lost
People complained about bigger crowds and less Plur, that might be true, but at the same time it's hard to avoid and happens with everything. Burning Man has the same problem.
The visuals on all stages were top notch again. Nothing beats EDC there.
Thank you to everyone at the insomniac team who put so much effort into making so many details right all over the place, with the great result that we all got to enjoy..
Given that EDC 2023 only had 2 days of trance this year at Quantum Valley, it was nice to have a little Dreamstate Pre-Party at Area15. Area15 itself however had good enough sound and visuals, but their staff was not stellar at the timed (they got better later for future events).
It was of course great to see our favorite friends and DJs:
Despite the challenges, nice evening and warmup for [EDC 2023|/perso/clubbing/post_2023-05-19_Another-Big-EDC.html
Video summary:
Just before going to EDC, I found out about Transfix, which displays a good amount of Burning Man art pieces. It was a bit tight to fit a visit during EDC week, but was able to go on Thursday just before going to Dreamstate at Area15. I came well dressed for the event :)
It was a quick visit, but it was enjoyable. Glad I was able to see it.
So great to be back with everyone after the unusual and lower attendance EDC last year:
Home, Sweet Home
TFSF + TFLA meetup
Getting there and back was harder than all previous years, due to the record 166K attendees. I went for the shuttle again, which was a known
fun to go through the Air Force base each time
The Grounds:
For those who didn't know, EDC technically starts at 17:00, but that's only for a single stage, cosmic maedows, and the rest does not open until 19:00. What was funny was watching the opening of the rest on day #3, and the mad rush of people trying to get to the merch store to avoid the 2H+ lines (some say 4H?)
it was somehow important to be there :)
Downtown EDC is always fun:
As always, a good way to see EDC, is from higher up, and the ferris wheels are the best way to do it:
lovely Quantum Valley where I spent most of my time
As always, one of the most impressive parts of EDC Vegas is the amount of effort put into all the stages and decors:
nice to have various burning man art
The neon light tunnel to carnival square was also nice:
One addition to my outfit was a camera, that allowed me to rebroadcast what's in front of me:
so, who didn't know there were cell phone chargers at carnival square (and didn't bring their own), now do
Pixel Forest is still a fantastic place to enjoy, especially the dual pixel forest tunnel:
And the view from above:
Fireworks and Drones
EDC now has a drone show, but it's hard to see when you are at Quantum Valley, on the other side and looking in the wrong direction, especially given that it's silent. Still, I was able to see this on the first (windy) day:
Fireworks were cancelled due to wind on the first day, but did happen on day 2 and 3. At least those I knew were at 01:30, and was ready to watch and record on day #2 and #3:
Fireworks of the last 2 days:
The People
As always EDC has been great because of the people who attend and the many friends I made over the years:
Still happy to see other people bringing LEDs :)
And dancers of course:
And it was so much fun to be able to meet favorite DJs as always:
Of course, I couldn't resist meeting a few more DJs :)
But anyway, let's get on with the festival:
Day #1
Got a ride with Michael (thanks) and arrived smack for the opening of the rest of the grounds at 19:00 (after about 1h45 from leaving the hotel). It was nice to be there from the start as shuttles tend to arrive 45mn late on fridays due to traffic:
Day #1 was very windy (and therefore cold due to wind chill), this also caused Kinetic Field to close due to high winds and cancelled most of Seven Lion's set, but most everything else went on.
Great night with friends as always:
Nice to be able to see sunrise again and end with Xijaro and Pitch:
Video Summary:
Day #2
By day #2, it was possible to take the 18:00 shuttle and get there by 19:00 and see Khromata's set:
yeah for lasers!
Astrix was supposed to play but got covid, so Blastoyz was a great replacement, lovely set as always
like most DJs, Blastoyz is a great person
so glad I was able to get Afik to Blastoyz who happened to be walking the side of quantum valley
and somehow Craig Connelly got the 04:30-05:30 slot. A bit late, but he did another lovely set
fairly long lines at 05:45 to get back. Hopefully people didn't wait too long
Video Summary:
Day #3
Hello lovely, I hope you had an awesome night!
Kinetic Field before it got busy as hell
after a quick tour of the grounds, back to Quantum Valley
Hanna's set was surprisingly good even if I couldn't tell whether she was actually singing
it was fun to see rez, even if techno isn't really my thing
and it was cool to meet the creator arcane creations and the rez inspired neopixel glasses I wear
After that, it was time to find a good spot to watch Illenium and Armin at the now packed Kinetic Field:
cool to see the flower
turn into the insomniac owl
Finally it was time for Armin, it was more club/festival music than trance, just like ASOT 1000, but still enjoyable:
I tried to replicate the Armin's sign
Then, there was one hour left before the end of the night and festival, and time to get a shuttle back to town to catch the morning southwest flight out, so we went to Neon Garden for a bit of techno to end the night.
finished the night with some of my friends
Video Summary:
Conclusion
While last year's EDC was lower attendance than normal and tickets were being re-sold at a loss, this one sold out and tickets were being re-sold for profit. The event was packed and went really well outside of the typical horror stories of getting that many people in and out of the festival.
Thank you to everyone at the insomniac team who put so much effort into making so many details right all over the place, with the great result that we all got to enjoy..
Waiting a year for EDC is a long wait, but it got moved in May 2020, and moved again in October 2020, and again in May 2021, that was starting to be torture, and it finally happened on Oct 2021, not a moment too soon!
woohoo!
so glad to be back
The Grounds:
Even though the event was not sold out, and used tickets were going for very low prices, insomniac did not cheapen out on the event. Plenty of DJS were not able to come due to covid travel restrictions, but the grounds were just as impressive as usual:
On day #3, I went early (before sunset), I was able to talk myself into the big ferris wheel and got a special ride to the top when it wasn't opened yet. Got some great shots of course:
Too bad most people missed sunset due to the opening times:
the calm before the storm
I later got a ride on the 2nd ferris wheel as soon as it opened at 19:00:
this one
a few things moved, a bit more ground was used
this was a cute addition
favorite burning man art as always
firmament
always a crowd favorite too
nice parking job
sure, I went for a few rides, even more fun when you're not sober :)
Downtown EDC was well setup:
Lots of stores too:
great to see Pixel Forest again
unfortunately the pixel forest tunnel didn't have the fantastic music/visuals combo it had in 2019
Fireworks
There are fireworks, and there are EDC fireworks. After EDC fireworks, it's harder to see other fireworks, for sure, especially with the drone show that was added this year:
Fireworks of all 3 days:
The People
Festival goers in Europe probably think I'm some weirdo that came from space (especially those idiots that run creamfields and actually prevent you from getting in with anything cool, because I guess it's better to keep it boring). This is really one of the things Insomniac has done so well, fostered this culture of cool totems and costumes:
kandi meetup
And great to see more LED totems, even if I'm still the only wearable LED outfit:
this totem was nice as it allowed taking pictures, videos, and replaying them
this was pre-made but really cool
And of course, got to meet an ever growing list of friends:
normally we have more folks. We will next time!
so great to meet trancejesus in person
Triode and Kifi
Mark Estes who wrote some of the animations (like this one) on my outfit
But let's not forget my friend Afik I first met at EDC, and turns out we live close enough to one another. We became good friends, along with all of Afik's friends, a dedicated group in TFSF and TFLA:
are there more beauiful people?
also met Rory first on the internet, helped him with some code now running his furret totem
And there are so many performers that get ready for us:
I feel so thankful that we were stll able to have some of my favorite DJs:
Fadi totally slayed, and he's such a nice guy. 'You again' indeed, 3rd time we met in a week :)
Lots more people of course:
damn, respect!
And yes, people waited a long time!
And of course, the party within the party:
But anyway, let's get on with the festival:
Day #1
I was lucky to have a nice view on the shuttle locations from my room, shuttle locations that Insomniac is still not giving precise GPS waypoints for, making many people walk quite a bit trying to find them:
lots of busses waiting at mid strip to take happy ravers
no line when I got there around 17:45, but the busses weren't going yet
Unfortunately, despite all the busses and staff being there, the first bus didn't leave until 18:00, which was too late with traffic, so we only arrived at EDC past 19:30, and I barely got to Khromata's set around 18:45, having missed 45mn of it. I hope that insomniac fixes this for real and allows busses to leave earlier (at least 17:30) on fridays, since there is bad traffic each time.
Happy to see Khromata, even if it was only for the last bit of her set:
Quantum Valley looked nice, but the atom bar in the middle blocked the screen for many pictures
So good to be back:
I spent most of my time at Quantum Valley, trance head that I am, but tried to see a few others too:
Ciaran Mcauley
So great to see Haliene live again
This was my beef about the atom look of QV, it messed up the screen and pictures:
Paul van Dyk
Paul Oakenfold was next, he was a complete mess, totally coked up, a disaster with the microphone when his buddy didn't take said microphone to make things worse. He even totally messed up a mix, reset a track from the start and played it twice, because 0 fucks given. So sad, he's such a pioneer and truly one of my idols. This is why you shouldn't do drugs, kids, or pick them carefully :)
so happy to be here :)
yes, I see you :)
but really, I'm bored out of my mind
I spent some time to check out Kinetic Field with special access just in time for seven lions:
I used my prototype code that lets me send custom messages from my phone
I then stepped back a bit for a better overview
it was then time to come back for some good psytrance from reality test:
she was nice to see her fans after her set was over at 05:30
Video Summary:
Day #2
Back for day #2, by then the friday traffic was gone, so the 18:00 shuttle got there just before 19:00, opening time from the shuttle side.
A few stages:
Great to see Alessandra Roncone again
After randomly discovering Say My Name at the last EDC, I went to see him again:
Seeing Vini vici for the 3rd time in 2 weeks :)
I was excited to see Pendulum Trinity again after seeing them at Creamfields, good show.
Video Summary:
Day #3
For Day #3, I wanted to see Z-Trip who was playing before 19:00, so I had to take an uber (shuttles start too late), and got there at 17:30 from the other side:
Z-Trip did slay, so happy to have seen him in person. It's a shame that he played so early, which caused so many people to miss his set:
Z-Trip did slay, so happy to have seen him in person:
I also took the time before the main festival opened to see the calm before the storm:
And then the gates opened and everything else started:
And back to the trance stage for a lot of great sets:
Went to see Eric Prydz with my friends. Interesting visuals but too techno-ish for me:
So back to the trance stage to catch the rest of cosmic gate:
Holy shit did Aly and Fila's Fadi slay. It was funny, it was my 3rd time seeing him in 7 days, but loved it
Also had a bit of fun, took pictures, saw people:
nice view from the passport grounds
And I finished the last night with a B2B between Saymyname and 12th planet:
Video Summary:
It was literally my first time staying until the end of EDC (my flight at 08:15 was just late enough that I could stay until 05:30, catch a shuttle back to my room, arrive at the hotel just before 07:00 and take an uber to the airport to catch my flight out:
The ending ceremony was underwhelming, not a big deal that I missed it in the past:
Can't believe it's been 5 years since my first EDC already, time flies.
Having learned from previous years (both EDC with the bus system, and me), I left vegas earlier (17:30 to 17:45 all 3 days), which meant not bus line, and that was great.
The shortcut through the air force base was not always faster depending on traffic to get there, but was a mostly reliable 1-1.5H trip:
empty bus line yipee!
nice awacs planes
Welcome to EDC, 3 more days of fun:
Basspod
Quantum Valley, much much nicer this year with pixel forest in the foreground
Daisy Lane
Rainbow Road to Kinetic Field
the calm before the storm
One fun thing at EDC are the people and costumes:
fantastic paint job, well done
The dancers were nice and took pictures with us:
LED/Neopixel/RGBPanel work:
low res version of my previous shirt better coverage. Nice job
I obviously didn't resist the urge to take pictures with others:
Including friends and people I know from other events:
Afik and his new sign
in his natural habitat
Hi Nathalie
and then, there is this guy, it was his first EDC and he did more than great :)
not causing trouble :)
Random burning man-like displays and projects, as well as art:
Art cars:
burning man's mayan warrior
it's a beautiful art car, just not my kind of music
VIP Areas (there were many kinds):
Then, there was Pixel Forest, really really cool job, especially the music/neopixel tunnel:
Another great display were the Tesla Coil Dancers (Lords of Lightening?):
Lots of rides:
Misc:
Every day had a parade:
And yes, EDC was about music of course, let's start with Day #1:
Quantum Valley (trance) was much improved
Niko Zographos helped open the new stage with a great set
Ali and Fila
above and beyond was next at circuit grounds
only at EDC
Gareth Emery was next, for an interesting set that travelled all over
And there isn't an EDC without fireworks, right after Above and Beyond's set:
Also, a lot of tech to make this all work:
Here is a summary of Day #1:
And brings up to Day #2
after Craig, I went to check out the competition a bit
cosmic maedows
basspod
then back to Quantum Valley for Bryan Kearney
then Paul Oakenfold took over
Nice suit :)
Ferry Corsten was next
Paul van Dyk sadly only got to play a little bit before the stage was shut down for wind
Sadly, there was a lot of wind on day 2 and day3. It caused a shutdown of some stages on the 2nd day:
Here is a summary of Day #2:
Then, the last day, the hardest one on your energy bank :)
Ruben was nice enough to take a picture with me
I then tried to check out other stages again, got to see a good portion of Say My Name, which was an interesting mix of genres:
Then, it was time for Armin's set at Kinetic Field:
Armin was also nice enough to take a few pictures
After Armin, back to Quantum Valley for Cosmic Gate:
Marlo:
And Mark Sixma:
Here is a summary of Day #3:
And it was time to get out and catch a shuttle to make my flight (which ended up being cancelled, thank you Southwest):
eventually, all good things come to an end
time to get home and race back to the airport for my flight that I found out got cancelled when my phone started getting signal again
I can't believe it was already my 4th EDC. Time flies... Thankfully Insomniac moved it one month earlier this year, so it wasn't as damn hot as last year where some people actually died of dehydration, some apparently waiting in lines that were way too long in the hot sun :( I remember one night where it was 95F/35C all night and some stupid high temperature during the day.
This year, I got to beta test my new and improved Neopixel shirt, which is now a dual NeoMatrix shirt. Sadly, one of the 2 panels shorted by day #2 (build issue which I was only able to fix after getting home), so I was running in degraded mode with only the front panel for the last 2 days. Still, people loved the shirt :)
like pokemon, you gotta collect them all :)
met some fellow Trance Family SF on day #3
If you'd like see the different animations from the shirt, you can find them here:
I was able to try a very cool VR drumming game. It was very well done:
Now, I was not the only person to be shiny, which is one of the reasons I love EDC and Burning Man:
While I didn't find anyone who was able to put that many neopixels in their shirt (to be fair mine require non trivial amounts of power for something wearable). A few people had cool displays on poles with a big lead acid battery:
this one the only neopixel based one I found
an interesting hat
cool head gear
multiple pole based ones
the 2nd fanciest ones I found were these, but based on a thick panel that requires constant refresh (also too thick to wear)
the pitch is much better though, allowing for better writing than I can do on mine
sadly the refresh rate is too poor for pictures
pretty nonetheless
the fanciest pole was this one, with remotely addressable neomatrix text scrolling display
Good job Afik
word!
Other signs and people:
not the first time I saw this one, but still hilarious
Now, you don't have to be an engineer to be shiny (although it does help :) ). Plenty of stuff you can buy (just not my shirt, sorry ;) ):
just go to the aptly named 'shiny things' store
and if you're into drum and bass, they have you covered too ;)
Anyway, let's look at EDC as a whole this year. Maybe I got lucky with my shuttle stop didn't have a wait that wasn't as terrible as last year. The ride was still closer to 90mn, later in the evening, which sucked somewhat (still about 2h30 from hotel to festival)
hilarious. Yes, we were ready... for the great event :)
The VIP area had a swimming pool (no good with my electronics), a ball pool, and video games:
oh yeah, even a maze
Some decors were straight out of burning man:
first saw this at burning man years ago, super fun, especially if you're on something
you could use diffraction glasses if you were sober
Let's not forget art cars, all of which I've seen at burning man:
They had even more fair attractions this year:
Let's not forget about bad ass fireworks every day:
Fireworks Day1:
Fireworks Day2:
Fireworks Day3:
Now, the music sets I saw on Day #1:
Drum and Bass was fun to listen to for a while,
they had awesome visuals
I'm a big pendulum fan
stargate visuals, well done
Of course, Trance, trance, and more trance :)
fancy control console
ok, using the 'help' output of the DOS box on windows, was a bit lazy :)
Day #1 Summary:
Now, we can move to Day #2:
Circuit Grounds had Hardwell and Armin Van Buuren that night:
Drum and Bass DJs definitely like to stand on their DJ table :)
Cosmic Gate
ATB
Let's finish with a sunrise:
Day #3 Summary:
I won't go into how hard it is to timeshift 12H overnight (I got up at 06:00 the previous day to go to a racetrack and went to bed at 07:00 the next night. That was tough.
Insomniac did a great job with the lineups, definitely more trance now compared to the first year I went. I was not a huge fan of the way quantum valley looked, it sure was hard to get good pictures through all those metal stands. I'm also under the impression that at least on the first day, they cranked the bass way up, maybe in a misguided attempt to compete with drum and bass across, to the point that you couldn't really hear much of the music anymore. Thankfully it was a lot better by day #3.
The shuttles worked a bit better this year, although the premium shuttles were kind of a joke. You were supposed to tell them months early what time you were going to go and come home, and have that be the same every day, not that you had lineups with times anyway. I ended up taking the standard shuttle most days, which sadly got moved farther away from my hotel I had already booked. I don't understand why they simply don't have VIP lines for the standard shuttles and be done with it. Having 2 different shuttle systems with different locations and less flexibility on the premium ones, makes no sense at all.
Thanks to Insomniac for the event and lineups. Also, thumbs up to anyone who came with costumes and tasteful totem poles (sadly, there are some really crappy ones too, which sometimes end up being right in the front stage, ruining all the pictures I was trying to take).
