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 kind of sucked, they didn't even have basic first aid, and they were assholes when asked for help about a lost item. Not a great venue on that front.
Still, despite those issues, it was still 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).
Another year, another EDC. Weather in Vegas was stupid hot (peaks of 115F/46C). I got another chance to try my new Neopixel shirt/pants combo, although getting all the electronics through security in airports, isn't ideal...
Before the first day started, some locations had small markets where you could buy all the rave gear you could need, for those who didn't come prepared :)
and you could spend hours making your bracelets. I shouldn't make fun because I spent even more hours on my LED shirt :)
More rave gear on site if you needed it:
Getting to the festival grounds has become an increasing problem, moving almost 150,000 people to and from the racetrack in a 3H window, or so, has become a real challenge, despite huge amount of busses (the busses themselves had 3H-ish lines in some places).
those folks made full use of carpooling :)
Most people, including me, took shuttles, which took a reasonable enough 1H to get there and back, but they had stupid lines that could take up to 3H. The picture below is the best possible case scenario I saw one day I got lucky. Some people got close to passing out in the heat, and apparently one person died in line on the way back due to a medical issue that was not addressed timely enough :(
While Insomniac had plenty of busses, the loading was not streamlined enough and included a lot of unnecessary waits, making some lines ridiculously long. One day, I took another line to another hotel just so that I could get back to Vegas and then took a short cab back to my hotel:
Anyway, once arrived at the racetrack, things were good. Pictures of the grounds:
it looks less impresive during the day
sunrise coming
You could even get weddings:
Many carnival rides, but the lines were long at most of them0
And the ball pit was a fun place to relax :)
Pictures of people and signs:
bad ass tatoo
Other people were lit up, like me:
I remember this guy from last year, awesome costume and makeup
expensive triple row LED shoes
Fun signs:
damn straight!
haha!
This year definitely had a nice collection of art cars from burning man:
dancetronauts
nicely gave me a tour
Of course, EDC was about lots of great DJs, and lots of great DJs it was:
Armin
Awesome fireworks:
Day #2:
Ruben de Ronde played an awesome set
Tiesto was back, not playing Trance :)
Another solid set from Above and Beyond
Awesome fireworks again:
Day #3 was sadly shorter for me, great lineup, but not enough sleep and I was too tired to enjoy the end:
PvD
After PvD, I lamed out, went back to the airport and flew back home to get some much needed sleep. I still had a great time despite this.
What insomniac needs to fix for next year:
no VIP lines at many shuttle stops, so basically VIP didn't get you in and out any quicker in many places :(
streamline the bus loading/unloading to improve throughput
Lines like the Village loading in front of Luxor, were 2-3H in the sun. That's totally not ok.
What they did great:
the Trance lineup was solid, even if the stage, Quantum Valley, was a lesser one
the searches were not over the top (I didn't have to empty every single last pocket of everything)
So yeah, I got a late start with EDC, didn't know about it until last year when I first went, but after finding out what I had been missing out on, I went to fix the errors of my ways :)
while it's only an 80mn flight from San Jose, CA (and an expensive one at this, $450 due to the other 400,000 people also going for that time), it's a bit tough to have virtually a 8-10H jetlag for just 3 days (EDC going from 18:00 to 05:30 and you ideally sleeping from 08:00 to 14-16:00). Without prescription drugs (or otherwise) and caffeine to help with sleep and awakeness, it must be hard :) But before you ask, daytime weather in Vegas was unbearably hot (45C / 112F), so doing this during the day would not work.
Also, people ask me what camera I use. First, that is a correct question :) Cell phones are very poor night cameras due to the insufficient room they have for a good size sensor. I actually carry 2 handheld cameras that I keep on my belt:
Sony HX60V: this one has a small sensor which is not ideal for night pictures, but it comes with a 30X optical zoom and half usable 85 semi digital zoom. This is a must for taking pictures of the DJ booth when I'm so far that I can't even see the DJ with my naked eyes.
Sony RX100M3: this one only has a 3X optical zoom, but it has a very good 1" sensor for capturing night shots and true color fireworks shots
Before you ask, you cannot get a camera that has a big zoom and great night shots without having a huge camera, and usually carrying 2 lenses. By then it's easier to just use 2 smaller cameras :)
At times, I'd also be filming with the RX100 with one hand (I have about 3.5H of video from this EDC) and taking zoomed shots of the DJ booth with the other hand.
This gave me a good chance to try my LED shoes I had hacked to add extra battery life (12H) along with lit shoe laces, and my portable blinky lights for my shirt:
It was a good time to try my shoes I had hacked to have 12H battery life :)
As for how big EDC is, saying it's big doesn't quite explain it, and neither does the map, but maybe this night shot from a heli, will:
map of the grounds, might look small on the map, but it's big :)
Getting 400,000 people there and back is no small feat. I took uber the first night because I only arrived around 03:30 (having gone to Omnia to see Armin just before that), and even then the traffic was not clear. The shuttles work ok, except for the loading that is super inefficient in both directions. I really hope Insomniac gets to fix that because it adds substantial unnecessary delays. The wristbands were by color with RFID to verify single use and spot fakes:
many wristbands, spot the fakes :)
Before starting on the report of the 3 days, I'll start with a few misc pictures of signs and people:
I ran into Dito Milian, who usually takes my picture at Thunderhill :)
system failure!
my hoola hoop wielding trance loving fan I run into at all events I go to, was here again :)
The first day, the Trance lineup was light (as in nothing before 03:30, just two hours before end of the evening), and I was interested in seeing Omnia where Armin was playing anyway, so I went to see Armin 1h30 (sadly not his whole set), from 01:00 to 02:30, and took an uber to EDC, getting me at Stage 7 just after 03:30. By then, I was able to see John O'Callaghan, Jordan Suckley, and W&W
I stayed until 05:30 when John O Callaghan finished after sunset
back to the inefficient shuttle line to get to bed by 08:00
Quick video summary of Day #1:
Day #2, I arrived earlier (22:30-ish) to enjoy the sights and different stages before Above and Beyond and Armin at 01:30 and 03:00 (both of whom played an excellent set at Cirtcuit Grounds), to be followed by Dash Berlin from 04:19 to 05:30 at Kinetic Fields. There were lots of carnival rides, even a water ride!
the ball swimming pool was always fun :)
help, I'm drowning! :)
EDC also has great fireworks. Check out the 5mn clip of fireworks the 3rd day (they start getting crazy around 02:40):
Some other random pictures of the grounds:
And then it was time for Above and Beyond at Circuit Grounds where they played an awesome set again:
taken with an 85x zoom, sorry that it's a big blocky
Armin was next, he played somewhat harder trance, starting with repeating his opening track from Omnia: "I am the dominator, there is no other". Very subtle indeed :)
After Armin, I went back to Kinetic Fields for Dash Berlin for a sunrise set:
90m of Day #2 highlights I filmed:
Then it was time to get back to my hotel room and catch some sleep before the 3rd day (yeah for a 12H jetlag by just going to Vegas). I arrived a bit earlier on the 3rd day since Paul Oakenfold started at 22:30. Before that, went to check out the grounds a bit more:
Bass Pod caught fire, doh!
Then was time for Paul, who played an OK set, but I've heard better from him, then came Paul van Dyk, Ferry Corsten, Markus Schultz, Gaia (to be fair I preferred GAIA's set last year), Gareth Mery and Aly & Fila. An awesome lineup:
85X zoom again, sorry
I took a detour to see Pendulum at Bass Pod. Not the same genre, but I'm also a fan since their essential mix in 2005.
And back for a bit of Aly and Fila before I had to duck out early to catch a shuttle back to Vegas to get a cab back to the airport for a 07:25 flight home. Was in bed by 09:30 for some much needed sleep :) (although I was a bit sad to have missed the last 45mn).
this shot almost looks like burning man :)
90mn highlights video of day #3 I filmed:
Needless to say I had an awesome time, more than last year even (likely due to a more complete trance lineup). This is likely the biggest electronic music festival in the world, and it's pretty spectacular!
After a recommendation from some coworkers, I booked a trip to EDC this year, to see how a big party there, would be. And sure enough, while beyond wonderland in the Bay Area is actually quite good, EDC is just bigger and better.
About EDC:
it mostly runs from sunset to sunrise, which still gives quite warm weather at night (but during the day, it would have been unbearable and dangerous).
it's big. Las Vegas Speedway is not small, it takes a while to walk the miles that cars drive around it
there is a bit of a burning man night scene feel with all the different kinds of music, lights, and happy people dancing (except of course for the money)
Speaking of burning man, there were some familiar art cars and a few structures that I had first seen there.
8 Sound stages with different genres of music. Unfortunately 0 trance the first night, to the point that I almost considered not going the first day, but the next 2 days definitely made up for it.
It was well built and organized, including the bus service (which was another $100) and gave a reliable way in and out in 1h (normally it's 25mn without traffic, but with traffic it could have been 2h+).
Anyway, here's day 1. I mostly walked around to see the different sound stages and other displays/attractions:
Day 2, I was more excited about. lots of trance on the menu, starting with Above and Beyond:
then Armin came
I was stretching my zoom. 30X optical plus another 2X digital
and this was the end of day #2
Here is a video of bits of day2 with some bookmarks:
Faithless, can't sleep, Above and Beyond @0:35
blue sky action, king for a day @6:20
Armin @13:45
Game of Thrones @17:55
Great fireworks @22:30
Day 3 has the biggest Trance lineup, so made sure to get there early. Unfortunately they had to open late due to winds:
no one getting in
I can thank my 30X zoom again
it had been ages since I sasw ATB. Awesome!
Orjan Nilsen
Ferry Corsten. Also had been ages since I last saw him
I happened to catch a Dr Megavolt lookalike somewhere outside:
Andrew Rayel
Next was Gaia, which I hadn't seen perform before. It was quite hard to make out Armin under the cape :) Very nice set by the way:
Aly and Fila
And just like this, the night was nearing its end, and I had to bail a bit early to make it back to the airport to catch my early flight back home.
Here is a video of bits of day3 with some bookmarks:
ATB: 9 PM till I come @08:30
Orjan Nilsen: Just Be @14:00
Awesome Fireworks @26:30
Gaia @37:28
And that was it for EDC. It was a bit tough to timeshift 12H and be up all night for just 3 days, but otherwise it was an awesome show and impressive transformation of Las Vegas Speedway, along with top DJs from around the world.
