Marc's Public Blog - Clubbing and Trance


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Ok, so I like electronic dance music, more specifically Trance. When I started in the 1990's, the US was a bit behind in that department.
Still, with San Francisco and San Jose nearby, I've had some opportunities to see some great EDM/Trance DJs. Back in the early 2000's, they sadly played club music in the US that was nowhere close to the hits they had composed and were known for, but over the years, as Trance started becoming more popular, those DJs finally started playing their good tunes in the US too, and maybe from 2004 on, it's only been getting better.
Popsicle Halloween 2004 was really the beginning of great music parties in the San Francisco Area, and thankfully things have gotten even better since then

As a matter of fact, after another 10 years (2015 and beyond) the good news is that Trance has grown quite a following in the US, and places like the SF Bay Area, and while Trance has been declared dead a few times in the last 10 years, it's still going strong here.
Trance Family SF is definitely strong in the area, we've been getting more big trance parties every year, including many top DJs that come visit us what feels like every other week now (as of 2018-2019), and through those events, I made many friends in Trance Family SF. Thanks to you all.

Over those years, I got the chance to meet a few of my favourite DJs, including Armin more than once, and my last hobby has been to work on lights for my shirt and pants (version 3) and (version 4)



You can find all the pictures here

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2021/11/28 Dreamstate Socal 2021: Back to Trance Heaven After 2 Years
π 2021-11-28 01:01 in Clubbing, Festivals

so glad to be back!
so glad to be back!

2020 was obviously the year from hell for lots of things, including festivals. EDC had a 2.5 year gap, and Dreamstate ended up with a 2 year gap, but despite probably losing a bunch of money during the pandemic, Insomniac did a great job putting a quality show as always, dealing with all the extra difficulties (artists cancelling due to covid, other artists unable to get visas to enter the US), and yet they went back to 4 stages instead of 3 in 2019.

Of course, many of us had fun at EDC Vegas a month ago, read more here: http://marc.merlins.org/perso/clubbing/post_2021-11-22_After-a-2_5Y-wait_-Our-next-EDC-Vegas.html , but while EDC has trance, it's not about trance, Dreamstate of course is about trance!

Unlike creamfields where some of the extra stages were honestly shit visually and audio quality-wise (and their security was dicks), insomniac made sure all stages were as good as could be, even the smallest one (void).

The lineup was solid like I said:


Pictures libraries:

  • All Pictures: https://photos.app.goo.gl/J9xqDaD65USuWZV49
  • BestOf Pictures: https://photos.app.goo.gl/ddho1tk1fvacqGes9
  • The Grounds

    As always, it's not EDC Vegas level eye candy, but it's still quite good, nothing to complain about :)





    The decors were great and the VIP areas were shiny:





    If you didn't bring your own lighting, they had you covered:




    The stages were as follows:

    The dream stage was quite pretty, well done
    The dream stage was quite pretty, well done

    The sequence, psytrance was ok-ish but the DJ booth wasn't lit well, so you could barely see who was playing
    The sequence, psytrance was ok-ish but the DJ booth wasn't lit well, so you could barely see who was playing

    vision was good enough, but still had the annoying line to get in
    vision was good enough, but still had the annoying line to get in

    even the smaller void, was good too
    even the smaller void, was good too

    The People

    Of course, what makes Dreamstate and EDC magical, is not just the eye candy that Insomniac brings, but what the attendees bring too, from good vibes, costumes, and totems:

    TFSF's Katie-Ann did a great job with her psy outfit :)
    TFSF's Katie-Ann did a great job with her psy outfit :)


    That's not counting Afik's LED totem entourage, an ever growing list :)



    Of course, we had our local trancefamily groups:




    For the LED/tech nerd that I am, it was great to see more people with LED panels, some were able to use some of the code that I published online and make their own improvements on top:

    really cool totem with 12 RGB panels (more than me, but less resolution than me), run by an FPGA card, well done!
    really cool totem with 12 RGB panels (more than me, but less resolution than me), run by an FPGA card, well done!




    of course Afik's trusty totem was here
    of course Afik's trusty totem was here

    and I had fun with my outfit :)
    and I had fun with my outfit :)


    Day #1

    So, let's start with Day #1, I got there bright and early, 17:00 when it opened:











    so great to see Haliene again
    so great to see Haliene again


    also great to see Thrillseekers again
    also great to see Thrillseekers again



    life is always better with lasers ;)
    life is always better with lasers ;)


    it was special to see Emma Hewitt, it's not every day
    it was special to see Emma Hewitt, it's not every day



    I've seen Fadi 6 times in the last months, but still love him each time :)
    I've seen Fadi 6 times in the last months, but still love him each time :)

    for those who don't know him, he is literally the nicest guy on earth
    for those who don't know him, he is literally the nicest guy on earth




    And to save the best for last, after Paul Van Dyk, was Ferry Corsten's Gouryella which was truly a religious experience for many, myself included. I still remember hearing it in what turned out to be 2016 at EDC at Circuit Grounds after consulting my archives :) Thank you so much Ferry for playing this again, albeit an updated version:


    just seeing the lyrics brings the tunes back in my head :)
    just seeing the lyrics brings the tunes back in my head :)







    what a finish
    what a finish




    Thank you Ferry.
    Thank you Ferry.

    Wait, you're saying you missed this? Well, don't worry, I recorded a bit over 2/3rd of it in my video summary of Day #1 (starting at 59:43):

    Day #2

    After just enough sleep, I had a bit of time to write some extra code for my LED outfit, including adding some DJ faces (see bottom for Craig, Liquid Soul, and Blastoyz), and an extra trancejesus has it on vynil screen (see above). I then went a bit early to check out the grounds before everything started for Day #2:


    the calm before the storm :)
    the calm before the storm :)


    Jorza
    Jorza

    Excited to see Xijaro & Pitch
    Excited to see Xijaro & Pitch

    Anthony pointed out the irony that as a blind man he got to play at the 'vision' stage :)
    Anthony pointed out the irony that as a blind man he got to play at the 'vision' stage :)


    the costumed dancers were very good as always
    the costumed dancers were very good as always

    Got some triplets from Whitenoise
    Got some triplets from Whitenoise


    absolutely delighted to see Alpha9 again, I enjoyed his set each time
    absolutely delighted to see Alpha9 again, I enjoyed his set each time

    FactorB again
    FactorB again

    Definitely enjoyed seeing Zero Gravity Arts again:





    truly dope ass outfits
    truly dope ass outfits

    Super nice to see liquid soul, always smiling and happy with the joys of psytrance  :)
    Super nice to see liquid soul, always smiling and happy with the joys of psytrance :)

    Gareth back on mainstage
    Gareth back on mainstage

    But I went to see Craig Connelly, because well, that was not even a question :)
    But I went to see Craig Connelly, because well, that was not even a question :)



    Definitely enjoyed Blastoyz's set
    Definitely enjoyed Blastoyz's set

    Yoji Biomehanika
    Yoji Biomehanika

    went to check out Aly & Fila's UV set
    went to check out Aly & Fila's UV set

    and finished the night and festival with Reality Test
    and finished the night and festival with Reality Test

    And just like that, the 2 days, 18H of trance, were over. Thank you to insomniac, all the artists and everyone who brought in outfits, smiles, and good vibes.

    Video summary of Day #2:

    Conclusion

    And I have to thank, you know who you are, for expanded access and being able to meet so many artists. Thank you!









    'till next time:



    Table of Content for clubbing:

    More pages: November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 November 2020 September 2020 July 2020 February 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 November 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 December 2016 November 2016 September 2016 August 2016 June 2016 May 2016 January 2016 September 2015 August 2015 June 2015 September 2014 August 2014 May 2014 September 2013 May 2012 May 2011 December 2009 November 2009 April 2009 March 2009 October 2008 June 2008 October 2007 September 2007 July 2007 May 2007 April 2007 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 June 2006 May 2006 January 2006 December 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 June 2005 May 2005 February 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 June 2004 August 2003 July 2003 February 2002 November 2001 October 2001 September 2001 July 2001 June 2000

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