I felt a tension in the Los Angeles air over the city as I rushed to make it to the LA State Park. Frantically, desperately rushing from my day job in Santa Monica to traverse the city during Saturday evening traffic to make it to Hollywood and the legendary Roosevelt Hotel where my press credentials were waiting. I was having massive anxiety about missing any more of Saturday night’s acts, it was 9:30 by the time I got all the way Downtown and this gig had been going strong since 1pm. We weren’t the last to show up, however we did witness a few lost souls leaving the show early.
I rushed to the underground stage, arriving at the last 4 beats of Justin Martin’s set. One of my favorite artists from San Francisco, he takes his crowd on a journey through all the frequencies, he sets the bar for the Dirtybird crew. Seeing the massive wave of joyful people leaving when the house lights turned on, I knew I missed a great show. All I would hear for the rest of the weekend how great his set was – I can go into detail about my former Justin Martin experiences, but reading my words cannot justly describe how it actually feels in the moment. These guys are purists, they’re friends who just want to entertain more new friends with an eclectic showing of sound.
Each time Justin Martin (or Dirtybird co-founder Claude Vonstroke) takes the stage, you have to expect the unexpected. This is why it’s so fun to be a Dirtybird fan, each person’s first Dirtybird experience is different because the sound is always evolving. The whole crew is made up of DJ’s DJs, from Worthy to the young gun Justin Jay. If you see these guys at a festival, they stun massive crowds with just the right type of festival house with a smattering of big room bass. If you see them in the club, you’ll feel the darkness in their synths, and expect a tighter, more punchy bass. If you haven’t experienced Justin Martin or any of his Dirtybird players in person, stop reading about it – you just have to go feel it for yourself.
Reeling in our tardiness, my associates and I sprinted to the Red Bull sponsored Discotheque tent to catch the last few tracks from deep vibrators Benoit & Sergio. When we arrived, I could tell from the dark, deep house erupting through the speakers we had arrived at the right time. They were in their groove and the crowd was loving it. HARD festivals are always great for people watching, regardless of the exact place and setting. The Discotheque tent is always a good scene because of the mix of fans, the dedicated music heads dance shoulder to shoulder with the party kids – we’re all just looking for the right vibe together.
After 3 previous shows at the LA State Park, HARD has pretty much standardized venue, mastering the layout of their musical playground and making it easy to find what you want. The beer garden we sought was familiarly pinched between the main stage and the Discotheque tent. There had to have been 20 lanes to serve us (Live Nation livin’) with a massive crowd of 21+ milling about the packed garden. It was about 10:25 when we made our way from beer to Skrillex, a sea of people packed the railings dividing us from the dormant main stage, the bright house lights were shining on the crowd. Only a white light, similar to the Bat Signal was indicative of any impending action. The signature three claw graphic, (that spells ILL) was shining bright on the center of the stage. Just then, a muted bass rhythm began to pulse from the stage, bringing the crowd to an anxious rise. I felt an immediate curiosity to investigate further, which ultimately split me from my friends who wanted to see the Swedish LA-transplant Eric Prydz perform his Cirez D set.
I began to look for a way into the madness that was 20,000 patient fans, waiting for their hero Skrillex to “drop the bass”. My media credentials weren’t suffice to go around any of the backstage routes, so into the crowd I plunged, hoping to make it to the “front of house” viewing booth just behind the sound and visual engineers. I pushed across dozens of fellow ravers to mostly negative reactions, it’s key to be as swift as possible to avoid altercation. The crowd got thicker and thicker, my progress slowed significantly until a 6-4 man and his beautiful girlfriend crossed my path. I easily cut across the crowd in his wake, realizing we shared the same destination. The pulse was still flowing, yet felt louder and louder. We had reached the platform with perfect timing. I stood directly stage center, my 360 degree view of the stage and surrounding crowd all encompassing.
The curtain dropped, revealing three giant Jack-O-lanterns, in which the centerpiece served as Mr. Skrillex’s booth. The energy of the crowd shifted to way beyond the power of the ominous bass rhythm. It was show time.
The bass resonated through my body with the same hair raising effect you’d imagine when imminent danger mixes with the rabid energy of a packed house. The stage was rocking, the unrestricted flow of sound was driving the platform we stood on to break into a raucous dance party. Even through some technical difficulty Sonny constantly held his crowd in waiting, testing their nerves while building that ever present anxious tension, only to epically release into something fresh, drop after drop.
I’m only a spectator, but every little detail in a Skrillex set emits a visceral reaction. I felt like I was in the thick the action, stomping and cheering like every drop was the last-minute, game winning shot. I was left wanting more and more, but realized I was missing the activity at the other stages. With one look at the festival behind me, I saw the whole grounds filled, from the Spicy Pie booth all the way to Ferris Wheel. The idea of making it through the crowd just wasn’t feasible. I turned back to face the stage and really took in what was going on -I was at the center, the heart of the story. There would be no leaving, the difficulty of getting through was not even a concern after the brief moment of clarity.
I looked around and saw what it’s all about – people coming together to have fun and get what they paid for. We all share the same enthusiasm for our favorites, these shows are the real-life common ground where an experience is shared through the gathering of shared sights an sounds. I feel at peace knowing the people in charge are pushing the genre and experience evolution at the top as well as from the underground, because we are all quickly becoming self educating fans. Now that the initial gold rush period is over, I’m confident that our FM radio EDM civilization will settle from a growing boomtown to established metropolis. The Downtown skyline in the background looks like the perfect metaphor – on to Day 2.
