Insomniac astounded L.A. with its 13th edition of the Electric Daisy Carnival in the weekend of June 26 and 27. Two days of pure bliss offered to lovers of electronic music captured Downtown Los Angeles in traffic frenzy and overburdened taxis. The Memorial Coliseum turned crowded with ravers in curious outfits from slutty aliens to a guy dressed in a penis costume. Shady-looking characters whisper “X” in your ear and the aroma of weed spreads amid the audience. Amongst carnival rides and dancers on stilts, the bass
lines ran through the moving crowd.
dancer on stilts
At the outskirts of the five stages, small groups lay back and enjoy the music while seated on the grass. Eyes turn out of focus as a personal light show mesmerizes three girls in psychedelic outfits.
private light shows with neon finger gloves
Friday June 26
Friday distinguished itself with performances of some major American artists. Although the event officially began at 4 p.m., EDC really started to kick off with Thievery Corporation at the Kinetic Field stage. Through smelly, narrow tunnels, people reached the main stage at the sports arena. A carnival ride is spinning in the back and VIP ticket holders are chilling in the Giant Peristyle section which was closely secured to keep out the curious crowd. The Washington DC-based DJ duo raged its aversion against the domination of mass radio and music television with tracks from their new studio album suitably named Radio Retaliation. Their album has an international sound and while playing the signature track “radio retaliation,” the audience could revel in the reggae beats. The innovative style of Thievery Corporation can only be truly experienced when heard live so the audience at Kinetic Field got their money’s worth.
curious outfits
After TC it was time to move on to Circuit Grounds stage to attend the performance of Pretty Lights. Derek Vincent Smith and live drummer Cory Eberhard from Colorado gave their fans the usual doses of electro beats mixed in with vintage samples.
Saturday June 27
The last night of the Electric Daisy Carnival took the concept of electronic music raves to a whole new level. Both general admission and VIP tickets were completely sold out and the Memorial Coliseum where the Kinetic Field stage was situated was filled all the way to the top with an ecstatic crowd. Saturday saw some smashing internationally renowned artists. While everyone was rolling on XTC, the Italian DJ, Benny Benassi, played his 2002 summer hit “Satisfaction” with a twist and made a Michael Jackson tribute with a remix of “Rock with you.” The night really took off with his amazing light shows and peaked at the “Vogue”-remix with a full on fireworks show. After Benassi, David Guetta had the honors to take over the stage and immediately started rocking the dance floor with his specific house DJ style. He gave the audience renewed impulses with his brand new track featuring Kelly Rowland and spurs on the crowd with his voice. No one could top the performance of France’s number one DJ. His years of experience playing at electronic music haven Ibiza give him an edge the other artists simply miss. 100.000 trance-loving people dancing and tripping to his beats, who could have toppled that.
Kinetic Field stage
For more information about EDC please visit their website at www.electricdaisycarnival.com
Published on Jul 01, 2009
