Electric Zoo 2013: Preemptive End
As was widely publicized, the festival came to an end a day early.
Sadly, their tactics of fewer pat downs and a late enforcing 'all bags
must be no larger than 12"W x 12"H x 16"L ' meant it was up to people
themselves to keep their drug use in check. 2 dead and 4 in the icu
after saturday sent waves through madeevents as they decided to
cancel sunday. 3 designated "help points" in view at all time and filling
stations dotted throughout the festival grounds were apparently not
enough. The explosive new stage made the expensive pricetag
worthwhile, and while we came for a 3 day festival not merely 2. Things
got pretty explosive even if there was a bit of an early end. |
| 1 |  | skream
skream!
despite showing up early-ish on friday just to see this 27 yo prodigy spin, i didn't
havge the patience to wait out the set and was too out of sorts to comprehend
the environment madeevents managed to make in the middle of the city and only
hours after i was wearing a suit in a cubicle. |
| 2 |  | Showtek
Analogue Players In A Digital World
* Was surprised I actually enjoyed the Janssen brothers' set early and on the
original main stage. It wasn't as explosive as some I've seen there (A legendary
Bloody Beetroots set comes to mind) but it delivered just the no nonesense edm I
was craving. Exploring the setups in Riverside and Hilltop also helped me sink into
the reality of being surrounded by some of the best djs in the world all day. |
| 3 |  | Flux Pavilion
Lines in Wax
'let the bass cannon kick it' more like watch Martin and the new stage show up
Steele. |
| 4 |  | Martin Solveig
Smash
* I don't know anything this guy's done nor would I necessarily listen to him on my
own. But he gave a perfect introduction to the new "Main Stage East". The new
setup was carved out near the entrance and brought a whole nother dimension to
the festival. |
| 5 |  | Excision
X Rated
** I almost didn't see Excision in favor of Four Tet, but the effects of that hash
cookie was setting in and I was content not moving. But Abel delivered more here
than he did at Bisco as Destroid. Things were getting filthy and with me and my
work bag in the thick of things, I saw 2 different bags snatched up by security
guards in the heavy central. Based on their reactions, these white boys were going
to have to explain why their bags were filled with illegal pharmaceuticals. Amidst
druggy surroundings, I was back at the zoo. New stage meant space for more
druggies |
| 6 |  | Above & Beyond
Tri State
* Chill main stage west. "And it feels like me .. On a good day" |
| 7 |  | Dog Blood
Middle Finger
Despite the 3d setup and being 2 of the most powerful and well known djs in the
world, Boys Noize and Skrillex seemed too focused on self promoting visuals and like
with Skream, I once again lacked the patience to enjoy whatever aesthetic they
were trying to establish |
| 8 |  | Avicii
True
* 23 yo Tim Bergling is one of the biggest names on the industry these days. His
brand of accessible and dependable house music is always solid |
| 9 |  | Saturday
August
^^ ** Passing out at my friend's place after, passing out on the bus on the way
home and then passing out at home til 4pm meant lotsa fuel for day 2. Sunday
was supposed to be the day to tie it all together and without it things still feel like
they're open ended. But then again, Saturday .. Delivered . Hurriedly taking a cab
from Bushwick . Hoping my friends had the pre rolled doobies. Dirty but the molly
pills were concealed. Even if they decided to pat me down, I would have taken
them when I wanted to. |
| 10 |  | Madeon
39 Song Pop Mashup
** Madeon greets me from the new stage as I walk up. I've seen this teenage
prodigy at least a half dozen times from the webster main stage (opening for Porter
Robinson), early at Coachella, Electric Zoo and another time at Webster. Each and
every time I smile brightly when he's playing. Capturing my attention at being
better and more engaging than everyone else who plays a style like his. |
| 11 |  | Claude VonStroke
Beware of the Bird
* Dirtybird Records has done more for the music industry than you realize. Claude
VonStroke plays better music than you listen to. What's unfortunate for him is that
he will never be able to recreate the show he played at South Street Seaport in
2011. Still, always a pleasure to see |
| 12 |  | Sander van Doorn
Supernaturalistic
* Chill vibes from the main stage |
| 13 |  | Noisia
Split The Atom
** One of my friend's favorites happens to also be one of Deviant.'s . Heavy but
thoughtful. Just the right sized crowd at Hilltop |
| 14 |  | Datsik
Vitamin D
* As plans were made to roll at Boys Noize. Ohyea that's Datsik |
| 15 |  | Dada Life
Just Do The Dada
*** Thieves of the festival. Swedish electro house duo Olle Corneer and Stefan
Engblom captured their audience like I've never seen them do. Wild cartoonish
visuals to their left and right. Dominating the new stage in ways that have not and
probably will not be replicated. The perfect surroundings appeared around me for
45 minutes. And then dispersed into the night. Ohyea, I didn't roll at Boys Noize |
| 16 |  | Bassnectar
Mesmerizing The Ultra
** The perfect amount of filthy. Perfect time to smoke 2 more pre rolled doobies |
| 17 |  | Moderat
Moderat
** Maybe more people would have seen this super duo if they'd have known there
wouldn't be music on Sunday. Gorgeously composed and extra professionals. I
wish it was the closer to an awesome day but was unfortunately the closer to an
awesome 2 day festival. Now where do we get refunds for Sunday?? |
| 18 | | Oh
And Also.. |
| 19 | | Darkside
New LP
*** Darkside (Nicolas Jaar + Dave Harrington) released a new album and played it
to a 2 small groups of people in an old loading dock in the lower east side. And it
was awesome |
| 20 | | Upcoming
Shows
Flaming Lips + Tame Impala
Tricky
Massive Attack
Franz Ferdinand
Shpongle?
#nyclife |
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