EDC 2014 Day One: Recap

Las Vegas had been relatively peaceful for the few days prior to EDC, but by Friday morning, the sweltering desert oasis was awash with ravers from all corners of the globe. The Cosmopolitan in particular was bustling with excitement. The line-up looked a ‘lil top-heavy for Friday, so we got out there early to check it all out.

Kove was an early highlight at the BassPod. We’ve talked about him a lot on THUMP and his rangy UK bass palate had the sound system heaving early in the night. Oliver Heldens might be the one of the buzziest names in electronic music, but he keeps getting stuck with the opening set on the main stage at festivals. That’s a sisyphian curse if there ever was one: playing on the biggest stages in the world, but only as people are queuing to get in. His tune “Gecko” is already the most played song at the festival. I won’t say “overplayed” because, even after all that rinsing, I still love that synth riff.

Of all the stages, HARD at the Cosmic Meadow had the best programming, especially in the earlier part of the night. After some lengthy technical difficulties, Tchami finally made his way onto the stage and my fanboy dreams of the past year or so became true. I was surprised to hear him drop some deeper dubstep-style tracks — Never saw that one coming. His set was somethin’ special, not deep house, nor bassline — I’m gonna call it Mid House. Even HARDfather Gary Richards came on stage to bow to the man’s talents.

Aliens n’ fireworks. NBD. Via Barrie Martell/Insomniac

The Kinetic Field at this edition of EDC has replaced the glow-in-the-dark fantasyscape for a gothic, cathedral-esque panorama and Steve Angello followed by Hardwell was a mouth-watering combination for many. Instead, I wandered around the art cars. Unfortunately, the Wide Awake Art Car wasn’t mobile, but Kill Frenzy’s super intimate set had me bathing in bass for a happy, long while. After that, I went for a ride with Dancetronauts, whose four-wheeled spaceship rose 40 feet into the air as you stood atop it. As I did, the iconic EDC fireworks went off above. So rad. The Burning Man vibe was strong amongst the art cars and it was a welcome addition.

I’m pretty sure Diplo sets are not worth seeing anymore. He’s on a whole different tip now. He’ll be on the main stage playing big room house next year. I can feel it. Destroid were pretty bad as well. Watchin’ em stomping around in spacesuits all just seemed kind of silly. Props for trying to incorporate live elements, though. As the night neared its end, Carl Cox and Adam Beyer kept the Neon Garden going with some classy techno vibes.

Circuit Grounds, via aLIVE/Insomniac

The Circuit Grounds closed out with the following trifecta of wankery: Afrojack, Steve Aoki, and Carnage. I would rather gouge my own eyes out with a rusty spork than sit through that. All in all, Friday night seemed like a warm-up for the rest of the festival, and by the looks of some of the sad ravers emerging from the lengthy, lengthy shuttle rides back, it’s gonna be a long weekend.

More EDC:
Pete Tongs 5 EDC Artists to Watch
Meet the Freshman Class of EDC 2014

Jemayel is a soon-to-be sad raver – @JemayelK