EDC Chicago 2013 Reviewed

It was only a matter of time before Insomniac brought the whimsical festival Electric Daisy Carnival to one of the meccas of house music: Chicago. After touching down and spreading the magic to New York, it was now Chicago’s turn, which was the last stop before Las Vegas. The weekend was a recipe for pneumonia with cold rain going steady for most of the three days, but that did not stop thousands of excited EDM fans from piling into the massive Chicagoland Speedway and indulging in the amazing music from the top electronic acts in the world, as well as the spectacular ethereal atmosphere that only EDC knows how to provide.
EDC is probably the only place where you can ride carnival rides for free and see girls dressed as bubbles dance to trap music all in the same place, but that’s what makes it one of the most unique festivals on the planet. Here are some highlights from the majestic weekend through a three day diary that will allow you to relive some of the memories.

Day One

People began to arrive to experience their first time at the inaugural EDC. A giant illuminated flower and lights gave the festival that authentic carnival essence and the music pumped through the speakers, confirming that was in fact party time. Over at the bass pod stage, Ed Rush and Optical were bringing some UK underground to Chicago with some massive drum and bass/jungle sounds spewing out of the speakers. Gabriel & Dresden transformed the Circuit Grounds stage into a celestial dreams where dreamlike synths and less focus on the bass was the theme of their classic trance set. More people began to pile in and the costumes were in action, with plenty of teletubbies and classic arcade video game characters were the norm.
Empire of the Sun were next up at the Circuit Grounds stage and it boasted extravagance in typical Empire of the Sun fashion. They had whimsical dancing swordfish who worked their way through eccentric dance moves with their trippy vibe translating perfectly to the crowd. They went through their hits “Standing on the Shore” and their bass heavy warped track “Breakdown” as dancing skeletons made their way into the surrealist set. Guitar smashing led to their most famous hit “Walking On A Dream” and led to a sing along by the captivated audience.
Now midnight, people are in full party mode and riding rides into the late night. Above & Beyond hit the stage at Circuit Grounds and played an upbeat set that perfectly incorporated intoxicating clear synths with just the right amount of bass to amp up the crowd.
A massive fireworks display was icing on the raved up cake, that set the mood for the rest of the night. A raver next to me in a headdress got down on his knees and prayed to the EDM Gods as Kaskade hit the late night stage, as dedicated ravers listened to him open with “Room For Happiness” then blasted into a remix featuring a heavy electro vibe. He mixed it up with some dirty house while still inducing euphoria with his typical uplifting synths. The night came to an end after a 3 am Headhunterz set, and we left to rest up for Day 2.

Day Two

Even though the weather was still pretty bad, girls ditched their gogo outfits for hoodies and blankets and still kept the energy going strong. The chilly weather made me envy the people in bear and gorilla costumes, but the number of people at EDC doubled for Day 2, making it even more massive. At 8 pm over at the Bass Pod stage, Mayhem VS. Heroes X Villains were keeping it ratchet with some amped up southern trap beats. Some equipment difficulty provided a slightly awkward moment, but after a few minutes they still kept the party going before their fellow bass heavy Atlanta native, Terravita, tore it up for a heavy set.
The stand out at the Bass Pod stage was definitely Mad Decent member, Brilz, who went through a genre crossing set that included some trap with hints of Moombah, dubstep and dirty house. He even turned the Bass Pod stage into a 90s party with some New Jack Swing and 90s hip hop influence. At 10:30 pm, it was nearly impossible to get near Hardwell’s set as neon clad ravers, crowded Circuit Grounds excitedly. One excited bro said “Hardwell is basically like baby Tiesto," and it is easy to see why he made the comparison with his cult-like following of fans who convulsed to his high energy set that was heavy on the bass and focused on the drop to add to the excitement. He also brought up W & W to use the EDC crowd to shoot the official video for their new single “Jump.”
At 12 am, it was obvious Avicci was the man of the hour who played a much more high energy bass set than the one he played at Ultra Music Festival, and threw curveballs into his set, playing old school hip hop to show off his eclectic music tastes.
The rave zombies began to take over as most people began to call it a night after a day of super intense partying, but those that did stay were treated to a hypnotic set by house legend Benny Benassi. He kept it current with some dubstep, and excited everyone when the first chords of Cinema played. Yells of “Drop that shit” exploded from the ground, and when the Skrillex beat dropped frenzy ensued. Day two ended with a flawless set over at Kinetic Field with Armin Van Buuren proving once again why he is the top trance DJ in the world. No longer able to feel my feet, it was on to Day 3.

Day Three

The weather on Day 3 was undisputed proof that Chicago can go hard no matter what. Steady and heavy rain came pouring down in 50 degree weather, making it one of the wettest, coldest festival experiences I’ve ever had. However, the weather didn’t stop tons of people just saying “Fuck it” and partying through it like it wasn’t there. I caught the end of Borgore’s set which rattled the foundation at the Speedway, mixing his abrasive dubstep sound with his cartoonish explicit raps that had the crowd going crazy. He kept it Chicago with some Krewella, and went through his infamous songs such as “Nympho.”
Sunnery James and Ryan Marciano kept it straight house while revving up the energy with plenty of chainsaw riffs that only the dynamic duo could pull off. At 11 pm, swedish legend Eric Prydz took over Kinetic Field and turned it into a warehouse party with people doing their own unique rain dances to his throbbing set.
Of course, the biggest DJ in the world Tiesto did not disappoint. He brought masses of energy with his star studded collaboration tracks and amazing remixes that had the crowd singing to every word of his remix to Zedd’s “Clarity” and Icona Pop’s “I Love It.” Tiesto even threw in some trap with Carnage’s hit “Bang.”
My night came to an end with Dash Berlin tearing it up at Circuit Grounds. Soaked, muddied, cold, and pretty sure I was getting the flu, I left my first EDC experience with a smile on my face, looking forward to it coming to the Chicagoland Speedway for another four years.