There is nothing quite like being immersed in a sea of neon as lights and lasers wash over the crowd and the music whisks you away.
Fans of electronic dance music poured into the Fort Mason Festival Pavilion in San Francisco on Feb. 16 to see a lineup of renowned disc jockeys.
The six-hour event was put on by event organizers LED, Goldenvoice and Collective Effort as part of a three-concert series with shows in San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego in the same night.
The Fort Mason Festival Pavilion is a large warehouse-like venue overlooking the San Francisco Bay. The stage, which is larger than the size of a football field, was drowned in colorful lights.
Finding parking, on the other hand, was a challenge and a long wait was unavoidable. There are limited public parking spaces in the area, which can complicate things.
The first artist of the night was WhiteNoize, an electro house duo based in San Francisco. They performed a brief, yet energetic 45-minute set that kept the crowd jumping and dancing.
DJ Green Lantern followed and changed up the vibe with an hour-long trap music set. His set catered to a different demographic in the crowd.
Trap music is a unique type of instrumental hip-hop which emphasizes heavy basslines and beats coupled with dance music style synths. The set served as a nice change of pace.
TJR performed next with a unique set compared to his fellow artists. In the world of electronic dance music, it is rare for a DJ to perform using a mixer with actual turntables and a crossfader.
TJR surprised the audience with his skills as a turntablist and provided a high energy performance.
After a switching of time slots, Adventure Club performed in the slot originally meant for DJ Snake. The switch was made in order to guarantee that Adventure Club would be able to fly down to San Diego in time to perform their set.
The Canadian duo made their name by producing melodic dubstep tracks, but as of late, they have shifted their style.
The latest craze in the EDM world is the big room house movement. Big room house is a style of dance music popular on dancefloors at nightclubs and festivals.
The genre is characterized by a simple and repetitive drum pattern with a buildup leading to a breakdown. It is music geared to make the crowd jump in time with the music.
Adventure Club played several fan favorites, but there was a certain flow missing from the set.
After roughly 35 minutes of consistent big room house, they switched gears and turned it into a dubstep show. It seems the duo decided to cater to the crowd rather than stay true to their dubstep roots.
There was a 20 minute intermission at this point in the show where the crowd was given a chance to rest. It was the perfect time to take a trip to the bathroom and grab some water.
Perhaps the one major thing that distinguishes electronic music concerts from others is the comradery that can be found. It is unbelievably easy to make friends at these concerts, especially during intermissions.
There is a widespread understanding that everyone is there to have a good time and everyone does their part to make sure that this happens. This is what makes this style of music and atmosphere so addictive.
DJ Snake took the stage after the intermission. The Parisian broke out onto the scene last year with his two massive trap anthems “Bird Machine” and “Turn Down For What.”
A massive cheer was heard as he took the stage, showing that fans were excited for his performance. The crowd was kept on its feet with frequent changes in tempo, switching to and from higher energy trap music to more mellow and low-key tracks.
Veteran DJ Laidback Luke closed out the night with a supercharged set.
Laidback Luke primarily produces in the house music genre, but his set featured elements of trap music as well as dubstep.
It was an excellent way to end the night, leaving the crowd dancing on their way out the door.
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
