Decadence NYE has changed my life and should be on your fest list for ringing in the next new year!
This last year was a whirlwind of global festing, which started and ended with the dazzling celebration of Decadence NYE. It all began in late 2017 with a Facebook ad touting the virtues of “The City Beyond Tomorrow.” I was fairly new to festing at the time, and my life was evolving rapidly. The idea of “beyond tomorrow” was one I couldn’t pass up, and without having a clue about the yet-unreleased lineup, I eagerly bought my ticket, hotel room, and flight.
Decadence NYE 2017 was an eye-opening experience and immediately convinced me that festing is what 2018 was going to be about. Ringing in the new year with Marshmello, Tritonal, Bassnectar, Galantis and the rest of the phenomenal headliners was exactly what I needed. The experience capped off with Odesza playing live as the clock struck midnight and I was pulled into a massive group hug. I remember thinking “this is what life is all about.” Little did I know that within a few months, I would be revising that thought to align with Above and Beyond’s “life is made of small moments like this.”
Fast forward a year. A whirlwind year that included 12 fests spanning 14 weekends including both weekends of Electric Forest and both weekends of Tomorrowland. These were practically b2b2b2b as I wandered Europe as part of the Tomorrowland Global Journey package. And I’ll definitely be returning to Electric Forest 2019 and the lineup is incredible!
2018 saw many changes in my life, including finally moving to Denver, one of my favorite places in the U.S. This meant that the “People of Tomorrow” would be gathering in my own backyard this yea. I still don’t have words for how excited I was to be able to fest in my own town! I had no doubt that Decadence NYE 2018 was going to be even better than 2017 was, and boy was I right.
The best way to sum up Decadence NYE 2018 is simply “a fest full of surprises.” It’s held inside the local convention center, giving it the atmosphere of an old school warehouse party combined with the production value of a much larger festival. With my lack of experience in 2017, I didn’t have much to compare it to at the time, but after festing at Ultra, EDC, Tomorrowland, and Electric Forest, I was blown away by the complete Decadence experience.
One thing that wasn’t a surprise was the A+ lineup that awaited us. It was one of the last lineups officially announced, and yet it was unquestionably worth the wait. Above and Beyond started the fest of surprises by spinning tracks from a personal favorite, Virtual Self. I was delighted, as I saw Above and Beyond a handful of times last year, and it was the first big deviation from the previous sets. Plus, it was thrilling to see Anjunafam selected to go on stage and “push the button.”
Next up was Prydz …. Or was it? As he took the stage and got his set started, the crowd was treated to the start of a glorious Pryda set – visuals and all. Again, I was stunned and delighted as he was billed as “Eric Prydz” on the lineup. Looking over the crowd as he got us up and moving with a warehouse-style techno set, you could see the mixed reactions of those who had never heard a Pryda set before, or were hoping for trance. People came and went, and I almost feel bad for those who didn’t stay as they missed something truly wonderful. This was NOT a Pryda set, but rather, a magical opportunity to see all 3 faces of Prydz. He seamlessly took us on a journey from Pryda into Cirez D and finally brought us full circle, closing his set out with unique Prydz trance. Don’t believe me? Check out another opinion on that phenomenal Prydz set!
Trance fans everywhere, myself included, were thrilled to close out night one with Spencer Brown. Dubstep fans were treated to an appearance from Skrillex, and to each their own, but in my opinion, it wasn’t that great. However, I’m not the world’s biggest fan of dubstep or Skrillex, so what little I did see of his set was more about being able to say that I’d seen the Daddy of Dub.
Night two of Decadence was no less spectacular despite the “smaller” lineup, being that it was officially New Year’s Eve and everyone was ready to ring in 2019. Denver had taken over the silent disco, with the green channel being the domain of “DTF” – Denver Trance Family. Any time there wasn’t a “must see” set playing, you could find me there, listening to anyone and everyone on the green channel. It didn’t matter who was playing, from Isodope to Artifractal, Savvo to Sentinel 7, they were all banging out amazing trance that you just had to move to.
Side note: The DTF takeover of green channel actually spanned both days, and while we spent some time at the disco on day one, for me it was all about day two and seeing several local artists I had not had the opportunity to meet yet.
When I wasn’t dancing my face off at the disco, I was craving Pizza thanks to Chris Lake and Chris Lorenzo in their debut of Anti Up. WOW! Those guys could make comatose patients shake their asses! That was no surprise to me though, as I’m a big fan of both. It was then time to grab a friend who’d never seen Illenium live, and have my face melted by all the bassy feels right along with the light show streaming over the crowd.
We wrapped up the year with Griz getting super funky with it as well as ringing in the new year with some dope 80’s remixes. Not even kidding, I can’t remember the last time I sang along to “celebration time, come on!” It was the perfect end to 2018. Looking back, I recommend that if you have the time and budget to do it, make Decadence NYE 2018 your choice. I guarantee you won’t regret it.
