With slightly warmer temperatures and leaving earlier to avoid the horrendous traffic we got stuck in Friday night, it was smooth sailing getting to and into the venue Saturday night. Arriving hours before the sun went down, I was able to ride the roller coaster with my main squeeze, get some pictures in, and explore the grounds in the daylight. As the sun went down, the transformation of the carnival with all the lights twinkling on was stunning.
We began with ARTBAT, and theirs was my favorite set of EDC Las Vegas 2019, right up until I had round two with Captain Hook. That scallywag plays my favorite kind of Psytrance. He breaks up the cantering beat with pounding buildups leading to sick drops that get the whole crowd hollering when they hit. I kinda sorta tricked my boyfriend who hates Psytrance into coming with me, and even he said he liked it! Yet again, I was struck by the sheer magnitude of the stages. The DJs were so high in the air, you could see them much better from a bit farther away. I absolutely loved this as I tend to choose areas with a bit of distance from the stage so I have room for dancing but can still see the DJ.
Next up was Black Coffee and just minutes into his set, my night was infinitely better than the one before! In the lead up to EDC Las Vegas, on a friend’s recommendation, I listened to some of Black Coffee’s produced works and sets. They’re very different from one another, so I wasn’t sure what style I’d get. Nothing prepared me for the smooth, uplifting House he hit us with.
Though it wasn’t in my plans, I caught part of Claude VonStroke‘s set, and as usual, the funny man laid down some of the easiest House to groove to. Although, unlike previous times I’ve seen him, it seemed like he hit us Headliners with an even harder than normal set. Neither I nor the rest of the stadium was complaining!
Charlotte DeWitte with her dark, aggressive Techno hit me next and she was every bit the cool chick we all see around the interwebs. Keeping on that Techno train, I gathered the crew and we made our way to the Parliament Art Car stage where i_o b2b No Mana was starting up. I just discovered i_o last year, and I’m now a huge fan! He has a knack for taking sweet, melodic tracks and giving them a dirtier edge than I could ever imagine.
I went to check out Kaskade before heading over to see Paul Van Dyk, and as I left the crowd I immediately started to shiver. The winds had picked up tremendously and due to enormous parts of the Kinetic Field stage moving and shaking, Insomniac Events made the difficult, but wise decision to shut the main stage. By the time I got to Quantum Valley for PVD, they had also closed that stage due to safety concerns. I ended my night jamming out to The Martinez Brothers in Neon Garden.
All in all, the second night of EDC Las Vegas 2019 far surpassed the first. Perhaps it was knowing the lay of the land better, the artists’ sets, or simply being warmer, who knows? Or maybe it was because I had the opportunity to enjoy the carnival portion of the event, and my inner child was having a blast within an hour of arrival. I can’t wait to head back for Andrew Bayer on my final night of EDC. Tune in for my full recap next week!
*Featured Image of EDC Aerial View Via Graham John Bell for Insomniac Events*
