First Thoughts
After taking two trains and a bus from New York City, I finally arrived at MetLife Stadium to what looked like a rather small gathering. After quickly going through check-in and security, I was released onto the festival grounds which was absolutely massive. The layout of the grounds quickly brought me back to when Electric Daisy Carnival was located in Los Angeles: the multiple stages located outside the stadium with one enormous stage located on the actual field! The event organizers, Insomniac and Pacha, had expected almost 100,000 fans in attendance over three days but they had anticipated Friday being on the lighter side due to the way tickets were sold this year. I decided to quickly canvas the ground to do a quick comparison to both Los Angeles and Las Vegas and what I saw was satisfying: there would be pyrotechnics, hundreds of costumed theatrical performers, interactive art installations, carnival rides, special effects galore and of course, world-class talent! At this point, I realized that once again Insomniac has cloned one of North America’s best music festivals and delivered it to the Northeast!
Words by Jason Moss.
Madeon
After Madeon’s stellar set at this year’s Ultra Music Festival, there was no doubt we’d be at kineticFIELD at 5:30. The young Frenchman took the stage sporting his usual attire – black blazer over a white v-neck and wasted no time. Kicking off the set with a remix of “Shuriken,” Madeon quickly gained control of the crowd and took them on a musical journey. Leading into a mashup of “Audio Visual Disco” vs “Retaliation” by Drivepilot was next for the young producer. As you can tell from the stream below, the first ten minutes were absolutley insane, Madeon went thru at least 7 tracks, which would usually be frowned upon but with his tecnical skills and seamless transistions it made for one of the best beginning sets I’ve seen in awhile. Known for his signature nu disco sound, Madeon proved he’s confident while on stage and has no boundaries in terms of genres he can play. Towards the end of his performance, he dropped “Breakn’ a Sweat” which ignited the crowd before ending appropiratley with “Pop Culture” and “Icarus.” Overall, the young producer laid down a perfect set. At only 17 years old, we can’t wait to see what Madeon will be like in 5 or 10 years! Take a listen to his set below!
Fedde le Grand
Just like the young Frenchman, Fedde le Grand also had an outstanding performance at Ultra Music Festival this past March. Staying at the main stage for this performance was a no-brainer. By this time, crowds of people were finally arriving which was nice to see the place filling in. (Insomniac originally launched 2-day passes selling out in less than 3 hours, and later added more capacity and Friday so no one was forced to purchase a 3-day pass causing Friday to be less crowded). Fedde took the stage to a warm welcome from thousands of fans and began with “So Much Love,” along with “Generation 303,” “Otherside,” and “Metrum.” Just like all of Fedde’s performances, the entire set flowed smoothly. I returned for the end of Fedde le Grand’s set and was greeted with CO2 Bursts and a confetti shower as le Grand dropped his remix of Coldplay’s “Paradise.”
Crizzly
Christopher Lee Marshall, better known by his mokier, Crizzly, took the reigns from TC at circuitGROUNDS promptly at 6:45 for one the most anticipated sets of the evening. I was looking forward to some bass music after seeing Cosmic Gate, Madeon, and Fedde le Grand and knew I’d be finishing the first night with Fatboy Slim, Armin van Buuren and Pendulum. For those unfamiliar with Crizzly, this Texas-based DJ/producer is known for his crunchy beats dubbed as “Crunkstep” and as he mentions in his bio, he’s only here for one reason – “to fuck up the party.” His unique blend mixes Southern Rap lyrics with his own electronic sounds to create awesome filthy dance music. While TC was finishing his set, Marshall went around greeting and taking pictures with fans. Once he took the stage, the fans started to wobble and get weird. Joining Marshall on stage was the famous Harley Quinn’s that got down to some crunkstep with the rest of the people in attendance. This was my first time seeing Crizzly and was impressed with his unique sound, if your located near Chicago, Marshall will be performing at The Bottom Lounge this Saturday!
Fatboy Slim
Norman Cook, better known by his stage name, Fatboy Slim, hands-down will always be one of my favorite performers. I’ve seen him kill it on a small stage in Chicago at North Coast Music Festival and then take over the main stage in Miami at Ultra Music Festival and one thing I’ve noticed is there is no one else that can interact with a large audience the way he does. Walking out onto kineticFIELD barefoot, Cook took a minute to greet the crowd before beginning his set. Overall, his set was very similar to his past Ultra performance with a few additional twists. Slim put a successful spin on LMFAO’s “I’m In Miami Bitch” transforming it into “I’m in New Jersey Bitch” got the fans wound up. In the middle of Slim’s set, Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg flashed across the LED panels and Slim went into a remix of “California Love” which made the crowd feel like they were back in the late 90s. Fatboy Slim also played a tribute to the late Donna Summer who passed a few days before EDC, by playing a remix of “I Feel Love” which got a positive response from festival-attendees! Traditoionally, Fatboy Slim ended with “Praise You.” Once again, I can say Cook’s performance was in my top five!
Armin van Buuren
By the time the legend took the reigns, Electric Daisy Carnival New York was looking like a real festival. kineticFIELD was attracting the masses and even as I departed early at 11:45pm, fans were still running into the MetLife grounds to catch the ending of Armin’s set. Interestingly, Armin van Buuren went for a much heavier set than I originally expected but was probably due to him hosting the “A State of Trance” stage the next day. Armin began his set with “We Are Here To Make Some Noise” which fueled the remainder of his set, along with “Concrete Angel,” “Brute,” “Burned with Desire,” and “Ride the Wave.” Overall, Armin had perfectly closed down Day 1 of Electric Daisy Carnival New York.
Chase & Status
