Electric Daisy Carnival Sizzles Under the Sun

Prior to Saturday’s well-organized Electric Daisy Carnival, an 11 1/2-hour event at Hansen Dam Recreation Park, promoters wondered how local ravers would respond to an afternoon event.

Some of the biggest names for Electric Daisy Carnival, including Carl Craig, Mark Farina, Christopher Lawrence, Donald Glaude and the Dub Pistols (playing live), were scheduled to go on after dusk. But the vast majority of the show, which began at noon, would be under the sun.

Predictably, it was brutally hot, and with most of the females opting for bikini tops and shorts and the males going shirtless, the need for comfort obviously outweighed the need for style, which is usually found in flashy and colorful rave outfits.

Fashion was just about the only sacrifice to the sun, though, as the heat failed to dampen the enthusiasm of the nearly 20,000 in attendance. Maintaining the mostly young crowd’s spirits was an impressive lineup spread out over six stages.

DJ Christian Smith set a high standard early with a thumping techno mix as noteworthy for Smith’s unobtrusive style as the strong beats. While he displayed his skills with some timely scratches and a big buildup at the climax, Smith kept the music at the center and the crowd responded by dancing throughout.

Nearby at the Clown Alley stage, Devestate also had the fans going with a set of fast-paced drum and bass tunes. Unfortunately Devestate was one of a few acts to suffer a train wreck (the dance term for turntable skipping caused in part by the jarring of the devices by the crowd’s dancing) on the day.

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One of the largest and most enthusiastic gatherings was for Mars, whose celebratory techno and house grooves seemed a perfect selection for the day. Indeed, there were several moments in his set, with the crowd jumping, waving their arms and blowing whistles, that were almost as pure as a rave can get. Feeding off the crowd’s energy, Mars impressed with a dramatic interlude that was nearly operatic in its emotional intensity.

While the showmanship of the DJs was a recurring theme, the day’s best-known DJ, Detroit techno legend Carl Craig, went for a more methodical approach during his 90-minute stint. Playing to a surprisingly small contingent, Craig wove a Populist house mix, including the dance hit “Love Bizarre,” into a jazzy middle, built around horns and scat singing. Craig’s political message, including a repeated refrain of “blue-collar workers of America, you are something,” was out of place though.

Recognizing that the throngs wanted to dance and party, jungle artist Swift served up the ideal mix to win over fans. The frenetic jungle beats, intensified by the presence of herky-jerky stage dancers, served as a perfect segue into the more glitzy night portion of Electric Daisy Carnival.

As the sun went down, and the many carnival rides lit up, lasers filled the night sky and the density of the crowd increased dramatically. The event jumped from about a 2 to an 8 on the razzle-dazzle scale. The contrast between day and night was striking, but the music didn’t lose a beat. Sandra Collins, with a furious finish, Lawrence, Omar Santana and the Dub Pistols provided some of the evening high points. But, it was local favorite DJ Dan who made the most indelible impression. His progressive trance mix, which featured elements of world percussion, filled the night air and lifted Electric Daisy Carnival into a full-scale party.