Ravers, house music lovers, pop culture enthusiasts, degenerates (don’t lie you saw them too), and people simply looking for a great time flooded the doors of Las Vegas Motor Speedway to attend Electric Daisy Carnival 2011. Let’s get straight to the point – this years EDC was the best ‘rave’ we have ever attended, bar none. Yes, we completely understand that this is an extremely lofty statement, read on below as to how we came to this conclusion.

First off, let us all congratulate Insomniac for putting together one heck of a weekend. Having 100,000 people (if not more) in one area at one time is a safety hazard waiting to happen. Combine that with the heat, extracurricular substances (you know what I am talking about), and crazy music its easy to see how tough an event like this can be to plan out. Insomniac successfully tackled all oncoming obstacles (for the most part) and threw an n-joyable event.

Reason for Success #1: The Venue

Las Vegas Motor Speedway is huge. It comfortably fit all the people who purchased tickets the rave. In all honesty, it makes the LA Coliseum look like a joke. The spaciousness of the venue also allowed for ease of movement. You did not have to walk through a wave of people to move from stage to stage. They made fantasy into reality, because you could truly catch different acts on different stages and not miss a minute of the particular act you were going to. Could this happen in LA? No. The bleachers were easily accessible and gave people a chance to rest their legs and still see their favorite performances. Las Vegas is widely referred to as the city of sin, I say screw that – it is the city of dreams.

Grade: A+

Reason for Success #2: Hydration

Before you would spend a fortune on water in a rave. At $5 dollars a pop you could average easily $30 on hydration. Problem solved this year, you could purchase an EDC water bottle (which also doubles as a great collectors item) or a normal Dasani water bottle and get as many refills as you would like after that. No one was getting sick or punished for not spending an absurd amount on water. This was one of the biggest safety hazards of all time, and Insomniac figured out an easy and affordable solution for everyone. Bravo!

Trick #1: For those of you that were 21 and older, you could have signed up at the ‘Smokers Lounge’ and received free bottles of water or soda. Save the bottle and you don’t even have to pay for the refills at the water stations. Genius!

Grade: A+

Reason for Success #3: Transportation

Most people who attended EDC stayed on the strip which was quite a distance away from the speedway. The average cab ride from these two locations costs roughly $45. As you can see going back and forth could cost you nearly $300 for the entire weekend assuming traffic is in your favor. However, the EDC shuttle was a brilliant idea. For a 3 day ride the shuttle costs a convenient $60, way more affordable than cabs back and forth. They also had many pick up and drop off points throughout the strip which made the shuttles easily accessible from all hotels. Taking the shuttles was a nice way to bond with your fellow ravers and figure out which sets were more lucrative to go see. The most underrated part of transportation was the free parking. What is the point of driving to EDC if parking was $20? Great idea and insanely convenient for everyone.

Problem #1: The negative side of having such a big venue was that if you did not drive or take the shuttle you needed to catch a cab home. The line for the taxi’s were located a little more than a half mile away when you were coming from the exit nearest the Cosmic Meadow stage. Do you really want to be walking that distance at 6 AM when you are dead tired? Didn’t think so. The shuttle tickets also were sold out fairly quickly and you could not purchase last minute tickets anywhere.

An easy fix is to have taxi lines at every exit so no matter where you are it is easy to get home. Insomniac should add more shuttles for next year, because im sure the event will be much larger based on the success of 2011.

Grade: B+

Reason for Success #4: The Music

If you were not at EDC, you were jealous of those that went. The lineup was unreal, the venue was pristine, and the hype made you sufficiently wet before you even stepped foot in Vegas. Not only are getting the biggest acts important, but artists that put on the best performances are a must. Look no farther then the headliners (Swedish House Mafia, Tiesto, and David Guetta) for some major artistry at work. The firework show was brilliant touch at the end of SHM’s amazing set. All in all no one should be disappointed at the overall quality of music at the event, even if a few acts did not live up to your expectations.

While we are on the subject of music, look at what Avicii dropped at EDC. His new track with the old vocals from Penguin that say “Don’t Give Up On Us”.

Problem #2: The overlapping of so many quality acts was sort of annoying. We are being nitpicky (is that a word or did I just make it up?) because the more talent you pull, the more talent you miss out on (that’s what HE said!). On Sunday Night, did we really want to make the brutal decision of staying on the main stage for Nicky Romero, but it would cost us Dada Life’s set? There were numerous instances of this…a little more discretion next time could at least diminish the overlapping in future carnival’s.

Problem #3: Was it just us or were some of the speakers not performing at full capacity? During Robbie Rivera’s set people were chanting “Turn It Up, Turn It Up!” so that the volume would increase. During R3hab’s early morning set the speakers actually stopped completely at one point. This was not the problem on the main stage, but the sound crew could have done a little better job on the smaller stages.

Grade: A-

Reasons for Success #5: Food

8 PM – 6 AM, people get hungry in that time period. At least allowing people the option of purchasing food gives them a chance to relax and re-fuel. Best part was that the food area was separated from the stages so you separate yourself from the craziness of EDC and chat with some friends or hit on some really attractive minimally clad raver chick.

Grade: A

Reason for Success #6: Crowd Insanity/Intensity

For all of you that went to EDC 2011, you guys fucking rock. The crowds were wild and fun the entire way through. We were impressed at how much knowledge the crowd had for the songs that were playing. Everyone we met were full of joy and just happy to be alive.

Sidenote: Don’t know if it was everyone’s best friend “Molly” that made everyone nice and pleasant to be around, but we were given a warm reception wearing our Dancing Astronaut T-Shirts (coming to our merchandise store in a relatively short period of time!).

Grade: A++

Needless to say, if the Electric Daisy Carnival were a student it would be on the honor roll. We hope you n-joyed it as much as we did. See you sexy ravers again next year!

Categories: Music