Review: HARD Day of the Dead brings new life to LA festival scene

Posted on Nov 6, 2013 in Events, Festival, Reviews

Last weekend was a blur of flashing lights, as thousands converged at the Los Angeles Downtown Historic Park to celebrate the Day of the Dead in a way that Southern California residents know well: with parties, and with music. HARD’s second installment of the Day of the Dead festival, a replacement for their Haunted Mansion party from years past, brought in November in a bevy of bass. With EDM giants deadmau5, Eric Prydz/Cirez D, Calvin Harris, Skrillex, and Giorgio Moroder headlining the event, among a plethora of talented acts throughout the day, it was bound to be a busy weekend. It resulted in a HARD event that was inarguably their biggest and best festival to date.

HARD boss-man Gary Richards has made it very clear that he looks to avoid any sort of “rave” connotation when it comes to his events; when people entered the grounds to find rides, sponsored tents from WeChat and Sharpie, and food trucks sprinkled strategically around the four stages, one would think they stepped into a carnival rather than a music festival.

Make no mistake, however: music was the main focus, and Gary certainly outdid himself this year with not only a diversified line-up spanning various genres and newcomer-veteran status; the stage production was also a great improvement, as the main stage this year included extra fixtures that caused the sides to curve around the dance-floor, almost hugging it towards the stage and enveloping them in the experience. It was also decorated to look like the front of a haunted house, with stairs and balconies on which dancers climbed and posed to the beat. The liberal use of pyrotechnics and fireworks were also a new concept, the former being incredibly useful later on in the night as the heat from the timed flames provided much-needed warmth to half-dressed bodies everywhere. The only thing hotter than the fire this weekend was the music, as artists brought their best to the decks. Here are our favorite sets from both days, along with their secret weapon track:

Sanfuentes
Honestly, it’s slightly mind-boggling that Vincent Sanfuentes was left to play an opening slot for the festival, as he has the DJ resumé to play with the best of them. Regardless, he opened with the fervor of a headliner, throwing himself into his set with passion and constantly singing along with the vocal tracks. A hint of acid, a little bit of house, and a lot of techno was the perfect way to start the weekend, and those who were fortunate enough to show up early straggled over the enormous hill separating the Underground stage from the rest of the park, intrigued by the hard-hitting beats ringing out across the park. While his best track was his last, and is currently unidentified as well as unreleased, this tune from Cowboy Rhythmbox had everyone shaking, but maybe none so much as Sanfuentes himself.

 

Dusky
After few sweet and short trips to the US, the duo from the UK returned to Los Angeles to play their first-ever Southern California festival. Their success and popularity only continue to rise at an exponential pace after overtaking Hardwell’s spot at the top of the Beatport charts, and to see them finally gain some exposure on this kind of stage was validating, even if they also had an early slot. Regardless, many people showed up, as they grooved their way through a set of deep, groovy, and soulful house. Of course, they got their biggest responses when they played their own material, but their true achievement was in their ability to read the crowd, interacting with adorers below. A song from a recent EP, “Vanishing Point,” went deeper than expected, flooring the dance-floor amidst moans of disbelief. If you thought their bass-lines went deep on their records, you know nothing until you’ve heard them on a proper sound system.

 

Soul Clap
When HARD Day of the Dead seems like it’s all about mind-blowing bass, it’s odd to think that one of the most successful sets would be the opposite of that. To be honest, not much was expected going into Soul Clap’s set. Their debut album may have erred on the side of underwhelming, but their set at DOTD was anything but, as they were the epitome of funk that Saturday. Seeing as how the guys were dressed in shiny gold lamé sweatsuits, one would have thought that they’d stepped into a time machine back to the 80s, as colorful visuals and skeletons in breakdancing suits floated above them. Coursing through some deep, slow jams, they’d at times tease the audience by playing some Halloween-appropriate music, like “I Put A Spell On You,” while dancers dressed as skeletons writhed on stage. After a period of blissful deepness, the guys went straight, funky house. Who would have thought they’d ever hear Tortured Soul at a HARD festival? Not this girl.

 

Tourist
Perhaps one of the weekend’s greatest injustices was the hour that was Tourist’s set. Why, you ask? It wasn’t horrible; far, far from that, actually. After a successful set of smooth, chill bass from the boys of Maribou State, there was a considerable group gathered around the Discotheque stage waiting to see what the next act would bring. Admittedly, I didn’t know much of Tourist or his music, but had done just barely enough research to know that he would be releasing on Disclosure’s Method Records later this year. That alone caused a sense of confusion… Disclosure’s pretty popular, aren’t they? Why aren’t there more people here to see a guy that Guy and Howard handpicked to make music for them? Tourist played a live set of the most otherworldly, blissful garage, with brooding bass-lines and delicate synths floating out of the speakers, but because it wasn’t typically dance-y, people just started walking away. Whatever, dudes. Listen to his Method Recs upcoming release below and thank me (and Disclosure) later when he gets big.

 

Tensnake
After watching Calvin Harris play the exact same set as he always does, venturing into the Discotheque tent once again was a breath of fresh air as Tensnake was piling on beats for all those in attendance. He played around genre-wise, shifting every so often from disco to house to acid, toying with bass-lines and filters to give them that big-room sound that makes people so crazy. He played Todd Terje’s “Inspector Norris,” as well as his own single “See Right Through” featuring Fiona, which seemed to slow people down as they grooved in an entranced state. He then surprised everyone by ending with a remix of Radiohead’s “Everything In Its Place.” His masterful mixing easily made him one of the best sets of the weekend.

 

Skream
The former dubstep-master made his intent to switch music styles pretty clear earlier this year, and one would think that, playing on a stage called the DISCO-theque, Oliver Jones would be playing on the lighter side of the dance music spectrum. However, many were still surprised and disgruntled when he didn’t play any dubstep at all, foregoing the played-out style in favor of more melodic, vocal-heavy tunes. With a track-listing containing George Fitzgerald, Ninetoes, Disclosure, and Hot Natured, it was good to see this side of Skream as people boogied to their heart’s content. He pulled from his Boiler Room set a super-disco jingle, a Dimitri From Paris edit of Prince’s “I Wanna Be Your Lover,” which made everyone shout with happiness as they bounced around to the funky bass-line. We’re still not quite sure if he was broadcasting the set for his show, but having Sgt. Pokes interject every few minutes got old after awhile. You’re cool and all, but you can’t be killing the groove like that, man!

Duke Dumont
In our eyes, Duke Dumont performed a set worthy of headliner status. After going into his set at HARD Summer last August and coming out amazed, we knew we had to see him again. His set was fairly similar to Skream’s in his artist-choice, playing out songs from George Fitzgerald, Deetron, and Hot Natured, as well as his massive hits “The Giver” and “Need U (100%).” Where the two differ, however, is Dumont going much harder in his later song selection, as he pumped out some bass-y Boddika and Joy Orbison, in a move that had some people confused, and others dancing uncontrollably. By the time he ended, everyone was screaming and clapping for him, and wishing that he could have gone on for another hour (or three).

STARTING A WEB SITE? Get $5.99 .COM domains.