The Electric Daisy Carnival
The Electric Daisy Carnival (EDC) began in 1997! Since that time the event has continued to grow. After spending 13 years in its original home of California it moved and was welcomed with open arms by Las Vegas. This is the story of my amazing adventure into the first year of EDC Las Vegas.
I was lucky enough to be able to be a guest of one of the DJs playing that year on the last day which meant full VIP and backstage access! So we start off in traffic, which is an absolute beast! Cars, busses, limos and everything else you can imagine line all roadways on the way to the event. However, it doesn’t matter. Even in gridlock all you see is windows down with their hands in the air, you hear music spilling out of cars, and you can feel the energy of everyone going to the event. Once at the venue we walk into the back gate which overlooks the entire speedway. The Speedway has been converted into a field of lights and rides and you can hear the sounds of all the stages. There were 6 stages of sound; keneticField, cosmicMeadow, circuitGrounds, neonGarden, bassPod, and the HeinekenDomes.
At first entry we meet an awesome group of people who have fully coordinated their red and black outfits and look freaking awesome, so we of course get photos talk about what we plan to do and split off. We walk pass an awesome open air tent that is perfectly placed for chilling and then head to the stages. First stage we hit we immediately go backstage. We meet security, crew, see some of the DJs and snapped photos and of course started immersing ourselves in the music.
After partying for a while we leave and head to the center of the venue where there are all the rides, a lot of different places to eat and drink, and an awesome chill spot that has a mix of old school house music playing where you can kick back and just bask in old beats. Next we head to Cosmic Meadow. We don’t go all the way into the Meadow, but watching the lights, listening to the sounds, and dancing right outside the area was still just as awesome.
Next we head into the VIP stands that overlook the Kinetic Field. This was awesome. VIP has their own bathrooms, serves alcohol, and gave us the perfect view of the stage and all of the people. Let me take a moment to say each stage and field is brilliantly unique and amazingly done. The focus has been put on making each area different, supportive to the DJs and sound, and brings everyone’s attention to the DJ booth and performers. After spending time in VIP partying with everyone and taking a photo of superman we head backstage. We go up into the bleachers right over the stage and get to see awesome trampoline performers doing full gymnastic tumbling and high bounces. Not to mention an utterly mind-blowing performance by Avicii! I will admit before LVEDC I did not know who Avicii was, but I left not only knowing but also respecting him. Another thing that was awesome about being up on the rafters was looking out and literally seeing thousands of people enjoying life, love, and music together, it literally stops time. My friend and I just danced on the rafters and partied hard.
We finally head to go get something to eat and go into one of the mist rooms. These rooms are awesome! What they have done is converted the car stations of the speedway into chill spots. They are heavily air conditioned, have misters showering you as you enter, lots of couches to chill on, and are a great spot to meet all kinds of people.
We head back out and see the group we were most excited for, Swedish House Mafia! These guys put on an amazing show; high energy, connected with the audience, and excellent visuals. So we go back stage again go back to the rafters and keep on dancing. After that we run around the rest of the fields, taking photos, meeting people, dancing with everyone, and having a great time.
Of course the best thing for me personally, was the love of everyone there. I witnessed no fights, I saw no hate, and there was no drama. It was pure love; love of the music, love for each other, and love of life. EDC is an experience you will never forget. I pray it is a Vegas staple for many years to come. Hope to see you there!
Peace, Love, Unity, and Respect my brothers and sisters!
~~Theodore Jackson
@2013DW
