The Best of EDC Las Vegas 2015: Day 2

Between the next-level stage designs, the music, the fireworks, the performers and the energy of the more than 134,000 Headliners who came out to play on day two of the fest, it truly felt like the best incarnation of EDC thus far.

Headliner Love

Before day two began, I got a frantic text from a friend who had lost her wallet on Friday night. Pro tip: At the end of each night, all lost & found items are moved to the exterior L&F outside the festival near Gate C, so if you lose anything, come early the next day to look for it there. This is exactly what I told my friend, only to get a text from her saying someone had found her wallet and contacted her on Facebook to return it. An EDC first-timer, she saw firsthand what sets dance music fans apart. “I love these people!” she said. And it turns out we love her, too. —Anum Khan

Electric Spinner

Most dancers have to remember their choreography. This guy also had to remember not to electrocute himself. I ran into this fellow on Electric Avenue and immediately stopped to watch him spin, twirl and twist his way around the center structure. So did almost 100 other Headliners, who had all gathered to watch the drama ensue. Of course, the beauty of the fact that we were watching this performance on Electric Avenue, Under the Electric Sky, was not lost on me. The electric spinner reminds us that sometimes the things we least prepare for at EDC are what we remember most. He also reminds us that sometimes you don’t just gather Under the Electric Sky; sometimes, you create it yourself. —Anum Khan

Eats Everything Destroying the Techno Teepee

neonGARDEN, which we have lovingly dubbed the “techno teepee” for its impressive underground lineup, was all kinds of awesome thanks to Bristol boy Eats Everything and his bass-heavy house and techy styling. Playing to a packed tent, Eats was building it up and bringing it down with a steady stream of sonic peaks and valleys that had the entire dancefloor reaching for the roof. I couldn’t have imagined a better foundation being laid for techno godfather Carl Cox going back-to-back with New York house legend Victor Calderone. —Boojie Baker

Hardwell and Dada Life Crashing the Mayan Art Car

To the surprise of Saturday night’s Headliners, Hardwell and Dada Life made unannounced appearances on the Mayan Warrior Art Car, hosted by Discovery Project. After the guest slot was tweeted out just a few minutes prior to his set, the Dutch superstar DJ was greeted by hundreds of fans waiting to see his performance. Without any mainstage expectations, Hardwell dipped into an epic hip-hop and moombahton set that included DMX’s “Party Up (Up in Here)” as Diplo, Dyro, and Insomniac CEOwl Pasquale Rotella stopped by to witness the fun. Next up were Dada Life, who transported the crowd back to the old school with some epic rave tunes. To top it all off, Discovery Project artists brought the heat throughout the entire night. It was quite the ride on the art car, and definitely a night we won’t forget. —Joe Wiseman

Walter White Getting Kinetic

Above & Beyond are known for bringing special guests onstage to push the button during “Sun and Moon,” but the packed crowd at kineticFIELD got a massive surprise when Jono and Paavo brought none other than actor Bryan Cranston onstage to push the button during “Walter White.”

“I’m used to being in front of a crowd, but not THAT big of a crowd,” said Cranston backstage after the experience. “The energy just wafting up onstage from the crowd—it’s mind-blowing.”

We later found out that our friend (and former L.A. Kings Stanley Cup winner) Dustin Penner helped make it all happen. Cheers to you, sir. Always delivering in the clutch. —Rich Thomas

Waterfalls

The waterfalls at kineticFIELD were simply epic, like something out of Legends of the Hidden Temple. This game-changing new element brings the festival’s biggest stage to a whole new level. Transplant yourself into nature by getting lost in the falls. —Joe Wiseman

Our Awesome Golf Cart

EDC Las Vegas will be the fifth festival shooting our Golf Cart Confessions series, but before the first artist hopped aboard at the Speedway this year, we got a surprise treat from a few outside innovators. A chance meeting at EDMbiz earlier in the week with the folks from Lumafi led to us having one of the snazziest sets of wheels onsite. They were kind enough to lend us some of their portable, battery-powered LED light strips, and as you can see from the pic, all our DJs enjoyed the extra ambience immensely. Big shout-outs to the Lumafi crew! Check them out on Instagram. Rich Thomas

Live Sets FTW

Don’t get us wrong: We love our DJs. But night two kicked up a notch or three with live sets from Krewella, Keys N Krates and Duke Dumont. While the excitement of watching your favorite DJ slay the decks is a true highlight, experiencing a live set takes things to a new level. Krewella were killin’ it (get it?) with their live show, which featured a live drummer, a guitarist, and sisters Jahan and Yasmine on the mic. Their high-energy set brought about an insanely massive, overflowing crowd to circuitGROUNDS. The sisters Yousaf closed out their set with a touching speech about love and freedom of expression at EDC, and then went into a riveting rendition of “Alive.” The song’s lyrics never felt so real and heartfelt; it’s as if the sisters wrote those words specifically for this one, single instance: “Let’s make this fleeting moment last forever.”

Back at cosmicMEADOW, Keys N Krates, the truest live act this weekend, rocked the stage like it’s never been rocked before. The group knows a thing or two about operating as a live band in a DJ’s world, so they had to bring it extra hard to prove to the crowds that actual magic happens outside the USB stick.

Duke Dumont later packed cosmicMEADOW with his EDC live show debut, which premiered on the festival circuit earlier this year. Kicking it off with classic hits such as “The Giver,” he then proceeded to take the crowd through techy dancefloor bangers and acid house buildups, and even paid tribute to the soulful and stripped-down gospel vocals that created this genre. His live set, which featured his signature deep house styling that bridges the gap between commercial appeal and underground mystique, was a cohesive trip through his recent discography and a deeper dive into his catalog—including his spooky remix of Mystery Jets’ “Two Doors Down.” The finale and crowd anthem “I Got You,” with its rainbow video installations and feel-good vibe, proved that not only has deep house reached the masses, it rivals its EDM counterparts for sold-out —Boojie Baker, John Ochoa, Troy Kurtz

Bro, Do You Even b2b

I find the perfect way to spice up a set is when two (or preferably more) artists decide to go in on a little back-to-back action. At bassPOD, they didn’t skimp on the versus vibes, cramming a year’s worth of b2b bombs into a single weekend. Saturday was the most stacked from the bunch, with four furious paired-up performances from the Critical Music, Circus Records and BSE camps. Perhaps one of my faves from the fest thus far has to be Metrik sharing the stage alongside TC. I’m convinced the two drum & bass bruhs belong side-by-side until the end of time, as they ripped bassheads a new one as they rinsed broken-beat cuts like rave royalty. —Sam Yu

Pharaoh’s Fury Encore

From sundown to sunup, Headliners queued up to get their thrill on at the many attractions scattered throughout the EDC landscape—because what’s the point of going to a carnival if you don’t intend on hopping on some rides, right? I’ll admit my fear of heights usually gets the best of me, though, so I have to resort to harmless, acrophobia-friendly rides like Pharaoh’s Fury. While in line, one group aboard the swinging boat began to chant “one more time,” as they would to elicit an encore from a closing DJ. In this case, they were looking for a second serving, because once is just never enough. The ride operator didn’t stand a chance against their teamwork. Good job, guys. —Sam Yu

Electric Daisy Chapel

It’s been a year since Panda and Peach walked down the electric aisle at EDC, and we couldn’t be any happier for the Carnival-hitched couple (if you picked up a copy of The Insomniac, the EDC mag, we’re probably on the same page). With it being their annie and all, we chose the perfect spot to catch up: near the wedding chapel, naturally. It was here where they exchanged vows a year ago today, and where festivalgoers are now putting the L in PLUR by making their commitment rave sacred. —Sam Yu

Motez Closing the Show

I was wandering around the grounds at 5:45 this morning, when the sound of some deliciously deep beats off in the distance pulled me toward the Mayan Warrior Art Car, which was nicely silhouetted against the orange sun rising in the east. When I arrived, the last of the hardcore party people were still going strong, dancing to the guy presiding over the decks, who played until someone literally pulled the plug on his setup and effectively ended day two of EDC. “What’s your naaaaaame?” yelled a guy in the crowd. “It’s Motez!” Motez yelled back, smiling, with his arms raised in the air in victory, which in that moment is kind of all we all felt. —Katie Bain

The Parade

Out of all the times I’ve attended EDC Las Vegas, I’ve never had a chance to see the parade—that is, until yesterday. I was pleasantly surprised seeing the Boombox Art Car for the second time, and even more surprised watching the gaggle of Coney Island Clowns, Italian Mamas, additional art cars and more following it. As the procession made its way down Rainbow Road, I got the same feeling of amazement and excitement I used to get as a kid watching parades as Disneyland. After all, we are at the happiest place on earth. —Anum Khan

Wuki

It won’t be long after this festival wraps that Wuki should become a household name. He took over the decks on stage7 and ripped through a booty-shaking set that had the entire crowd dripping in sweat. Things then took a serious turn as he dropped his remix of RL Grime’s “Kingpin,” and I was pretty certain most everyone ditched between one and three articles of clothing. With past releases on labels like OWSLA, Mad Decent and Main Course, Wuki’s furious brand of speaker-rattling dance music will see him leap into the varsity league of world-class DJs. —Troy Kurtz

Martin Garrix Photo Bomb

I asked Dada Life whom they’re both currently crushing on as we cruised around backstage while filming our Golf Cart Confessions video series. Both Olle and Stephan seemed slightly stumped by the question, which is why it was perfect when, at that very moment, Martin Garrix popped into the frame to give the guys a hug. The three of us decided that Garrix was adorable and indeed our mutual crush of the moment. —Katie Bain

Armin Talks Game of Thrones

Anum and I interviewed the legendary Armin van Buuren in his trailer before he played kineticFIELD, and the three of us went deep on a few AvB-related issues—particularly, and perhaps most importantly, his love for Game of Thrones and his recent remix of the show’s iconic theme song. He said he was honored to do the remix, and he noted that HBO accepted the first version he sent them without making any revision requests, which seemed to make him happy. He also played the track in last night’s massive set. Word to the wise: van Buuren hasn’t watched season five’s shocking finale just yet, so don’t tweet him any spoilers. Watch for our complete interview, coming soon on Insomniac.com. —Katie Bain

Ground Control Oasis and Consciousness Group Center

We were overly excited about day one that we never felt the exhaustion of the night, even when we partied ‘til the sunrise (like these Headliners did). That all changed on day two, when the exhaustion kicked in—BIG TIME. Luckily, we found the Ground Control Oasis hosted by the purple-shirted Ground Control angels. The Oasis is the perfect zone to chill out, with enough space to fit you and your entire rave family in a cooled-out, air-conditioned room equipped with sink-in chairs and a hammock. It’s a great destination for a meet-up spot, too, when you and your rave buddies get separated. For those looking to become a member of the Ground Control family or for more information, visit the official EDC Las Vegas website, Facebook page and Twitter.

Next door to the Oasis is the Insomniac Consciousness Group home base. The Consciousness Group promotes and celebrates sobriety, providing a sanctuary for music fans who are straight-edge, recovering, or simply feeling overwhelmed. The group establishes a booth at each Insomniac festival and are easily accessible to anyone in need. For those looking to rave sober, or for more information, visit the Insomniac Consciousness Group’s official Facebook page.

The Ground Control Oasis and Consciousness Group are located alongside the Carnival Square structure between neonGARDEN and cosmicMEADOW. Look for the signs!