Katie BainTwenty-four hours of partying over two days is a lot, but many took the plunge over the weekend for Hard Summer, the annual two day electro-fest.
See also: The Best of Hard Summer 2013
70,000 attendees descended upon Chinatown's State Historic Park for the festival, which expanded its hours from noon to midnight this year. Lots of them had a great time, but the event was marred by tragedy, something that has become all too common at these types of events. Here's the worst of what went down over the weekend:
Credit: Credit: Timothy Norris
A man dies
Around 10 pm, a 25-year-old man was found dead inside on the grounds of the festival. An overdose was suspected. Here's the full story.
Garbage
By the end of Saturday night the festival was a mess of empty water bottles and other assorted trash. The garbage cans and recycling bins were literally overflowing with (improperly sorted) refuse. Sad.
See also: Trashed: Music Festivals Are Environmental Disasters
That damn rave girl outfit
Ladies, it's time to revitalize your festival steez. Yes, you're 18 and have killer body, and of course this is the perfect venue to show it off with a sparkly matching bra/panty set, those furry boot things, a tutu and the ribbons y'all wrap around your legs, but considering that such EDM apparel is now available in most suburban malls, your look is officially played out.
No cell signal
One would think that with branding opportunities being what they are, some savvy cellphone provider would throw up a tower at the venue to ensure that texts go through in a timely manner. But no, we're all just left to wander around the mainstage trying to meet up with people who actually left an hour ago.
Credit: Timothy Norris
We're still doing this guys?
Really?
See also: The Five Biggest Egos in EDM
Flying Lotus' set; Credit: Timothy Norris
Party fatigue
“I'm disappointed that y'all ain't more funky,” said Flying Lotus on Saturday, lamenting that the crowd wasn't more into his funk-infused astral-inspired set. To be fair, this happened during the final 15 minutes of a 12 hour day, but a decidedly faded audience was seen at the fringes of many a set during the last few hours of each evening. Again, 24 hours is a long time to party.
Generic EDM
While Hard continues to largely populate its lineup with the best of the underground, some acts were basically just generic regurgitations of the basic drop/beat/drop/beat repeat formula. Did the crowds seem to care? Not really. Was it sometimes impossible to tell who exactly we were listening to because it sounded basically the same as someone we just saw. Yes.
Also, if one of the stages is named “Underground,” is it, actually?
Drug dogs
Anxiety inducing, even if you're not actually carrying drugs.
See also: Guys, Rubbing Your Boners On Us While Dancing Has Got to Stop
Do these look like people prepared to go into the office on Monday morning?; Credit: Credit: Timothy Norris
A case of the Mondays
As day turned to night on Sunday, the primary topic of conversation turned from party rocking to what time everyone had to work on Monday morning at their offices in Buzzkill City. “If I get home and go to bed by 1am, I can get three hours of sleep before I head to work,” one guy said to another, while they decided whether or not to take any drugs. It would be convenient if the festival could run on Friday and Saturday instead of Saturday and Sunday as it is now, in order to make Sunday a much needed full-on recovery day.
See also: The Best of Hard Summer 2013
Follow Katie Bain @bainofyrexstnce, and like us at LAWeeklyMusic.
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