As a six-year resident of Chicago, my initial reaction to the announcement that the Electric Daisy Carnival would be making a stop in Chicago was less than enthusiastic. A festival in Joliet? On Memorial Day weekend? The venue chosen for the event – Chicagoland Speedway – is an hour outside of Chicago without traffic and without public transit. Additionally, the fickle May weather poses the ever-present risk of being sunny and 75 degrees or 50 degrees and rainy.

All my concerns aside, when Insomniac released the lineup I knew attending was non-negotiable. This would clearly be Chicago’s trance festival of the year – as a trance lover, I was positive I could find some party bus to hop on.

In the end, I’m glad I figured out the logistics. For those who have listened to the live sets from the weekend, you know what’s coming in this review thanks to the DJ’s interjections throughout their sets. It was cold. It was muddy. It was rainy. But every bit of energy spent commuting and fighting the weather was worth it for the inaugural EDC Chicago.

Friday

Those who arrived at the 5 o’clock start time had the opportunity to catch Luminox, Rebecca & Fiona, and Feed Me, and to explore the festival grounds in sunshine. I arrived at dusk in a party bus from the city, immediately noticing the full moon above the Chicagoland Speedway. In addition to the usual jolt of excitement felt at the festival gates, I got an extra rush from knowing that this festival would be the best Full Moon Party I’d ever experienced.

My first set was Gareth Emery, where I took advantage of the low-density crowd at the Main Stage by weaving my way up to the front barrier. Mr. Garuda set the crowd off with a set that ranged from house to big-room trance and even trap; from “Meet Her In Miami” to “Hello Chicago”. It was at this point that the “This Is What It Feels Like” (“TIWIFL) assault began. Given the overwhelming presence of this song at the festival, we very well could title the weekend “EDC Chicago (Ft. Trevor Guthrie)”.

A friend who attended the festival with me – who knew nothing about Armin Van Buuren or dance festivals – left the speedway with the lyrics to “This Is What It Feels Like” memorized. Without a doubt, every attendee’s body was automatically programmed to jump at the explosive drop of W&W’s remix by sunrise on Monday morning. At this point, I can’t even remark on whether or not I like the song. It will be as unavoidable as neon at festivals this summer.

Next, Martin Solveig showed up with his slight stature and big beats, particularly highlighting his new track “Hey Now”, a tune that is simple and quickly picked up by a large audience. Empire of the Sun took over the Main Stage afterwards, and as night fell, those who wore their typical festival attire began to regret it. Temperatures dropped to a point where walking between stages was painfully cold – no warmer than 50 degrees, to be sure. However, my friends and I happily skipped to the Circuit Grounds stage to witness Above & Beyond.

I can’t get enough of Above & Beyond. However, the noise level at this stage was so intense that I believe the numerous noise complaints from nearby Joliet residents were warranted. Once I removed myself from the front of the stage and became acclimated to the volume, I heard Paavo and Tony play one of the most magical sets I’d witnessed in a while. In my opinion, this experience topped their Anjunabeats Volume 10 Launch Party at the Roseland Ballroom.

A modestly sized audience took in fireworks, a full moon, and sharp lasers that brought A&B’s originals and Volume 10 favorites to a new level. I got shivers when I heard the melody of Mat Zo and Arty’s “Rebound” come into the mix. The song was a special treat from the Anjunabeats treasure chest, once again relevant due to the recent scandal with Will.i.am. The DJs acknowledged the situation by typing on the screen, “This is the new single from Will.i.am (Not)” which elicited cheers and whistles from the crowd. When you realize that hundreds of people around you are following the same news and cheering for the same Anjunabeats team, that’s the core of what Group Therapy is about. Life is made of small moments like those.

After Above & Beyond’s set, nothing could shake me. We went to see Kaskade at the Main Stage half an hour after he started. While his new single “Atmosphere” surely has power in a live setting, I was so stuck on how good Above & Beyond were that I couldn’t feel anything towards Kaskade’s set. It was enjoyable, but not as powerful as what I’d just seen.

Once I heard the live sets from the festival, I regretted seeing Kaskade instead of Morgan Page. I urge you: if you have the opportunity to see Morgan Page live this summer, go. Even if he’s scheduled at the same time as another big-name house DJ, go see him. Listen to his set and you’ll understand why.

Headhunterz closed out Friday night on the main stage, a scheduling choice that indicates that Insomniac believes hardstyle to be gaining a larger following in the US. Simultaneously, Danny Avila entertained the crowd at the Circuit Grounds stage with a grand EDM finale.

Saturday

Attendance increased on Saturday to approximately 24,000, as opposed to the 20,000 people present Friday. It was obvious who had not been there on Friday: anyone with exposed skin was clearly a noob. Despite the increase, the crowd sizes were still manageable, seeing as capacity at the Chicagoland Speedway was 30,000. These days, it’s a rare treat to be at a festival that isn’t sold out and uncomfortably crowded (Ultra?). While Insomniac may have been disappointed with their numbers, the situation was pleasant for attendees.

Insomniac showcased trance up-and-comers Audien and Ben Gold early in the evening, and gave the honors of sundown set at the Circuit Grounds to Tritonal. Though it seems they are part of the David Guetta School of Excessive Talking, Chad and Dave have an absurdly infectious energy, and a new pack of mashups to get fans even more riled up.

The hours passed too quickly through the sets of Hard Rock Sofa, CAZZETTE, and Deniz Koyu. Everything built up to W&W‘s set at 9:30, but as a result of the previous day’s noise complaints, the volume was dramatically decreased at the Circuit Grounds stage. Their set lacked its usual power due to fewer decibels, but the remainder of the crowd didn’t seem to care. Afterwards, the stage attained maximum capacity for Hardwell and Avicii. Having seen Avicii three times last summer, I became tired of his recycled sets. However, I granted him a half an hour of my Saturday lineup to see if he’d changed his routine. In that half an hour, I was highly impressed – Avicii was ACTUALLY DJ’ing, playing no song in it’s entirety, and taking the crowd through a whirlwind that even integrated the country vocals of “Wake Me Up” in a less disruptive way than his Ultra set.

At the same time, Mat Zo shredded up the Main Stage with a set that was kind of funky, kind of gritty, and made listeners like myself wonder what can’t he do? With a handful of familiar tracks from Zedd, Knife Party, and Daft Punk, plus many newer and lesser known ones, it didn’t matter what you knew or didn’t know. Zo had everyone moving, and his light show was phenomenal. Though some sort of technical error cut the sound out 50 minutes into his set, Mat picked back up with ease. This was the total essence of the festival: neither DJ nor fan would let anything get in their way of a good time.

The true highlight of the night, though, was Armin Van Buuren on the Main Stage from 2 to 4 AM. Armin commenced with the passionate violin solo by Miri Ben-Ari featured in the title track of his new album, “Intense”. With “D# Fat” dropping after that, we hopped on board a two-hour ride of “Intense” tracks, epic bangers from Orjan Nilsen and Chris Schweizer, and perfectly crafted mashups that are also featured on Armin’s recent Essential Mix. “The Expedition” came on in the middle of the set, and as the music faded to all but a low beeping sound, Armin commanded: “Chicago, if you are in a State of Trance, put your hands up!” The cold weather and Armin’s pulsing beats created a kind of raw excitement that will forever be unique to EDC Chicago.

If we had already heard “This Is What It Feels Like” countless times by Saturday night, Armin was out to make sure we didn’t forget it. Trevor Guthrie showed up for a live vocal performance half an hour into the set, and then made a reprise at the finale. His presence shows that Armin put extra effort into his EDC Chicago performance, and we appreciated it. For a trance addict like myself, this set was everything I wanted. Our party bus home was mostly quiet that night, as we my entire group had been sufficiently paralyzed by the epic proportions of Armin’s music.

Sunday

We arrived on Sunday to Swanky Tunes set, where it was clear that the cold weather had not yet affected the spirits of the audience. Next, and before the rain started falling too hard, we relaxed under our favorite art installation at the back of one of the fields – time well spent.

Around 10 PM, the rain started falling… and with little remorse. At its peak, many festival goers huddled under garage-type shelters around the speedway. But the majority of attendees sucked it up and continued to dance in rainboots, ponchos, and garbage bags. The evening’s fireworks display was twice as massive as the previous nights, reflecting brilliantly off the rain-glossed pavement of the speedway.

From there, we hopped over to the Circuit Grounds stage to get soaked during Borgore‘s big bad hour of bangers. The 10:45 / 11 PM slot called for a hard decision: Arty at the Circuit Grounds, or Eric Prydz at the Main Stage. Luckily, you couldn’t go wrong either way. Arty played a fierce set, while his manager threw towels on the decks as he finished using them. Prydz debuted new songs finished just a couple of nights before. Tiesto, Sander Van Doorn, and Markus Schulz had incredible sets worth re-listening to. Overall, while it certainly didn’t feel like summer, every DJ featured at Electric Daisy Carnival Chicago played as though this were the pinnacle of festival season. And even if you heard “Clarity,” “Easy,” “Alive,” and “This Is What It Feels Like” one time too many, these many nocturnal hours of music made you realize that this is a great time for electronic music.

Finally, feeling somewhat beat, my friends and I skipped Sebastian Ingrosso for our final set of the festival: Dash Berlin. Luckily, the rain was coming from behind us at this stage, but Dash’s face must have been soaked. It was 3 AM and many of those who weren’t required to be at the festival had left – most girls had called it quits by this point.

The true Dash fans, though, were clearly present. I noticed a guy dancing enthusiastically next to me, and despite rain hitting our backs at the end of a long, cold weekend, he said to me: “I wish this would last forever!” His comment and high spirits made me forget about the elements and take in the beautiful sights around me at that moment. Every hand holding a “Dash Berlin” branded light stick clearly knew the beats by heart, as they waved them in sync with a “Sun & Moon” vs. “Silence” mashup, “Better Off Alone”, and even a version of Rihanna’s “Stay”. Thanks to Dash’s beautiful set and the devotion of the crowd listening to it, I left the festival feeling content as my group sloshed through the enormous mud pits to the exit.

The Summary

As many attendees have already commented, a smack down between EDC Chicago and EDC New York would most likely be championed by Chicago due to a stronger lineup, a highly optimized layout with little sound overlap, and an overnight experience that gave it a greater semblance to the Vegas event. The suburban location brought many first-timers, who were generally friendly, and the cold also kept the crowd sober and respectful. Overall, every aspect of the event that Insomniac could control was more or less perfectly executed. Through the weather and the traveling, the festival felt like a labor of love. But if any city would pull through, Chicago could. Armin said it best: “Finally, Chicago got the festival it deserved.”

Our favorite photos of the Electric Daisy landscape from JustAwesome Photography for WRR:

Electric Daisy Carnival Chicago Photo Albums

• Day One @ Electric Daisy Carnival, Chicago
• Day Two @ Electric Daisy Carnival, Chicago
• Day Three @ Electric Daisy Carnival, Chicago

More on WRR:

• Electric Daisy Carnival New York Reviewed
• Insomniac Reveals EDC Week 2013 Events Schedule For Las Vegas (June 18th – 25th)
• Deadmau5 Slams Ultra Records, Set To Release New Music Soon

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