Orioles, Ravens, Crabs and Dubstep. That’s what Baltimore should be known for. On Saturday June 9, thousands descended upon Fort Armistead Park for the 14th Annual Starscape Festival: The Garden of Eden presented by Steez Promo and Ultraworld Productions. To put 14 years in in perspective, there have only been 11 Bonnaroo’s. For those who haven’t been, Starscape isn’t a Dayglow or college paint party looking to capitalize on the growing popularity of electronic dance music. The talent is curated and event produced by the same team who developed the scene here in the Baltimore area. With a lineup composed of some of the top dubstep and electro acts, Starscape definitely isn’t for the feint of heart.
The almost perfect event experienced only a few flaws including production errors and the fire marshall limiting capacity, which shut about 500 people out of the show. Both were minor as the production error allowed attendees to catch all of Dillon Francis and Zedd, while the venue was easy to navigate from stage to stage and finding a spot to dance in the crowd was without issue. For those who were able to experience the Garden of Eden; join me in saying that it was an incredible night of music, friendship and weirdness.
It was quick entry to the festival and I spent the first hour or so getting acclimated to the layout. The Sunrise and Dub Nation Beach Stage were ideal being positioned across from one another with incredible views of the Key Bridge. With the breeze coming in off of the water, it was unique experience dancing to the trembling dubstep provided by Terravita, Figure, Funtcase & Cookie Monsta and Delta Heavy.
Dillon Francis on the Dubnation Stage
Dillon Francis had what was probably the most impressive set of the night; seamlessly blending genres with complete control of the crowd’s energy. Francis moved between moombahton bangers into popular edits of Calvin Harris’ Feel So Close, Daft Punk’s Around the World and Nicky Romero’s Toulouse. In a bold move, Francis ended his set with a remix of the Tequila Song that brought everyone together smiling, dancing and loving life.
Modestep was an act that I highly anticipated seeing and the group delivered on all fronts. Their live dubstep / rock performance on the mainstage included their original mixes like Sunlight and Feel Good, while dropping some popular dubstep tracks most notably Bonfire off of the new Knife Party EP. I’m not sure if the crowd raged harder than that all day.
Ghostland Observatory and their lazers
Ghostland Observatory was an excellent addition to the dubheavy lineup and relief from the sometimes overwhelming bass. Ghostland is a wild spectacle of psychedelic electro-dance rock with a hearty dose of laser beams. They’ll be hitting a lot of major festivals this summer and you won’t regret skipping another act to see them. Wolfgang Gartner opened strong but it seemed like he kept going back to these same progressive chords over and over. You’re playing the mainstage at Starscape, bring the bangers and leave the house at home.
Somehow the power cut out during Kill The Noise’s set and it had to be reset, ultimately cutting his playing time in half. What normally occurs (cough M83 at Ultra) is the dj gets screwed and the production moves onto the next timeslot. However, Steez gave KTN a full set time and pushed back Zedd and Dada Life. Ultimately this removed any lineup conflicts that I had prior to arrival as I was able to catch both of their sets in full. I’m not sure if Zedd gets enough credit for his stage presence, energy and production which has noticeably improved over the past year. He did however break the unspeakable rule of no playing Levels or Cinema, albeit it was his own Slam the Cinema mashup.
Zedd shaving it up.
It’s not until around 4AM when a majority of the crowd began to disperse as the headliners have finished and their legs started to ache from the non-stop dancing. I spent the last few hours walking the venue, getting Shpongled and admiring the types of people that festivals like Starscape attract. We all come from different backgrounds, but for one night or weekend we come together free of judgement to live and experience the music we love.
Starscape’s heavy dubstep lineup definitely brought out more weirdos than you’ll see at other festivals. But as I stood with my friend Max watching Conspirator as the sun rose over the bay he said to me,
“Yeah. Baltimore can get kind of grimy and dirty, but I love it.”
Come to think of it, I do too. See you next year at Starscape 2013.
Notes: Thanks go out to Evan Weinstein, Kavi Halemane. and Alex Rossi.
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