The long-running electronic dance music festival Electric Zoo (this year, its eleventh, was subtitled "Evolved") took over its usual spot on Randall’s Island this past weekend, as tens of thousands of fans went nuts when the beat dropped approximately four million times. The weather was spectacular, the huge crowds ready to party, and the vibes, as the saying goes, were only good.
About 100 different acts performed over the course of the three-day festival, including megastars such as Above and Beyond, Diplo, Afrojack, Kaskade, Skrillex, Eric Pridz, Shaquille O'Neill (yup), Armin Van Buuren, and Zedd. There were four stages at the year’s event, all lined up in a row (two were semi-enclosed. Though there was definitely some sound bleed if you sat on the grass in the middle of the things, each venue’s sonic system was so unbelievably loud that you couldn’t hear anything but the music in front of you once you were in that zone.
What are the trends in EDM-festival fashion these days, you ask? In addition to bondage wear, bathing suits, fishnets, PLUR beads, and random Halloween costumes, anything with pineapples was really big again this year, as was the Friends logo for some reason, as well as cats, tacos, aliens, face masks, pizza, and of course, that perennial favorite, drug references. And while there is still plenty of dub stepping going on everywhere, head banging and mosh pits continue their recent domination of the dance floor.
Obviously this scene isn't for everyone, but those who love it—the music, the dancing and slamming, the general atmosphere of freedom and fun, release and delirium—really get into it. It’s not easy to find such a massive communal experience, but in the six years I've been going, EZoo always delivers.
