Peppered with confusion, bewilderment, and apologies, the highway to Day Journey was a windy one. However Insomniac delivered.
Marking the return of music festivals in Southern California, the occasion was pure bliss—a stark distinction to the troubling week main as much as it. After an unprecedented two venue adjustments within the weeks previous to Day Journey, the fabled promoter pulled a rabbit out of its hat and hosted a radiant masterstroke of a music fest.
Venue switcheroo
Within the aftermath of the explosive EDC Las Vegas postponement debacle, all eyes had been on Insomniac founder Pasquale Rotella forward of Day Journey. In late June Rotella moved the home music-focused fest from the LA Waterfront to The Lot at Hollywood Park to permit for a extra spacious format and extra ticket gross sales, prompting backlash from attendees who had booked non-refundable lodges.
A few week later Insomniac introduced one other transfer simply days earlier than Day Journey’s gates had been to open, lighting a fuse within the EDM group that might have detonated in nasty style if not for what occurred subsequent. After the second switcheroo Rotella felt compelled to subject an apology, taking to Instagram to increase an olive department to all ticket-holders, who would finally obtain an computerized refund and nonetheless be capable of attend the occasion.
So, free competition.
The lot of San Bernardino’s NOS Occasion Heart—by day a humdrum automobile park—was remodeled right into a summery utopia, with its fountain-laden lagoon flanked by the occasion’s two hulking phases. And whereas we had been solely in a position to attend Saturday, stepping foot onto the shimmering competition grounds was all we wanted to know that the inaugural Day Journey will not be the final.
Insomniac’s Day Journey 2021.
Ivan Meneses/Insomniac Occasions
Fishbowls galore
Unable to meet their preliminary promise of providing epic Pacific Ocean views courtesy of the LA Waterfront, Insomniac wanted a brand new pièce de résistance for attendees: fishbowls. In spite of everything, there isn’t any higher solution to distract adults than with liquid braveness.
The enormous, neon liquor globes had been a pleasant contact. In a approach, they had been emblematic of the competition itself—a sun-kissed bubble that invited you to be hedonistic after a yr in isolation.
Fortunately the fishbowls contained lots of alcohol so you actually solely wanted one, however that they had sufficient sugar to ship a glucose missile by means of your abdomen and straight right down to your pockets.
Home music all day
After a couple of breezy units from the likes of deep home vet Nora En Pure and fast-rising Chicago artist John Summit, amongst others, the Deep Finish stage rapidly stuffed up for the Grammy-nominated MEDUZA. They dropped a scintillating set as sunset creeped in, tying a bow on the efficiency by dropping their breakthrough hit “Piece Of Your Coronary heart.”
Iconic German producer Claptone then went on to took the stage, the place he carried out a usually riveting tech home set beneath an array of glittering disco balls. A surefire spotlight got here when he dropped his observe “Zero” as a parade of drones coalesced within the sky to spell out “WE BACK, BABY!!”
Claptone performs at Day Journey 2021.
Keiki-Lani Knudsen/Insomniac Occasions
Nonetheless, any momentum at Deep Finish was rapidly dashed by an esoteric Diplo, who approached his alternatives as if he was acting at Burning Man. His tribal, jungle-influenced set felt misplaced—a far cry from the soulful, carefree disco sound of his honored Larger Floor imprint.
These all in favour of extra of a traditional Insomniac competition expertise had been higher off on the Excessive Tide stage, the place Night time Bass boss AC Slater concurrently threw down a rollicking set rife with the club-driven sound that has propelled his flagship file label to worldwide prominence. Earlier within the day, the stage supplied comparable high-energy performances from J. Worra, Dombresky, and SIDEPIECE, the collaborative nom de plume of Social gathering Favor and Nitti Gritti.
Headliner Tchami then picked up proper the place Slater left off, dialing up the power with bass home bangers like Dr. Fresch and Marten Hørger’s “Take a Step Again” and TS7’s UK storage hit “Skanker.”
Tchami performs at Day Journey 2021.
Keiki-Lani Knudsen/Insomniac Occasions
Pitfalls of a first-year competition
Regardless of the triumphant really feel of the occasion, it is necessary to notice that even a veteran promoter like Insomniac is liable to errors when internet hosting a first-year competition—particularly when scrambling on the final minute.
The sound emanating from each phases did not simply bleed—it hemorrhaged. It was unimaginable to not hear the thunderous bass of the opposing stage in the course of the competition’s entirety.
Maybe it was as a result of large lagoon on the epicenter of the venue, contemplating the truth that sound travels additional over water. The dolphins of the Pacific ought to be doing celebratory backflips after Insomniac switched venues.
Insomniac’s Day Journey 2021.
Keiki-Lani Knudsen/Insomniac Occasions
Securing an Uber or Lyft on the finish of the night time was a nightmare. Rideshare provide was low and demand was sky-high. Arrowhead Avenue was teeming with exasperated ravers, and whereas it wasn’t fairly Lord of the Flies, the sidewalks had been stuffed with sufficient individuals to make a hearth marshal chunk their nails. Nonetheless, the onus is extra on the infrastructure of San Bernardino than the organizers of Day Journey, who solely had days to plan and pull off the occasion’s logistics.
These mishaps are simply par for the course, although. A bit rust is to be anticipated after a misplaced yr—and a mad sprint to the end line. There is not any doubt Insomniac will shake it off very quickly as the corporate returns to its blue-ribbon type.
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