EDC 2012: The Underground Has Left The Building

By Dennis Romero Mon., Jun. 11 2012 at 5:08 AM

Categories: EDC

Christopher Victorio

EDC girls give PLUR.

Twenty years after rave culture first entered the American mainstream, the success of a festival like Electric Daisy Carnival begs the question: Can electronic dance music retain its authenticity, warehouse roots and peace, love, unity and respect (PLUR)?

EDC, whose organizers claim they sold out this year's event in Las Vegas with a three-day audience of 300,000, has taken EDM to levels previously unseen in the United States.

Massive stages, booming sound systems, and DJs who are now studio A-listers (David Guetta) and arena rock stars (Kaskade) in their own right beg the question of whether this has indeed become a mainstream showcase, as its promoters argued before raves were shut out from the L.A. Coliseum last year and EDC moved to Vegas.

If they were right, and maybe they were, EDC has taken rave culture beyond its edge and into the predictable realm of a stage show.

Where DJs once wove a night's narrative based on whim and their own sense of the crowd, EDC is a KROQ Weenie Roast of electronic music, a place where you can see your favorite heroes play your favorite songs from the radio.

Kaskade's performance Friday during the opening night of EDC at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, while electrifying in all its megawatt glory, was the usual rundown of his hits. If you ever asked what would become of the electronic music veteran -- would he play Vegas like a veteran torch singer? -- the answer is yes. He'll play all your faves.

Christopher Victorio

Kaskade Friday at EDC.

The main stage was framed by wall-to-wall supergraphics and light screens that blasted the words to Kaskade's songs, so you could sing along to the call-and-response.

Also scheduled for EDC Saturday (but cancelled as a result of wind): Avicii, whose "Levels" is a track so played out that it inspired an internet meme (a photo of a gun-toting Samuel L. Jackson in Pulp Fiction with the words, "Play Levels Again ... "), has become a caricature of the superstar DJ.

Tags:

Dennis Romero, DJ culture, EDC, Electric Daisy Carnival 2012, electronic dance music, Las Vegas

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chrissowick

The underground is alive and well. distancing ourselves from EDM as much as we can.

KidsThatKilledDisco

We can just hope they all meet a terrible end on a speedboat this summer in Ibiza (another scene that's had its heart ripped out by the major record labels currently squeezing every last drop out of the EDC tourist crowd. A pox on all their (pop) Houses

David Larsen

This article posits that EDC is inauthentic because it doesn't have the "underground" vibe of the rave culture's warehouse past. How could the largest electronic music festival of the year possibly be "underground"??? One of the greatest things about EDC is its size and popularity among the mainstream. That is why it is such a large and successful event. What's wrong with gathering all of the greatest artists in the genre to showcase their hits in a single festival? Its size and popularity enable EDM to crossover from the underground and introduce the culture to those who might not explore it otherwise. Those who attend have the opportunity to discover new talent within the genre. Let's not forget that there were seven stages on the speedway -- at any given moment that two of the biggest names were playing their sets, there were also five talented but less-renowned artists performing elsewhere at EDC. He concedes that EDC is not at fault here and refers to Danny Tenaglia, Richie Hawtin, and John Digweed as "exceptional talent." Funny how aside from that one sentence, he only mentions the most famous DJ's that played on the biggest stages, neglecting to mention the dozens of lesser-knowns. Maybe Romero could have found some of the underground action at the Discovery Stage or elsewhere beyond the most crowded stages. I just don't think he really knows what EDC is all about. Anything that is purely underground could never be as big or successful. It is almost as though writer wants the event to be successful, but not TOO successful. Not only does he criticize Calvin Harris for playing his own hit songs -- and I'm not sure why he'd expect any artist not to -- but also for being a singer and not singing during his set. I'm not sure if he wanted Harris to sing whilst simultaneously DJing, or if he feels that the artist should be limited to just vocals. Doesn't make sense to me. Most alarming is the article's suggestion that EDC gave us "what we could have gotten by buying a CD or downloading a mix." If that's all he got out of EDC, well, I just feel sorry for him.

Jason

Some bands used to play at local indie rock venues and now they headline in front of thousands at festivals. Do we say, live music has no "underground"? No, its just those bands are mega popular now and somebody else is playing the local indie venues. Also, don't assume that there isn't a place in this world for both vibes. Seeing a mega pre-fab production with 100,000 people has its own energy, doesn't mean you can see an underground show too.

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Allyce420

Its gone back to the good old days where we had to know the right people, and call the day of for map points

Drewski

Beautifully said. I have never seen a show in my life that attracts 300,000 people (and takes place in Las Vegas) that could possibly be called "underground." How could it? What would you expect? When you have an audience of 300,000 paying concert-goers, you are officially pop music. No way around it. That's neither a good thing nor a bad thing, it's just the way it is If you want underground, then you ought to go to underground venues, which are not located at a speedway in Vegas, and aren't going to attract a quarter-million people. Simple.

Jay

What do you mean by race & class?

Bjones

What's really over is the argument of underground vs pop... Just support the artists you love. Don't bring class, race etc into music.

Bethrosen123

I miss the LA colosseum days personally. Last weekend was a little to hectic for me, a little too mainstream and crowded these days. For any of you gals out there that enjoy the underground scene in LA, I suggest you check out the underground rebel bingo club. I went to one of their events in NYC, it was pretty rad and different. They have a couple events coming up in LA, just got my ticket for the 30th! Check it out http://bit.ly/RebelBingoTickets