EDC 2012: A First-Timer Gets Deflowered

EDC 2012 going bananas for Dada Life

So far, 2012 has been a year of festival firsts for me. In the last three months, I've experienced  two of California's largest-- Electric Daisy Carnival and Coachella. After covering both, it's clear that nothing beats EDC. With seven massive stages bursting with flames and LED acid trips, over 100 world class DJs, 300,000 new and old EDM fans, and high-flying performers, this three days of music from dusk till dawn, inside of the Las Vegas Motor Speedway is something that everyone should experience before they die.

 I had a few negative assumptions about EDC when I first arrived. I imagined legions of half-naked  E-tards bouncing around in the desert heat, first pumping to the same five songs over and over again, while meeting people that were only there to see the main stage headliners. Well, some of that was true. From the minute I entered the Speedway and walked down the bleachers to scope out all 7 stages, lit up carnival rides, 100,000 plus people entering just like me, my ears rattled with disco-fied douchiness as a remixed version of Goyte's, "Somebody That I Used To Know", Calvin Harris', "Feel So Close" and Swedish House Mafia's, "Save The World" began bumping simultaneously from different corners of the Speedway.

Matt Oliver/OC Weekly

David Guetta performing at EDC 2012

Only two hours into the festival, I had already heard each of those songs at least twice already, but as I started to walk around, I ran into a stage anchored by a 60-foot-tall king in the middle looking over the crowd with a tower of fire on each side. This was Q Dance stage, which brought hard style to EDC for the first time. Never in my life would I have thought I would be glued to a stage with hard stylers and fans of stomping, happy hardcore. Q Dance brought familiar songs together with quick heavy, bass that commanded immediate attention from my feet and pelvis. It didn't matter who the  DJ was (I couldn't remember if I tried). All I knew was that I didn't want to leave.

Matt Oliver/OC Weekly

Insomniac cast member soars sky high on the main stage

As I was leaving to head back for the night, traffic was deadlocked for hours. At one point, a kindhearted raver who saw my tattoo agreed to let me merge in front of him. See, I have a tattoo Oklahoma on my shoulder representing my late grandma. It is an outline of the state with a dream catcher locked on to the edge of the state. I told him the story behind it while we were in traffic, and he was kinda enough to let me pass in front of him. What a guy.