Get Ready the Festivals in 2012!!

When you first dive into the underground world, you start to hear a lot of new music that makes you want to jump and dance, meeting and hearing new DJs putting their spin on different tracks. You see a lot of familiar faces, the staples in the raving community. But what say you when you want more, to expand with the community? When you get to see some of the biggest names in EDM culture performing live, and there are more than ten fold the amount of people experiencing the music and vibes with you...

EDC satellite in LA: VACAY By: Drew Ressler

There are festivals! And a handfull of them at that.. The major ones that come to mind in the states are Ultra Music Festival, Electric Daisy Carnival, Camp Bisco, and Burning Man Festival. They are all here in the USA, Ultra's in March down in Florida, EDC is out in Vegas beginning of June, Camp Bisco in upstate NY is just before mid-July, and Burning Man is in Nevada at the end of August. There are other festivals out there for sure, don't be pissed I didn't mention your favorite... but for someone like me who is just coming onto the scene, these four are pretty much all I hear about.

Michael Franti chilling with people at Burning Man By: Kyer Photography

Bird is the Word! By: Matteox Photography

They are all very different scenes and they way they are held. Ultra and EDC are stadium events, where as Camp Bisco and the Burning Man are camping grounds. They also all have different types of music playing at that, between heavy on the house, heavy on the heavy, or heavy on the trance. The scenes of people that come down are widely different too, but when it comes down to it, so are the people at raves. They are all gathering for a greater love of music, art, self expression, and the community as a whole.

Now ya'll know I'm here in NY, only 30 minutes from the city. We've seen a lot of the city scene together in the past month, diving into house parties, mixing the club scene with the rave scene, and the straight up in-your-face bangers that go all night. Traveling isn't always so easy for people, and especially when you want to go to 4-6 major events all over the country. That's airfare, hotels, ticket prices...things get a little crazy. But here's the good news, early birds, pre-sales, and being local.




Camp Bisco should be on your calendar for events to go to this year, ESPECIALLY if you are part of the city's scene. Coming around for it's 11 year, Camp Bisco will have three days of non-stop PLUR over 200 acres, over 90 musical guests from around the world (Including The Disco Biscuits, Skrillex, Wiz Khalifa, Snoop Dogg, Holy Fuck, STS9...and more!) and over 25,000 people in attendance... all for under $200 if you act now. The holiday sale is over, but you are still in time for the early bird tickets. Save some money, buy now. You also have the option for VIP treatment, but the Platinum VIPs are almost out...so act fast.

The Lights at Night are Insane By: Blow The Scene

Chilling in the Field By: Sophia Lahlou

The Disco Biscuits By: Dave Vann

The drive isn't that bad at all, especially if you have the head start not having to drive through New York City. For me (without traffic), there will be about 4 hours on the road, no big deal. It's be worth it for the massive activities going on (COLOR WAR!!), art, people, huge tents of music and light.... But let's go full circle here of why you NEED to go to this festival. Four of the DJs from our scene will be spinning there. Yup, Jake Dukes, Mad Panda, Nick Nise, and Sprite will all be on stage, and we need to go and represent and support these guys! They are all very talented, and I'll be sitting down with them working up towards Bisco so ya'll can get to know them a little better.

Camp Bisco 11 Tickets

Camp Bisco 11 Directions

Camp Bisco 11 Info

Check out the main site for Camp Bisco, and make sure you get your ass out there! Until next time (tomorrow FAIRYTALE MASSACRE) my fellow electric friends!

Dive Into The Deep End

The parties never really stop here in NY. There is something pretty much every night, but the weekends is really when the parties begin to rage. This past Friday, I had the chance to enjoy two sides of the events going on, beginning at The Pictograph, and ending at Chaos.

Helping Hands Makes Helping Hands By: Paus3

Welcome to the Spot By: Paus3

Nice Settings By: Paus3

Both events were being put together by members of the raving community, but had two very different feels and purposes. My first stop was The Pictograph at the Hi-5 Bar. It's a nice spot, two floors with a full bar upstairs and a lounge area downstairs. The DJ booth is also upstairs overlooking the floor. There were a bunch of really awesome DJs spinning over here, included in which was DJ Epic Cloud Strife, who's featured on this weeks 'Mix I'm Listening to', go ahead and click play! But this event wasn't all about the music and raging out, this was actually more about the artistic side of the scene, more specifically the photographers.

Enjoy Yourselves By: Paus3

Some of the Best Raving Moments By: Paus3

Reptar and Sam By: Paus3

That Guy By: Paus3

On display throughout the entire venue were different shots that some of the scene's most prominent photographers put up, and were also offering for sale. You had Rob Grigonis, Janet Gonzalez, Sam Freund, and Taylor Flash. They had their works up on the walls, but included in the mix was also Ronnie C. and Tiffany Reptar. People were spinning poi, throwing lights, making kandi, and just having a great time enjoying everyone's company. Another cool addition was Pixel doing some really cool things with paint, he basically made a self contained environment with it! It was cameras everywhere, and people loving the art. I did see a bunch of photos sold which is always a great thing. They do so much for the scene, and we need to do whatever we can to support them.

Don't Swallow this Kandi By: Paus3

Dennis and his Sweet Set By: Paus3

Legion By: Paus3

Gan Dalf Creating Life By: Paus3

Pixel's Environment By: Paus3

Speaking of which, at last weeks AMAZING show at Amazura Lounge, someone smacked Taylor's flash out of his hands, and it shattered. So if you have a minute, donate something to help him get a new flash. It could be a dollar, it could be a hundred, just give a little something to say thank you for all he's done in the treacherous environment in order to take pictures of you. The donate button is through the facebook page HERE.

Taylor is Happy You Want to Help By: Ronnie C.

Now it's about midnight, and Chaos had started an hour before, and being a Kingzly party, well we knew it was definitely already popping. It was time to head on over there and see what was going down. Reptar and I made it over there together, and we were both going in to shoot some photos for the party. Security was super uber tight here. Not a bad thing at all, in fact, it keeps the spot safe. But on the photographers side, or maybe a DJ, lighting crew, anyone working background who wants to get their job done as much as security does, needs to get in smoothly.

Peace By: Ronnie C.

Jumpstyle By: Ronnie C.

This is How We Do 'Round Here By: Ronnie C.

 That being said, we got in no problem and stepped into a crazy party. Once again, two floors, but this time three rooms! Downstairs were mostly the raving crowd because all the EDM was being spun here. We're talking hardstyle, trance, dubstep, all your favorites. This is not to say it was only the raver crowd either, all different types of people were chilling to the music. It was also significantly darker down here, awesome for lights shows! Upstairs had the main floor which was pretty big. They were playing club mixes with some dubstep in there as well. There was a little room off the the side where they had reggae spinning all night. The music didn't stop the ravers from coming up and raging with everyone, The main floor was off the hook, everybody was having a good time dancing to the music, and dancing in the cage. Yes I said cage! Hanging from the ceiling with a pole in the center and sometimes having three girls inside, it was a sexy addition for sure.

I Don't Know How To Be Scared By: Ronnie C.

Lightshow Photobomb! By: Ronnie C.

The Cage! By: Ronnie C.

Drinks were well priced, the ambiance of the rooms was awesome (thank you Powertrip Lighting) and there was a great mix of people. Ravers, clubbers, and just regular party goers all came to one spot to party it up. That's one thing about Kingzly's parties you have to respect. He is bringing together different groups of people under a common love of music and partying. I did not see any brawls or even hear of things going negatively (other than security being really tight). Major props to that, I can't wait for his next banger!




PHOTOS:

The Pros:

Ronnie C: The Pictograph COMING SOON // Chaos
Taylor Flash: The Pictograph (portraits!)//Chaos
Reptar: COMING SOON
Sam Freund: The Pictrograph
Paus3: The Pictograph

Check Kingzly's next FREE party! Also this coming Friday, Fairytale Massacre!!

For more art shows at Hi-5, you have one a month!
February 3rd - Comic/Cartoons
March 2nd - UV/Blacklight Sensitive
April 6th - "Touch Me" Exhibit!

See you guys out on the scene!

Into 2012, But First A Party

New Years Eve is one hell of a party night. I mean, I'm not sure who came up with the night before Thanksgiving being the biggest party night, because it's NYE that take over cities. We're talking Deadmaus3 and Nero is two spots NYC, every promotional group is throwing a crazy party that somehow gets packed out regardless of every group throwing a party, it is wild. But this year I did it a little unorthodox...

Let's Party!! By: Adam P.

Imagine this: Huge house in the Hamptons. Main floor has DJs spinning hardstyle, dubstep, house and all other sorts of EDM. Basement has live bands jamming out with punk, rock, metal and grunge. The backyard is stocked with people chatting it up smoking and the like. VIP area with a chill room and hot tub. Full bar. About 550 people packed into this house.

DJ Slew and DJ Scott Feld By: Adam P.

ROCK OUT!! By: Adam P.

They had a ton of stuff to do here. Drinking games like beer pong and Drink! (the board game), a chilling room dimly lit with black light, awesome drawings and painting around the walls, multiple kegs, fire dancers, and DJs from over, even Philly with Skitzofiliak. Speaking of DJs, here was the original lineup:

Chris Creaturee (Experimental/Electro Swing/Dubstep)
Ian BlaqkSheep LimeLight (Hardstyle/Electro/Dutch House)
DJ Slew (trance/house/progressive)
Mx Almond (Mash)
Panik Attack (DJ k*Y and Skitzofiliak) (Dubstep)
DJ Whodatt WhoDatt (electro//dirty dutch house)
DJ Mad Panda (House)
Mike Steeves (House)

Downstairs you had the bands rocking out:


Deadly Blessed (Metal/Hard rock)
Mother Brain (Grind)
Cygnus (Progressive / Death Metal)
Sea of Trees (Experimental)
Zombie Culture & Shmuck (Thrash/Hardcore/Black Metal)
High Bluff (Alternative/Garage/Punk)
The Skum (Punk)
The Assassins ( Hardcore punk)


I didn't get their with my fellow OWLs until 11pm. The party was probably at it's peak at this point. there were so many cars parked on the street, we had to park a five minute walk away. Which doesn't seem bad, but when you are crawling up a hill at 5 miles an hour trying not to hit any of the people showing up or driving off, it feels like forever. Regardless, we got in started meeting some people, and before we knew it, Happy New Year!! The party went to outer space when the ball dropped!

Balloons? Yes! By: Adam P.

That's when we broke out the gloves and started entertaining the crowd. It was like a mix between people who wanted light shows, and those that had never seen a glover before. It was so much fun throwing lights for the newbies, they were loving it!

Sweet Fire Poi By: Adam P.

Yay Paus3 gets a Show from Hurricane! By: Adam P.

Supernova Throwing Nights By: Adam P.

We hung out in the darkroom for a while playing with lights... and then the cops showed up.

Now the cops came because of the parking situation. The few neighbors that were left there for the winter probably got pissed and made the call. But to get over 500 kids out of a house, were the promoters wouldn't let the cops inside the house (good jobs guys!), it will take a while to clear out. We laid low for a while hoping they would leave when a majority of the party goers dipped... but they didn't. Everyone was out of the house by 2am and I was sad about that. I was pissed mostly because I missed KY and Skitzofiliaks set. I never heard Skitz spin, but he coached KY a little, and I've only heard sick things about the dub he drops. One day soon I will get my ass to Philly or catch him at another event.

The night continued for me and my friends when we went to another friends house... after an hour and a half drive. Next time a party is thrown, I hope it's in a venue that can't get busted up, because this party was amazing!

It was the best kind of mayhem my eyes have ever witnessed. Surprisingly without too many issues either. With that amount of people, there's going to be problems, like not being able to control the door, or being able to really move with everyone in the house. With those issues aside, the party was off the hook, and with many familiar faces from the scene. Everyone who could threw in a hand to make it into a success.

Orbiting Monster By: Adam P.

On the promotion you had Ula Gradowska, Chris Creaturee and Teresa Gradowska. They are the ones to thank for filling this place out and making sure it was a banger! Taking care of lighting was Powertrip Lighting, and doing a sick job with it. They brought in a ton of equipment and the room looked fantastic. Always love seeing Alex on the scene, mad props to you! Also lending a hand with equipment was Nick Slew, and Mike Steeves. They brought in all the DJ equipment, and with just the above mentioned, that's a lot to bring in, especially to a house where you don't have the luxury of a stage and it's pretty much a risk with everyone getting crazy.You also had Divine GoGo dancing in the little room they had in front of the booth and still having fun with it!

PHOTOS:

The Only Guy Brave Enough:
Adam Paniagua: Set 1//Set 2

Holiday Madness Featuring Showtek!

Some of the biggest parties every year are the ones that have the right promotion, the right DJ's, the right people, and the right venue. Caffeine Promotions did all of the above and beyond with Holiday Madness featuring Showtek as the headliner.

Showtek by: Reptar

Lets start this off with promotion. With a name like Showtek, everyone is going to be going crazy to come and come them out. This event had the most intense amount of promotion I had ever come across. Everywhere you looked on facebook, the Caffeine promoters were doing there thing letting people know about the show. Even other promoters got in on the action with promoting and hosting, like Kyle Kingzly, showing that the PLUR doesn't just exists within one group, but the community as a whole. And the hype didn't stop with that. Everybody who is anybody in the scene was talking about it. Either for a DJ they were going to support, or just the fact that they wanted to see this spacious beautiful venue fill up, which it did. On top of that, you had everyone chipping in to make it a success, like Kevin Carpet working the door making sure that all the DJ's, photographers, VIP's and pre-order ticket holders got in quickly without keeping everyone waiting outside for too long, and we are talking a long line down the block. It's always a positive to see things run smoothly.

We're Getting Wild Tonight! By: Reptar

Wish You Were Here By: Taylor Flash

Having a Great Time! By: Reptar

The Amazura Lounge. From the outside it looks nothing more than just a regular building. But the second you take a peek inside from the front door, you immediately take notice to how huge this place is. It looks like a basketball court, or an ice hockey ring converted into a concert venue! The main floor is massive, boasting two full length bars on either side of the dance floor, and enormous stage that could fit an entire orchestra on it, and a sound system that would leave your body bumping to bass for three days after the party. That's just the downstairs.

Upstairs there was another room, and it was like walking into a jungle. There were faux trees and animals all over, a green tint laid over the room, and it was a much more intimate setting with the closer quarters. There was a bar up here too, as well as a raised dance floor, ideal for bands, but since it was raised you need to watch your step!

Hulk By: Ronnie C.

Just A Touch Louder Please! By: Ronnie C.

The music was rocking all night long. The bass was just insane and had everyone dancing to the beats. For me, I like a little treble to actually hear the music and all the sounds. It didn't stop me and anyone from going wild. For the first time ever I shuffled on the dance floor, I did not think it was possible, but that's just what the music did to you. There were so many amazing DJs at this event. From Hocus Pocus, Hulk, Droid, Johnny J (I gave my first show to his set, and he's also featured as this week's mix I'm listening to!), to legends like Frankie Bones, S-Factor, X-Dream, Ritalin, John Bas, and of course Showtek, the lineup shined all night.

Put Your Fucking Hands Up! By: Ronnie C.

The Bass Makes Me Move By: Taylor Flash

It Just Got Real By: Taylor Flash

God Mode? By: Ronnie C.

Yes God Mode! By: Taylor Flash

Showtek is very crowd interactive. It's amazing watching them get the entire room jumping at the same time, they are the ultimate hype machines constantly keeping the people going. If you've never seen this duo live before, I suggest making sure to put that on your to-do list.

Raiden! By: Ronnie C.

Lets All Glow Together By: Reptar

Now the Amazura holds upwards of 4,000 people, and it was pretty packed. You still had the cuddle circles lining the outsides of the dance floor, some people were even ballsy enough to hang out right in front of the speakers too. You had face painting by Pixel, as well as a vendor selling glow toys and such. There were a lot of people dressed up in costumes, but one that really stood out of the crowd was a dude who dressed in a complete Raiden costume. People were loving him and his ice blue contacts! It was a wonderful vibe in the room, everyone was having a blast.

Eddie Skilling By: Taylor Flash

Glow B Andit By: Ronnie C.

Going HAM By: Taylor Flash

Star Dust Will Melt You By: Ronnie C.

And due to the volume of people, it was only appropriate that there were enough people throwing lights to accommodate all those eager eyes. There were probably about 20-25 glovers on the scene this night. The gloving community is like a niche community within the rave community. They will all talk to each other, to find out where everyone will be. That way they can trade shows, do doubles, and crazy things like a glovers circle! I was so happy to see many familiar faces, and to meet all the new ones as well, these people had mad skills! Not to mention, all of Team [OWL] (obsessed with lights GO LIKE!) showed up, as well as some members of [MD] (mind destroyers), and the Sprout Family. It's just wonderful having everyone doing their thing while showing each other what PLUR is all about!

Glovers Unite! By: Reptar

Does This Even Need a Caption?! By: Taylor Flash

Epicsauce By: Ronnie C.

Smurf Throwing Beautiful Lights By: Taylor Flash

PHOTOS:

The Pros:
Reptar Photography: Set 1//Set 2
Ronnie C. Photography: Set 1//Set 2
Taylor Flash: Set 1//Set 2
Sam Freund: Set 1//Set 2
Fresh Mix: Set
Delineation Digital Media : Set

And that about wraps it up for 2011. This was easily the biggest party of the year, and was a great foot for Caffeine to stand on going into 2012!