So after the oddity that was No Sugar Added at Nikki Beach, we decided to really sleep in the next day since we didn't get to bed until late. The Gods blessed us with another cloudless day, and after our brunch with 2X1 (4X4) drinks, we bought some four lokos, plugged an iPod full of Sensation White sets into the hotel's sound system, and soaked up the sun on the roof until it was time to cross the street and head to Swedish House Mafia's "Masquerade Motel". We could see the event from our rooftop and since we all had the "before 5pm" tickets we headed over around 4:30.
This was not NEARLY enough time. I guess everyone attending got the damn before 5pm tickets because by the time we got there, picked up our tix at willcall and got back online and thru the gate it was nearly 530 - on top of that, we had to pay the penalty fee (the difference in price) which was $50. Honestly, I cannot complain because I got my MM tix in the first batch and only paid $45, so for $95 I got to see the show, and honestly, I know people who paid well into $200+ so que sera sera, right? Additionally, I know of people who had perfectly valid tickets and could not get into the arena - in fact, wanttickets sent out an apology email today for those who didn't get in offering refunds for the show (nice work, but just figure this garbage out beforehand and this wouldn't be necessary).
Anyway, once the gate fiasco was over with, the rest of the day was a pleasure. Of the entire gated area, half was under the tent (with the main dancefloor, bordered with elevated VIP areas - one of which was reserved by Provocateur NY's own VIP guests [interesting]). The set up was ideal, the music could be heard everywhere, and obviously was significantly louder under the tent. Swimming in and out of the crowd was a breeze, getting drinks wasn't any worse than it could have been at any half-packed club, and there were a million port-a-potties. The sand within the gated area seemed to be packed down before we arrived, which was cool because it probably sliced my chances of spraining an ankle in half at the very least. Once inside the covered area, the main dance area was wider than it was deep. The LED boards behind the stage came to a peak, almost like a triangular prism to right behind the DJ booth, and the stage mimicked this style as well. The arena was also equipped with smoke screen and a superior laser show. The top of the tent was high enough that it wasn't overly hot and allowed for a nice breeze. Honestly, I have absolutely nothing bad to say about this event in terms of set up, management, and equipment except for the initial entrance.
On to the show. I'm pretty sure I walked into the end of Armand van Helden's set because I do have a vague memory among the confusion of entering, using the bathroom, finding my friends, and getting a drink [standard protocol for us all upon entrance, right? lol. only thing missing was the coat check!] because I remember hearing Barbara Streisand and given he is 1/2 of Duck Sauce, and that's pretty much their staple song right now, I think it'd be weird for anyone else to play it. If this was the case, I guess I missed Max Vangeli and AN21, they must have gone on before him. DirtySouth's set left a lot to be desired (I was left, how should I say, unPhazed? yikes...) - being he was playing an SHM event and thus could not include really any SHM tracks within his set (which he often does, they're his bread-and-butter) he was pretty limited, and in my opinion, came up short. It is difficult to say anything bad about Calvin's set, but it was indeed very similar to the set we saw two nights earlier at Louis. However I can count on one hand the times in my life that were more fun than holding two Red Bull Vodkas and raging to Awooga LIVE in broad daylight on the beach - so thank you very much Mr. Harris.
On to the Swedish House Mafia- their set was interesting, and I appreciate them spicing things up a bit. Obviously when you see each of them individually there's certain things you can predict: Axwell will always play more Axwell: in the air, open your strobe, close with LTWB and tell me why, Steve Angello will always play more Steve Angello - he loves Knaas and Volodja so much so that he often plays them twice, Ingrosso naturally has less of his own tracks (but loves to lace How Soon is Now over anything) so he's usually the shocker, and they will all play One, Miami2Ibiza, Bromance, and The Island.
This show, while predictable, was still rather different. I say predictable because the flavor of house which they seem to favor (outside of their own productions) - I would try and describe it as the kind of bold in bass, yet lighter and sort tropical in melody type of house. Anywho, I may be mistaken but I don't think they actually dropped Miami2Ibiza at all? Perhaps this is them trying to be unpredictable....or perhaps too many RedBull Vodkas for Richie during Calvin Harris. What I can tell you is this - when they got on the music got louder and the entire light show kicked in as opposed to the more basic one used for its openers. The vibe under the tent was nothing but fun and positive, being it was a 21+ event everyone was pretty cool - they rocked a pretty decent set (idk, perhaps I've just seen them too many times) but I wasn't left floored - still had an absolute ball though. They ended with One and mixed it into "I want to Know Your Name" where Pharrell surprised the crowd to sing those oh so difficult lyrics live for the crowd (just a little sarcasm - but it was pretty cool to see!), and then ended with a kind of weird version of Leave the World Behind.
All-in-All - absolutely amazing time - do not regret missing UMF day 2 at all - aside from getting in, the day was stress free, filled with good music, good friends, and a ton of fun. For the 100$ price of admission, I'd do it again in a second.
The show ended around 1130 - exiting the facility was really easy, we crossed the street to our hotel and tried to bring our remaining vodka to the rooftop pool for a night cap, but it was locked - probably better for all parties involved - so we hit up the diner, and then hit the sack.
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