Electric Zoo has hit day 3. Over the past two years, the final day was either canceled the morning of or called to an abrupt halt mid-day, which left more then a few fans unhappy. The festival made it through the day without any major hiccups as it hosted stages curated by Thomas Jack and Pete Tong, as well as Alesso, The Glitch Mob, Oliver Heldens and more.
Here is what we saw. Also see what happened Day 1 and Day 2.
2:00 - It is another cloudless, beautiful day for a festival. E Zoo got really lucky with the weather this year that has been a major issue in the past.
2:20 - Lemaitre are running 25 minute behind schedule due to technical difficulties. Understandably, the tent is almost entirely empty except for people passing through.
2:30 - JackLNDN is getting the summer house vibes right with the sun still high in the sky and the crowd starting to build at the Riverside stage. I spot my first geckos over here.
2:40 - Lemaitre are finally live over in Hilltop, but the rest of their set is plagued by technical difficulties. They manage to play through it as best they can, but it is something that was disappointing to see happen to them and their fans.
3:15 - EDX is breathing summer into the main stage with a mix of his own tunes like remixes for "Blue Sky Action," fitting for the day, "Sugar" and "Show Me Love," in addition to some originals from other artists like L'Tric's "This Feeling" and Martin Sovleig's collab with GTA "Intoxicated." The shuffling at the back of the crowd is at the best I have seen all weekend.
3:45 - Le Youth keeping it easy, breezy over at Riverside with a hint of sexiness by playing songs like "I'm Sprung."
3:53 - It is spacey and groovy at Sunday School as Jonas Rathsman is the third man up to bat in here. It has not filled in yet, but the "Wolfsbane" playing the place comes alive.
4:30 - Wrap up interview with Oliver Heldens. His collaboration with Tiësto is officially finished. Thomas Jack is just chilling on one of the beanbag chairs on his computer, presumably working on his set. No one bothers him what so ever. The festival was worried about media going in the artist lounge and banned it, yet one of them comes out to the media lounge for some peace and quiet. Hmmmmmmmm.......
5:10 - Walk out from behind the main stage and Ummet Ozcan is pumping out some noise. The guy can produce anything, but these sets are impossible.
5:25 - Sam Feldt is bringing things up another notch over at Riverside. The piano and saxophone house is flying out of the speakers from the snake/octopus structure. He seems to really love the side-to-side arm wave move to involve the crowd.
5:45 - It is getting really funky in Hilltop. This isn't just leftover funk from Gramatik on Friday, but new beats being conjured up by GRiZ, who is mixing up some new stuff from his recent mixtape, as well classics in the discography. The live sax is here to play. The inclusion of "Play That Funky Music" is all too perfect.
6:03 - Just finished a complete 5 minute conversation with some random chick who did not understand the concept of music journalism and that it entails going out to cover shows. You just can't make this stuff up.
6:25 - Oliver Heldens comes out to shuffle in front of the booth during his set on the main stage. The area is packed for him, serving as a reminder you don't need to have drivel to draw a crowd.
7:00 - Finish up chatting with Sam Feldt, who is much taller in person that one might gather from his press shots.
7:30 - The technical difficulties that plagued Lemaitre appear to be fine for RAC Live, who brings along the full crew with a bassist, singer, keyboardist / singer and drummer. It is a shame that the tent is not a little fuller.
7:40 - I eat an uninspired chicken sandwich. It was too easy and too safe an option. As I eat I listen to a little of DVBBS from a distance. They spend most of their time jumping around and yelling. I am glad to be at a distance.
8:00 - The stage curator has been curating a lovely second to last set at Riverside. Looking like he just got back from a long vacation in Bali or the Caribbean, Thomas Jack is up there with a loose white button down shirt almost entirely open and his long locks swaying with the groove. We sway with the hair.
8:10 - He hands things over the German Robin Schulz. The DJ lights a few cigs and looks pretty cool, but Gesaffelstein will always look the coolest smoking and DJing. He does have a lot of practice doing it... Schulz has plenty of his own material to choose from with an album coming out on Sept. 25, but he sticks to the known singles and remixes, while also bringing out Francesco Yates for a live performance of "Sugar."
8:40 - At last we meet The Blade. It looks even cooler in person then it does in video or pictures. Just as Josh described, the whole set up is high tech and a lot of work to manage. They take turns on the various drum machines and triggering melodic elements of each track. They have definitely gotten to the set that rocks a crowd as I hear multiple fans tell each other 'I love these guys!" or "These guys are sick."
9:25 - The reason why the main stage looks so big and has the production to match - the cloding set of the entire festival. E Zoo veteran Alesso has been tabbed to close the whole thing out. His visuals and whole production is tight and on point, with fireworks going off on a few big drops, such as the opening song, his remix of Maroon 5's "This Summer Is Going To Hurt Like A Motherf*cker."
He has the Sebastian Ingrosso dance movements and hand motions mastered, as well as the ability to heap praise on a city.
The set is powerful and main stage master class. He plays a new ID from Axwell / Ingrosso, which could mean it will be released soon, as well as "On My Way." He rinses out plenty of his own tracks and mashups that have been a part of the Swede's sets over the summer. Fan favorites like "Cool," "Years," "Calling" and "Under Control," net some crowd-spanning sing-a-long moments, before he closes out the night with "Heroes (We Could Be)."
At final count, the "Deep Down Low" count is up to six, though it is close rivaled by "Intoxicated" and "Rock The Party."
10:55 - The festival then promises its final "transformation," which is just some random songs thrown together, the lights shining bright and a few fireworks. Nothing actually transformed. In a very self-aware comment, MC Gee caps off the night saying "It has been a long time since we closed on a day 3 and it feels amazing."
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