The hype for Hard Summer has been tangible in the air for weeks now. HARD Summer 2009 was shut down because of overcrowding, Electric Daisy Carnival 2010 ended in death, and HARD Summer 2010 did not thrill the crowds. Let’s also not forgot what happened only weeks ago when riots broke out in LA when Kaskade didn’t perform at the EDC movie premier. LA ravers want their electro and so do I. When the line up for HARD was released, my jaw actually dropped and I bought my ticket on the spot. So how did the event turn out…?
HARD 2009 was shut down when the venue maxed out at 18,000 people. If you thought that was too many people, than HARD 2011 would have made your head explode with 30,000 ravers in attendance. Sure the 32 acre site could accommodate the number of people for the sold-out show, but it was very difficult to get around and even harder to know which stage you were at. There was no spectacle in the venue, no intrigue, and no PLU or R.
There were many factors that made HARD a bad show. Firstly, parking was impossible. After-all, it was in LA. They urged concert goers to use the Metro which they had arranged to be open late too. They did however, do everything they could not to make the concert a rave. NARCOTICS AGENTS WITH K9 UNITS at the entrance. The line for the entrance stretched across the entire venue with dogs and cops strategically placed throughout the entire line and venue. There were over 2 dozen Fire Fighters mixed in with the crowd for the entirety of the concert. There were 17 arrests, 16 felonies for narcotic possession, 1 for robbery. The 2 Medic stations collectively treated 31 calls and sent 16 people to the hospital. Most of these cases were treated early in the night too.
In an email sent to ticketholders a day previous to the concert, the following reminders were given; No kandi (bracelets), No plush or furry items (fuzzy shoes), No glow sticks, light gloves, or other light toys, No bandannas, No open cigarette packs, No gum, No sealed water bottes, No drugs (of course). They also remind people to bring layers because it got COLD that night. The dogs were mostly there as a scare tactic, but that doesn’t mean their noses don’t work. Dogs, just like people, get tired and have a relatively short attention span. These dogs are highly trained and actually can be trained to smell anything. However, each dog is only good for about 30 minutes at a time. With the 16 narcotics arrests, security was definitely tight.
Artists that played included Duck Sauce, Boys Noize, Chromeo, RATATAT, Skrillex, Odd Future, Digitalism, and Dillon Francis. With 25+ incredible artists playing, there was always someone playing you were dying to see…if you could find them!?!? And if you did find them, there was a fear of having to leave early to get out of the cold and back to your car which had a 75% chance of being towed or locked behind a closed fence. O ya, I also forgot to mention that there was a stabbing nearby, it had been undetermined if there was a relation to the show.
Overall, I was very disappointed with the event. Months of planning, LAFD emergency responders, tight security, confusing stages, and no spectacle, none. If I could go back in time, I would have apparated inside the venue while the sun was still up and stayed until 2, followed by exiting the park as slowly as possible and then apparating back to my bed. I would have worn all my kandi proudly, and memorized the map before going. I’m considering flying to NY for the HARD tour to continue at Terminal 5 on August 20 to give it a second chance. But with this HARD fail and EDC’s ban from California, I give the best summer festival of SoCal award to Audiotistic!! If you’re going to be spending your money on a festival next summer, invest in Audio, I’m not wasting my money on HARD. I’m still gonna party, just far away from the western coastline. Ibiza next?
