Audiotistic 2011 Review: What we thought and what you missed!

Artists:

If there was one thing you should have taken from our previous post about why you should go, it was that Flux Pavilion and Doctor P would be there. Did I mention Flux Pavilion and Doctor P were there? And that Audiotistic 2011 was part of their first U.S. tour? From the first drop of Doctor P‘s remix of Love Goes Down to the last track (“aww man, I’m bummed they didn’t play…OH MY GOOOOOOO!!!”), Gold Dust, the Duo did nothing but blow the crowd away with the heaviest, epic, body-shaking bass music the UK has to offer. They even dropped a good 30 minutes of solid Drum and Bass mid-set to keep the tunes fresh. If you’re curious to know what tracks they played…well, let me just list the bangers they didn’t play. … . Straight up, amazing.

Bobby Burns and Bingo Players both dropped what you’d expect, some great electro house and a fun mix of everything, respectively. We spent a short while at the Hip Hop stage to see Chiddy Bang, but left rather quickly due to poor sound quality. We just couldn’t hear the lyrics and rhymes. So we headed back to the main stage and got to listen to Chris Lake, a name we were unfamiliar with. He played a great selection of upbeat house (including a new track that made me go absolutely mental! I wish I knew the name).

Next up, the electro wonderkid Porter Robinson. He tore through his tracks quicker than kids at Christmas. He played one big electro drop after another, quickly mixing from track to track. And despite the heat, he was clearly the sweatiest one, constantly bouncing and hyping the crowd! A great, fun set, certainly one not to miss if you love filthy electro bass.

We decided to stockpile some energy for DJ Fresh at the end of night. This ended up being a huge mistake. Never in my life have I been so disappointed by a musical act than I was for DJ Fresh. I had such high hopes for him, for one of the biggest DnB names in the world. If only he actually came to play DnB. Instead, he seemed to drop the Flux and Doctor P remixes to his tracks, as well as some other popular dubstep. I kept hoping to hear some drum and bass, but after 2 trainwrecks, 45 minutes of dubstep including 3 back to back Skrillex tracks, I was done. Don’t get me wrong, I have (some) respect for dubstep and what it can do, but let’s be honest here, DJ Fresh was supposed to play Drum and Bass. If I go to a Linkin Park concert and they play Beatles all night, I would be just as disappointed in them. I can only hope our friends in the UK have better experiences with DJ Fresh. I imagine he figured he’d please an American crowd by playing music popular in the United States.

Venue:

Thousands of revelers massed upon the San Bernadino NOS events center for Audiotistic this year. Parking was easy and plentiful, ranging from $10-$20, though, our lot had thistles that dirtied the car. There were four stages: the main stage was a huge outdoor tent and the other three were inside hangar type buildings. Heat seemed to be quite a problem for the indoor stages, with the temperatures reaching 120 to 130F for the more crowded sets. Even the main stage suffered from overheating when the crowd was thick. Walking between stages was no struggle, and the only time we felt overcrowding was for the headlining dubstep duo (a water-refill circumnavigation of the stage revealed no letup of the masses! Certainly a humbling sight). The decent sized pond and fountain provided a nice rest area mid-venue, and there was a decent amount of seating despite us wanting to see more benches. Traffic flowed quickly and smoothly after the event. We hit two red lights then drove on an empty freeway, sending our weary bodies home.

Vibe:

Overall the vibe was very positive at each of the stages. The friendly patrons listening to music seemed to be enjoying themselves. People were more respectful (than usual) of others’ personal space front and center for the main headliners; We’ve heard good and bad reports of security; we had no problems getting in and the staff all seemed very enthusiastic about our safety and enjoyment. Others mentioned overly thorough searches and aggressive security. These same individuals had complaints about the “undercovers,” so take from them what you will.

Related posts:

1. Audiotistic 2011: Why you should go, and why we can’t wait
2. Audiotistic Festival 2011: Line-up expanded, includes Sebastian Ingrosso, Porter Robinson, more!
3. Audiotistic 2011 Line-up Announced, Saturday July 30th
4. Electric Daisy Carnival - Las Vegas 2011 Festival Review (2 of 2)
5. Track of the Day – DJ Fresh - Louder (Doctor P & Flux Pavilion Remix)