Electric Zoo: A How-To Guide (Day Three)

Posted by Middy on August 31, 2012

Day Three is the heaviest of the days not only in terms of the music and the bass being pumped out of the speakers, but also how your legs and body will feel as you start the day. Two full days plus possible after parties will leave you quite tired, but you paid good money for those tickets so you will carry on and dance like it is 11am of day one. Day three really shows the impact of Dubstep in America and how big it has gotten. Just look at the fact that Skrillex, the prince of Dubstep has unseated the king, Tiesto as the headliner on the mainstage. Anyway there is much more than Dubstep to the day with trance, house, progressive and everything in between sprinkled in, so without further ado lets get right to what is happening on Day Three as we are almost 9 hours from gates opening.

Main Stage:

Must See: Porter Robinson – It goes without saying that Skrillex will be the perfect way to end your festival experience, however, Porter Robinson on the mainstage is someone you must circle in pen on your schedules. His charisma on stage is impeccable with infectious, youthful energy that the crowd feeds on. His mixing and creativity during his sets is unmatched for his age. He will be someone that takes the end of this festival experience and launches it to a new stratosphere, leaving you with long lasting memories.

Can Miss: Dev – The filler in between Tiesto & Skrillex, Dev will not be something you need to see on mainstage. Unless you are super anxious to get a front spot for Skrillex, you can miss this one and spend your time seeing the very end of Boys Noize’s set and Diplo’s set. Not really much of an argument here.

Sleeper: W&W – W&W puts on one of the most energetic trance sets you will hear. Of the sets I saw at ASOT 550 in Den Bosch, they rivaled Armin for the best set of the evening. With their label Mainstage Music putting out huge release after huge release and their own massive singles like “Moscow” & “Shotgun” as well as their collab with Marcel Woods, “Trigger” they have been on a tear lately and with plenty more unreleased material to come, their sets are always fresh and new. It also goes without saying that Pierce Fulton will be on your schedule as well and he will be the perfect start to your day as you attempt to warm yourself up for the final go on this 3 day marathon known as E Zoo.

Hilltop:

Must See: Adventure Club – Adventure Club is a must see at Hilltop. The boys from Montreal throw down wonderfully palatable beats, ranging from hard and crunchy, to sweet and melodic. We have seen them live a number of times and know that they will bring you up and then drive you into a head knocking furor. They are up and comers who please any crowd and we highly recommend you check them out at 1pm on Sunday.

Can Miss: EOTO – This is not an indictment of EOTO, I just think they are out of place here. They are more along the lines of Shpongle meets Disco Biscuits with some electro tossed in. The rest of the theme of the day and even the stage is tough to really transition to and from this sound as it may kill the vibe you are going for. It could be perfect at the moment, but it may just not be what you need. Also they are right at the same time as Porter, sucks but you just can’t miss Porter.

Sleeper: Mt. Eden – Mt. Eden has garnered a high profile over the past few years for not only their high successful singles “Sierra Leone” and “Stay Alive”, but also remixes of “Delirium” and “Omen”. The New Zealand duo made a name for themselves early and though they have not gotten the same type of exposure as they used too, the quality of their tracks has not declined. They are ready to bring their artistic, unique style of dubstep to Electric Zoo and get things off to a superb start for this day of bass.

Riverside:

Must See: Benga – Formative dubstep maestro, Benga has been bringing the heat for a decade now, representing the original UK ideal of dubstep. In a day full on heavy bass, it will be good to hear some of the original sounds of a genre that has taken over the nation and put dance music on notice. Benga rarely tours the US, so this is a rare treat for us in the US.

Can Miss: Paper Diamond / Krewella – So I know both of these guys (Krewalla being 3) are incredibly energetic and fun to see, but when it comes down to the tough time decisions you may just have to miss some of their set. We are not saying miss them entirely, quite the opposite, go and check them out. Just that you don’t need to stay the whole time because you will be missing out on talents like Adventure Club, Mt Eden and W&W. Both Paper Diamond & Krewella tour heavily in the US, so there will be more opportunities to see them again.

Sleeper: Congorock – Rocco Rampino, better known as Congorock, the Italian electro DJ / Producer will be the perfect pick me up as you transition from the early afternoon into the evening on this bass heavy afternoon. He provides a slight respite with his funky, electro sound from what will be a quite a heavy day of artists across the board. With recent productions like his remix of “Spectrum”, “Ivory”, “Monolith” and of course the still popular “Babylon”, Congorock will be sure to rock the crowd. He also does not tour the US much, so this a great opportunity catch him in the NYC area.

Sunday School Groove

Must See: Boyz Noize – German techno don, Alexander Ridha has been rocking festivals and blowing minds for close to a decade now and shows no signs of slowing up. With his 3rd artist album “Out Of Black” set to release October 2rd, you can be sure to hear plenty of new and unreleased material. His recent collaboration with Skrillex, Dog Blood shows the versatility of his sound and above all he is an animal on stage who give you everything he has and more, perfect for the Zoo theme of Electric Zoo.

Can Miss: Dixon – This was not an easy choice with the deep field here at Sunday School, but around this time, the sun will be close to setting, you will be seeing the final moments of your experience at Electric Zoo ahead of you and you will want to expend every ounce of energy you have in those last few hours (unless you go to an afterparty). You do not have to miss the entirety of the long standing German veteran’s set, but he is a man built for the longer 4-5 set and may not be able to do everything he might be able to in his 1:20 minute slot.

Sleeper: Apparat – Though it is disappointing that the whole live set of Apparat will not be coming along with live piano, drums and keyboard, it should be more than enough with a DJ set from the Berlin native. His deep, chill sound will be a nice late afternoon respite for those looking to rest those weary bodies to make it to the final leg of the evening. His music kind of sucks you in and leaves you spellbound at the simple beauty of it all. While he may be at the same time as some other heavy hitters, don’t shy away from stopping by for some Apparat.

Tags: Electric Zoo