ULTRA Music Fest 2011: Day 3
March 27, 2011
Bayfront Park, Miami, FL
Written by Kate Dingle
“Miami, you are beautiful!” – David Guetta
As the entire universe converged on Miami for the final day of the 2011 Ultra Music Festival, it’s hard to imagine that all 150,000 people (dressed in banana costumes, underwear, and neon wigs) would soon be returning to their everyday and probably pretty boring lives.
The first ever third day of the festival proved that, yes, Ultra is still the biggest and best electronic music party on the planet. Early in the day, the crowd was a tad on the thin side, but as the eight-stage venue slowly began to come alive, fans came out in full force to simply dance.
For the second time during the festival, Dirty Vegas took to the stage. This time, instead of a DJ set in the Heineken Dome, the trio played a live set of the Main Stage, showing that they are far more than a few guys with computers.
Also taking the Main Stage was the brains behind the Black Eyed Peas, Will.I.Am. Instead of being flanked by Fergie, apl.de.ap, and Taboo, Will.I.Am appeared onstage only with his Mac and Ultra’s otherworldly sound system. For the hour-long DJ set, fans were treated to mixes of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Diddy’s newest, “Comin’ Home”, and BEP hits (obviously).
Over in the A State of Trance 500 tent, Dutch DJ Ferry Corsten kept the packed to the gills crowd jumping with his hour and a half set of trance and house. Towards the end of the set, in one the greatest moments of camaraderie of UMF, Armin Van Buuren emerged from the wings (before his own set on the same stage) to hype up fans even more for his fellow music maker. The more the two hugged and danced in the booth, the more fans screamed and danced with them.
All day Sunday, the Live Stage was rockin’. But hands down, one of the most fun sets of the day came from the Miami born Steve Aoki. Throughout his set, Aoki’s antics added fuel to the fire for listeners. As the former badminton player jumped around and whipped his long locks all over the place, the throngs of fans would mimic his moves; not nearly as gracefully though. The riskiest move on his part was by far thinking it was a good idea to jump into the crowd. What trust he put in people who probably had no idea where they were.
Following Aoki was one of the biggest break-out acts of the past couple years, Crystal Castles. And of the eleven acts that played the Live Stage Sunday, the Canadian duo of Ethan Kath and Alice Glass surely attracted the most watchers. Even though Glass was suffering an ankle injury, she didn’t let that curb her antics as she maneuvered her way through “Not In Love”, “Untrust Us”, and “Baptism”. Although the music was what could be expected, the most amazing moment from their set came courtesy of a group of guys in the crowd who held a wheelchair-bound fan high above the sea of people for a better glimpse of the stage. Needless to say, event security quickly stepped in and made them stop. Hey Ultra, maybe next year you could be a little more accommodating for music fans with disabilities.
After Crystal Castles, it was back to the Main Stage for David Guetta and festival closers The Chemical Brothers. Up first was Guetta, as the Frenchman barreled through his blistering set, the volume seeming to rise with each hit that came through the speakers. Adding to the hype of his set were guest appearances from Flo Rida (who lent his voice to their hit “Club Can’t Handle Me”) and Will.I.Am (who helped keep the crowd pumped during several BEP hits). All of Miami seemed to stop dead in its tracks each time “I’m David Guetta, B****!” was heard throughout the venue. His set, complete with massive robots adorned with neon lights included: “Gettin’ Over You”, “When Love Takes Over”, “Sexy B****”, and a few “new records the label didn’t want me to play”.
Riding high on Guetta’s energy, the Chemical Brothers stormed the stage to close out the biggest Ultra to date. Although their stage presence was kind of lacking, the big beat pioneers lived up to their reputation as electronic music legends. The duo of Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons took fans on a mind-blowing hour and a half set. Accompanied by a light show that was probably seen from the International Space Station, the throngs of people seemed hypnotized by the entire spectacle that was happening onstage in front of them. Their set included “Galvanize”, “Acid Children”, “Out of Control”, and “Block Rockin’ Beats” (of course).
As Sunday night came to close, a sense of disappointment seemed to come over the crowd. It was over. Three days of electrodubbass euphoria that some may not remember are gone. But what was left was the feeling of unity. Everyone had experienced the last 72 hours together. Lifetime bonds were formed and close friends became closer. Guetta said it best: “Whether you’re white, black, orange or yellow, we are all people of planet Earth, and all that matters is the love. It’s all about the love.” Ultra Music Festival was all about the love, and it was the music that brought us all together.
Photos by Christina Mendenhall
[...] the original post: ULTRA Music Fest 2011: Day 3 « Rhythm Scene Categories: Festivals, International Festivals, National Festivals Click here to [...]