The six of us finally rolled out of bed for day 2 of Ultra around 11 am. The day was supposed to start at 12, but we knew we wouldn’t make it, and ended up hopping on the metro just before 3 to get there in time for our top choice shows.
We hadn’t hit inside the Heineken domes yet and knew they’d be worth checking out, so we headed over there first.
The Raviest.
First on the docket was Benny Benassi, who I didn’t realize was basically a senior citizen. Despite putting on a good show and getting the crowd really going for the night shift of the festival, I was vaguely disappointed. No Feel Alive? No Rockets in the Sky? I just couldn’t believe it.
Immediately following- Crookers. We were wandering, really, in a hiatus until our higher name bands came on, when we stumbled on it. I was impressed. Day N Nite was actually great live. The crowd was NUTS. It was just dusk, and the glow sticks began to come out, along with everyone’s game faces. That’s when I knew, as they say in Swingers, it was on.
After Crookers we headed back to the main stage for Armin Van Buuren, who declared a state of trance for everyone. Back to the Ibiza arena for Above and Beyond and ATB, who were also exactly what I would expect- a great show. I spent most of those two shows dancing around, and since the stage was smaller, I was even more thrilled when ATB played “Ecstacy.”
But then we realized, ROOKIE MISTAKE- WE MISSED SWEDISH HOUSE MAFIA. Experienced trancers, but maybe not as experienced as we thought, we never knew that SHM was made up of three of our favorite remixers- Axwell, Sebastian Ingrosso and Steve Angello. Were we serious?! We caught the last song or two from the back as we moved our way up front, but we were all pretty sullen despite our great times at ATB and A&B.
But then… lots of beats, lots of lights, and fifteen minutes later we were right up front and the first chords of a “Ghosts N Stuff” teaser came on. Time for deadmau5- the ultimate show. Talk about a crowd going wild! The second the beat dropped, it was like all of Miami started jumping and fist pumping; it was honestly surreal. He teased with Ghosts and Stuff for a while until he played it, and much to my liking he actually threw ten minutes of dubstep in the middle! The show was absolutely invigorating. (I wonder, though, if he thinks he’s another person in that mask… mau5 alter ego? I think so.)
The crowd was begging for an encore at 12, but thanks to the city of Miami and some ridiculous ordinances, it was over, like that. The year it makes history, Ultra Music Festival sells out at 50,000 people on Friday and approaching 150,000 on Saturday… over, with the pull of a plug and the last flashing image of a skinny guy in a mouse headdress.
We rushed out and waited for hours for our train home, but the feeling was mutual- should we have just died during deadmau5? Could we ever be as happy again?
Ask these people- this is my favorite youtube vid I’ve found of Ultra yet. I bet their answer is no too.
Answer: unsure. It’s possible that Ultra Music Festival was the physical manifestation of my brain- consistent beats from every direction, flashing lights, bright colors, peaceful crowds… the only thing that could possibly be wrong with that is $5 water bottles. But in the end, it’s safe to say that there’s no chance I’m missing next year’s closing WMC event, and there wasn’t a happier girl in Miami for that entire week following.
Rage.
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