This past Memorial Day weekend was definitely one to remember. While festival goers in New York were enjoying EDC NY and Mysteryland USA, a lot of dedicated and new ravers alike in SoCal attended My Life Everyday USA. The venue was massive, and there would not have been a better choice to hold such a huge rave. The stadium was filled both nights, making them equally as fun and memorable. Unfortunately, however, we were not able to secure interviews with the artists, but we still had full access to the backstage area. We arrived to the first night's show on time to catch Flosstradamus, who ended up playing an extended set due to the following act, Gesaffelstein, not showing up. Nobody seemed to have a problem with that though, because you know...it's Flosstradamus. After they finished, it was time for French house artist Tchami to go on. I was pretty excited to see him, since I felt like his set was going to be the proper dose of funky house music that we all needed. Boy, was I right. Among the barrage of epic future house music, he dropped his remix of Turn It Up by Mercer, and everyone's favorite remix of You Know You Like It by AlunaGeorge (besides DJ Snake's of course). His set was awesome, and I'm sure he will kill it at EDC Las Vegas as well.
Next up after Tchami was another group we have been itching to see live, Vicetone. I made sure to be in the crowd for their set because I didn't want to miss a second of it. They opened up with their new track (which was unreleased at the time) Ensemble, and it got the whole crowd jumping. The vibe was unreal as their set raged on, people were shuffling to Lowdown, and singing along to their remix of Enjoy The Ride. Overall, it was a great set and I am glad that I finally got to watch them. Next up was RL Gri...I mean Clockwork. He started off with a super cool intro with bell tolls and ticking noises, like you were standing inside of a clock tower. His set was filled with a lot of Progressive and Big Room bangers, but it didn't feel repetitive. Overall I thought he had an awesome set. Last up for the first night was Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, and I just have to say...they had bottles on bottles on BOTTLES of champagne, since they were almost constantly popping them and spraying them out into the crowd. They played what you would expect to hear, AKA Tremor. But then something amazing happened. They cut the music, and Like Mike started telling the crowd to create "the biggest mosh pit this city has ever seen..." and the crowd delivered. I have not seen so many people moshing since I went to Warped Tour back in 2012. From the front to the back it was just a giant group of people jumping in sync with each other. Definitely a great set to end the night.
After an awesome first night, I was ecstatic to see what night two had to bring. We got in during Mercer's set, which was an awesome mix of both trap and electro tunes. I actually got to meet him backstage and chat with him for a bit. Really nice guy, with a heavy accent. Next up was a group I was sort of not looking forward to watching, Caked Up. Their set was cool though, and they brought another local trap artist Ookay up there with them, who I also had the pleasure of chatting with after their set. I told him how it was awesome to see him come support the scene, even though he wasn't spinning. He then told me that he's good friends with a lot of the guys that were performing that night, and that they're great people, and he'll always support them when he can. It honestly made my night to hear that there's a positive vibe even between other DJ's in the scene.
After they wrapped up, it was time for another artist I've been waiting a long time to see perform, and that was up and coming producer 3LAU. Now I'm not going to say his set disappointed, because it sure as hell did not music wise. But I was a little sad when I heard his EDC NY set later on, only to realize it was the exact same thing. I respect the man for hitting it big, but maybe he could've actually mixed instead of jumped all around the stage during his set. Just sayin'. Next up was Morgan Page, and I really do not have to say much about his set, other than it was great! He always comes out of the gate with awesome mashups for his live shows, and plays nothing but ragers. My favorite song he dropped that night had to have been the "Walking on Elysium" mashup containing Elysium by Audien, with the vocals from Walking On A Dream by Empire of the Sun. PERFECT songs to put together. The last 2 performances of the night could not have been any better. It was 2AM and everyone was still ready for more. TJR came on and had a mind-blowingly awesome set, and the best part about it was...he was actually mixing. He was scratching and doing all kinds of cool tricks for the whole duration of his set, and for that I will forever be impressed. Thank you TJR, my faith in DJ's has been restored.
Now they certainly saved the best DJ for last because...Deorro absolutely killed it. The whole crowd was into his set, despite it being 3 in the morning. There were pandas dancing all over the screens and it was just an awesome sight to see. He brought his whole Panda Funk crew with him, and they certainly left an impression on everybody, especially with their giant flag they had with them.
In the middle of the show, Deorro stopped the music and had to address the rather saddening news that he was to quit DJ'ing after this year. What he said during this pause only gave me a higher sense of respect for him. The reason he is abandoning the decks after this year, is to not only focus more on producing, but to give back to the community that has shown him so much support. He's taking his label Panda Funk to the next level, and is going to start finding more local talent, and giving them the right tools they need to succeed. It was a humbling experience to hear him speak to thousands of ravers, and to see nothing but support and positive vibes from everybody. After his speech, he went on to close the show with high energy, and it was the perfect ending to a weekend of raging. I ran backstage after the end to catch him for a little chat, as well as catch up with Whyel, another member of the Panda Funk crew. Let's just say that you are going to be seeing more of Panda Funk here on Daily Beat in the future.
Overall, we had an awesome time covering My Life Everyday USA this year. We met some great people, heard some awesome stories, and most importantly, shared that amazing experience with everybody. That is what this scene is all about. Thanks to LED Events for letting us cover it!
Photos by Jay Wade and Fabian Ortiz
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