Saturday the 3rd was able to surpass Friday’s experience at Electronic Zoo, even when all of what Friday brought was top notch already.
On Saturday, Randall’s Island welcomed even more attendees than the previous day, making the energy and desire to rave even more felt through out the entire battlefield of music. This time the weather was not as hot and there was a pleasant wind blowing through out the evening.
This time around the day began even earlier and brought even more talent to the stages. One could feel the euphoria even before getting to the island.
In the beautiful Treehouse Stage area, guests enjoy a more intimate performance. The day began with Francois Dillinger taking over the stage, this time earlier than Friday, at 1 p.m. The amazing Cartel Twins took over an hour later, leading to Agent Orange at 3 p.m.. A 4 p.m. NRS came on, and Shneur & Teo followed. Eel rack (cool name) followed at 6 p.m., then Hiawatha followed with his set at 7 p.m. and finally Ace Alvarez closed B2B with Miss Jennifer at 8 p.m.
Sunday School was curated by a different party company each day, but this day took the crown by a milestone. The talent which consisted of De La Swing starting at 3 p.m. to Patrick Topping at 4:30 p.m., Jackmaster at 5:45 p.m,, Eats Everything at 7:30 p.m. and Bicep at 9 p.m. was incredible. El Row helped bring everything to a top notch experience. El Row, an experimental Spanish party organization was able to blow everyone’s mind and leave everyone in an awe when they took over this stage. The decoration of the stage was still jungle style but more tropical. It felt as though this party was taking place somewhere maybe in the Caribbean. The best part was the element of surprise, since I believe people had no idea they would experience what they did with El Row. As ravers were doing their thing and having a great time, about 10 people in stilts and disguises came out with huge boxes of party favors. Big animal inflatables, goofy glasses, bunny and Minnie ears, and all of the party favors you could imagine where being thrown around by El Row’s disguised crew. Of course the crowd went crazy and in a about a minute, the whole crowd had completely changed their look. We all now were wearing silly hats, masks and maracas and necklaces. This intensified the already amazing rave and it felt like pure ecstasy. People are already in an open and interactive state when attending these kinds of festivals, but El Row allowed everyone to feel like friends sharing an experience together, after this taking place we were all laughing together and it opened many opportunities to get to know one another! El Row was able to do this with something just as simple as toys and disguises.
The Hilltop stage featured some amazing artists as well, attracting many to its stage at all times so that the audience would go even beyond the tent. The great thing about this tent is that that it darkened the space inside, living space for the lasers and lights to shine through the stage onto the audience, something that just got better and better as the sun settled down. Illenium began the party at 2 p.m., followed by G Jones 2 hours after, Spor took over at 5 p.m, and the great Cookie Monsta went b2b with Funtcase ( super cool set!), Zombie followed at 7 p.m. and last but not least Datsik closed incredibly starting at 8:15 p.m.
The Riverside octopus shaped stage was also filled with big names of the EDM world. This stage was also filled with a huge audience at all times that came and went as new sets played. One could see attendees dancing to the music from places as far as the food vendors or the bathrooms (which weren’t as close to the stage as one would think). Max Styler began its irresistible set at 3 p.m., setting the mood for Watch The Duck to take over at 4 p.m. Incredible ETC!ETC! took over at 3:15 p.m., then Rain Man showed everyone his skills at 4:30 p.m.. SBCR threw awesome mixes for an hour and 15 mins until 3LAU took over at 7 p.m., whom was followed by the one and only Steve Aoki who closed with his set at 8:15 p.m.
On Friday as well and Saturday, the sunset was absolutely beautiful and lit up the stage in a fantastic way, creating a nostalgic moment for the audience, one where music, euphoria and life met, a moment not many wanted to end! This was the case especially at the Main Stage, where the energy was felt like no other. During this day, the talent from beginning to end was just unbelievable and of course, kept getting better as time progressed. The day started off at 1 p.m. with Aryay opening for the public, Anevo took over at 2 p.m., Vanic at 3 p.m. and NIGHTMARE (who performed at Life In Color on Governor’s Island a few months ago) came back for his 4 p.m. set. Headhunter showed off his skills at 5 p.m., followed by incredible KSHMR. Of course, Borgore made everyone dance like there’s no tomorrow at 7 p.m., leading to Porter Robinson at 8:15 p.m. and closing with legend Tiesto at 9:25 p.m.
I have seen many shows, but none like Porter Robinson’s this night. It might have been a mix between a need to see him and his musical talents but this set brought many to tears and rightly so! He is skyrocketing with his incredible songs. The talent this guy has to offer is so unique and made people in the audience have a different experience, creating something even more elevated than the whole Electric Zoo experience itself. Porter knew how to please his audience so precisely and was able to transition from song to song flawlessly. The added elements of incredible light system and fireworks upped the game, making this a moment to remember. After his incredible performance came Tiesto, one of the greatest names out there and of course blew everyone’s mind with his bomb performance. Tiesto pleased his audience with both new and throw back songs like “Stampede”, leaving everyone pleased. The closing song was accompanied with amazing fireworks, and the audience chanting. A great night had come to its ending.
