The Electric Zoo festival made an impressive debut last weekend. Held on New York City’s Randalls Island, the two-day fest brought a diverse array of some of electronic music’s biggest names.
Armin Van Buren headlined Day 1 (September 5) with his trance flavor and oft-outstretched arms as if to reach both the crowd and the music gods, as a massive crowd jumped to the beat. Deadmau5 also delighted the big main-stage crowd, briefly taking off his big red mouse head to reveal a real smile underneath. Having reached new heights of popularity this year, many visitors were there for him, with Van Buren’s closing slot as a bonus.
On the other end of the trance-to-modern-electro spectrum, we caught a much-less-tame Steve Aoki jumping atop the DJ booth and engaging the crowd in the Respect Grove tent. Medhi preceded him with an onslaught of great electro, and after Aoki came the compatible Busy P and, finally, Tiga.
With two other tents also pumping out music, there was lots more to see and we felt a bit schizophrenic. Fortunately, the setup of the grounds was optimal, with tents and the stage — as well as food and drink — located on the perimeter. So we never felt too cramped while getting around. And the tents were just far enough away so that none interfered with another.
We were extremely impressed with Day 1. And we somehow made it back down for a second day.
Day 2 also brought lots of electronic royalty, like ATB, Richie Hawtin, and so many others. Headliner David Guetta pleased the main-stage crowd with his pop spin on house music, as expected.
Day 2 photos by Seana Cavanagh
The more indie tent was now called Grove Discoteque, and appropriately headlined by DFA-duo James Murphy at Pat Mahoney. But our indietronic bliss started much earlier, when Junior Boys, Al from Hot Chip, and Andy Butler of Hercules and Love Affair brought a diverse set of great tracks. Butler was joined by the one and only Frankie Knuckles.
Electronic music, New York, and being under a summer night’s sky — three of our favorite things — all enjoyed at and done justice by this new Electric Zoo.
