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So I had thought about this today. Electric Zoo is back, Fri-Sat-Sun of Labor Day weekend down in NYC.
All I see so far is headliners and the cost of three day passes. Fri: Tiesto Sat: David Guetta Sun: Armin van Buuren
Already seen Tiesto twice. Going to Boston that Saturday. If Sunday's lineup looks good and there's day passes, I'm down for that. This is one of those festivals I've been needing to get around to for the last couple years.
Went last year for Saturday. Was not impressed. Line to get in was horrible. If I wasn't well versed in crowd control I could have easily been crushed in the cattle shoot. Not enough portapotties, nor were they maintained. Dust everywhere, you could hardly breath in some of the tents, dirt boogers and a hacking cough for a week. The sound bleed was pretty atrocious. The main stage did not have enough volume. The beer was $10 (for bud light). Water was $5, and there was only one small tap station. The food was really lacking for it being NYC. You were not allowed to walk off the island after the shows ended, and the line for the bus off took 2 hours (No Joke). The after shows were a total joke and across the damn city, and an extra 30-40 bucks per. Not to mention that there were some dirty brostep diseases going around which made me so sick I could not return for the next day. Not that I wanted to.
I don't often post (looonnngggg time lurker and 7 time Roo vet), but had to jump in to defend the Zoo.
As much as I love Ultra (been twice), I actually prefer Electric Zoo.
-"Only" 4 stages instead of 8, made for less running around.
-Easy access between each stage, totally not crowded at all even though sold out
-Great DJ's all day long, not only top loaded (Gareth Emery at like 1 PM, was one of best sets all day!)
-Great vibe, more dancing than most festivals and it was a more ages crowd (Ultra is definitely younger overall)
-Full spectrum of EDM, the techno tent had the coolest aesthetics (a tree "growing" through the top) even though it was smallest (and I don't even care for the genre).
Granted, it is a city fest (never try to compare a city fest to the Roo or any other camping fest) so you have to deal with some form of transportation. And there was a pretty serious dust issue (with said techno tent), but they are said to be working on it for this year (if you bring a bandana/dust mask you will be all good).
Tickets only go up in price, the earlier you buy the better.
Also to prepare, dance focused festivals are a WHOLE different element than something like Bonnaroo. You don't really get those sets where you sit down and chill, or can get away with bobbing your head or something. Pretty much bouncing up and down all day long (I can't not dance when EDM is playing). They have expanded to 3 days and a 3 day dance festival will kick your ass much more than any other 3 day music festival, even considering it doesn't have late nights.
Wow, with all this EDM talk they really better bring in some kind of reincarnation of the lunar stage to Roo. Late night EDM are some of my best memories of Roo, even loved the tiny discoteque.
While my overall impression is that it was very overpriced and understaffed, I will say that last year it did bring some quality acts and great variety. Also, the crowds inside were great barring the dubstep acts where the kids got a little aggressive.
However, this year is looking iffy already. Whereas we had Chemical Brothers last year, we get Tiesto this year. If I do something on Labor day it will probably be Moe down or Northcoast (Chitown seems to be bringing it this year).
The dust thing was really bullsh*t though. It doesn't take much effort or money to lay down some damp straw during the morning. That was a big health issue and I should not have to cover my mouth with a bandana/dust mask to enjoy a show. The transportation thing wasn't so much the promoters fault, but the city's fault. They didn't provide enough buses at the end, and should have let people walk over the bridge. If you had driven you didn't seem to have such a craptastic time evacuating the island, but parking was $25, and NYC definitely doesn't need to be promoting any traffic.
Yeah, I'm not gonna do this one this year. I like Above and Beyond, but I'll be in Boston on that Saturday. Nothing great of the new additions I like on Sunday (except Chromeo, which I already saw) to warrant me buying a day pass if those were available
