Guess who went to Ultra Fest? ME.
Hands down, it was one of thee best experiences of my life.
Picture a land where you are surrounded by your favorite music, people are dressed exactly how you dress, and you're with some of your best friends in the whole world. People are dancing up and down the streets, the vibe is nothing short of happy and generous, and you can talk to anyone you want with no pre-judgments. The best part of it all: everyone is there for the exact same reason.
I am still completely put in awe by the fact that thousands upon thousands of people from around the world can come together in unison for one sole purpose; music. Whether people were rolling face, tripping balls or completely sober, you are all feeling the unbelievable power of music together. The powerful bonding you experience between the people in the crowd with you makes me want to cry. And I can't even begin to describe the pleasure of being able to experience something like Ultra with my best friends.
We started the day pretty early, we drank a bit, and the first show we went to was Steve Aoki. Imagine starting of your morning with a little live Steve Aoki blasting WARP in your face? I CAN! It was amazing. Then we saw Afrojack who killed it completely, I was up front and center making love with Fedde Le Grand's eyes, I moshed my face off and killed my body at Skrillex, I jammed to Kaskade, Oh and Sander Kleinenberg came on to power through "This is Miami" and then we turned our full attention to Armin Van Buuren who almost killed me with his beats, literally, I had to leave because I almost passed out in the crowd. Let's see who else...Oh Nero performed and then I sat and watched Underworld completely kill the people who were on Acid.
And then, for the finale, Deadmau5 came on.
I honestly will not be able to describe the amount of euphoric ecstasy that I felt during this show. I met a really nice tall boy from California who let me sit on his shoulders during his show...and of all songs to open with, he opened with 'Some Chords.' As soon as he opened with that I KNEW I was supposed to be at Ultra. For those of you that make fun of me for talking like this, bite me, because this is what I live for. There are few songs that bring me to a completely paralyzing state, and Deadmau5 happens to spin two of them. Then I got down and jammed on my feet for a minute...and then...THEN, the beginning of "Raise Your Weapon" started. My new friend grabbed me and threw me on his shoulders, and as soon as that first beat dropped, I BURST into tears. The combination of the lights, the music, and the crowd was too much for me. I wasn't crying because I saw Deadmau5, I think the power of the atmosphere just overwhelmed me. I was so much higher than everyone else, and looking around at all of the 60,000 people that were gathered together for a union of listening to the same music was unbelievably powerful. I turned around and through the lights I saw a sea of people, everyone's eyes closed and feeling the music together. I hadn't cried in so long, and when Raise Your Weapon came on...it just felt so right for that moment. I honestly felt as though the music reached inside of me and cradled my soul. And it was the best feeling in the world.
For that one moment every single fear, worry, complaint, anxiety and thought left my head. It was just me and the music. You know that feeling when you are freezing cold and you get into a hot bath, and as you put yourself in the water limb by limb you get chills because the warmth of the bath feels so good...and you love how the water takes over your body step by step? That's exactly how I felt with the music of Deadmau5. Every part of my head and body was completely consumed by the syncopation of the lights and music. Plus the fact that you are surrounded by so many people who are feeling the exact same way...it's just all too much. It was by far one of the most spiritual encounters with music I've ever had. I thank God every day that I am able to hear music the way that I do. I don't need to roll, or trip, or get wasted, I'm defected enough where I can be sober and feel like I'm in Heaven with certain typed of music.
Then he played I Remember, which I hadn't heard in so long, and it was so beautiful hearing it live. And then for his encore, he played the song I blogged about, HR8938 Cephai. It was unreal. AND Tommy Lee made a gust appearance on the drums for when Sophie came on to sing 'Sophie Needs a Ladder' and 'One Trick Pony.' How sick is that? Thank you Deadmau5, for reminding me of the reason I keep listening and writing about music.
