About a year ago, the night before we left for Oklahoma City, my cousins came over for an impromptu dinner and asked us if we wanted to go to the next EDC with them because they had all just bought tickets on the $10 deposit monthly layaway.
Theo’s godparents happened to be with us that night too. I looked at them and said, “I would… would you guys??” And we all just stared at each other for a second before going, “I guess we’re doing this!”
For a year we were excited, then regretted our decision, a little more excited again when we booked flights and hotels, a little blah about it until the lineup dropped, then super excited, then almost glad that the whole ordeal was over, lol. In the end, we only did two out of the three days.
Not sure if I’ve mentioned it before, but since having a baby, I’ve been in a… crisis? Almost like a mid-life one? We’re getting older. Time feels like it’s passing by faster than ever. Suddenly I want to do everything just to prove to myself that I still can despite the husband and baby and being in my 30s. I had never done a music festival before, especially one of the caliber of EDC, and if I wasn’t going to do it now I probably never will.
It was my first time leaving Theo since he’d been born. I was a nervous wreck the days leading up to it and missed him every day we were gone. It didn’t help that the little daredevil sprained his elbow the night before our 6 am flight — we were driving between urgent care and the ER and contemplating canceling the entire trip! We left him with Clarence’s parents for half the trip and my parents for the other half… I had to write out a whole schedule/care routine/rules for my parents because I legitimately don’t trust them watching him. It was only 2 1/2 days and he survived but tell me why when my dad picked us up with Theo, his car seat straps weren’t tightened…
I’ve just been relieved to be home with him now.
Now, onto EDC: It was fun! EDM isn’t my first choice of music to listen to (I’m still stuck in my emo phase for the past 20 years lol) but I can appreciate music in all its forms. At EDC, I found out I’m actually kind of a bass head, lol. Maybe because it gets me going the way a good post-hardcore song does. I digress.
The fun stuff:
– My favorite stage was Cosmic Meadow. In our 30s, the bleachers were a godsend. On Day 1 we stayed there for 3 sets and loved it.
– Lots to see and do. You could tell how much planning went into everything. I wish I rode at least 1 ride or something but I would’ve been by myself doing it because everyone in my group gets motion sickness haha.
– Seeing everyone’s creativity in their totems and outfits! People are so funny.
– I also like dressing up. Coming up with our outfits felt like a costume party, lol. I loved my Day 1 outfit more than my Day 2!
– GRiZ was an awesome set! Super hype! Live saxes!!!
– We did hotel + shuttle. Great combination! We didn’t have to worry about driving there or finding parking and driving back intoxicated. I don’t think I’d ever camp. The shuttles were also super efficient, there were a lot of them coming in and out, and they had their own route to the venue. I thought I’d be waiting in lines way more but we barely did.
– My Day 1 goal was to see Said The Sky’s full set and… I lived. Go On Then, Love and Emotion Sickness are my pop-punk souls in EDM. I sang my heart out and his set was amazing!
– My Day 2 goal was Zedd. I can’t believe I finally got to head Clarity live after all these years! The crowd was fun there too. I exchanged kandi with a guy from Hawaii who was fanning us (lol) and sang with another guy who then gave me a hug and asked if I needed any co*ke or molly to which I kindly replied, “No thanks, I’m good!” lol raves are a funny place.
Some things I didn’t like:
– How incredibly crowded it was. I usually don’t mind crowds but in this particular case, it was scary. I almost had a claustrophobic panic attack for the first time in my life! And it was going to the bathrooms, not even at a set!!! It sucks that they oversell the venue. I’ve heard people say it wasn’t that crowded last year.
– The security. While yeah, for people sneaking in drugs it was probably cool that it was so light, someone could’ve brought in a pocket knife and gone on a stabbing spree! It was so lax they probably could’ve even snuck in a gun!!!!!!
– So many people = pickpocketers. My brother got his phone stolen and Clarence felt someone put their hand in his pocket to take his phone! I even felt someone too but I had it attached to a phone lanyard while it was tucked in my skirt band.
– The lack of signal. I had a hard time getting in contact with anyone I wanted to meet up with and didn’t even get to see my family on the first day. We had to establish meeting spots and times and even then if people were running late there was no way to know! It’s a huge venue and so easy to get lost. Not having contact was unnerving.
– Maybe it’s just because I’m not an avid EDM listener, but at some point, all the music sounded the same to me lol. It didn’t help that the DJs would play each other music and remix them. How many times did I hear “Where You Are” in two days?? You don’t hear that at emo shows… haha.
– The drinks and food were so expensive. I mean it’s expected but man. $20 a drink?? I could’ve got way more sloshed but our poor bank accounts lol.
It was actually so much fun that I felt a little sad at the end of it. Not because I wanted the weekend to keep going, but because… I’m getting older. For a second, I wished I was in my 20s, just me and Clarence, able to do whatever we wanted with our time. Not to say that I wish Theo wasn’t around — it’s just that I would’ve thought about coming again next year, but we have plans with our family for the next few years that are more important than EDC lol. Maybe we’ll come back again when Theo’s older and I won’t feel as stressed leaving him, but we’ll be approaching our 40s, and… man, it’s just weird to think about! I know it’s okay to go at any age, but trying this out in our 30s was already a struggle! I was so freaked out about health concerns now (something I wouldn’t have been concerned about too much in my 20s) that I didn’t partake in party favors like I had planned all year. It took seeing one guy having a bad trip in the first hour of Day 1 to scare me. I just thought that I needed to get home to Theo so I can’t risk it. But, I drank a lot for the first time in a loooong time and had a blast drunk. Haha. We wore compression socks and gel insoles in our shoes and still came home with aching feet and blisters. We didn’t even stay until closing and left “early” at 3:45 am, got back to our hotel when the sun was out, and slept in until it was time to get ready for day 2 haha. My body was exhausted.
Whew, that was a ramble. For the rest of the trip we celebrated our friend’s birthday at Tableau and explored Meow Wolf’s Omega Mart. In hindsight, we should’ve done a longer stay in Vegas, but it was still a good trip! I’m grateful I got to experience it with the right people.
