HARD Day of the Dead was … THE !@#$IN SHIT!! Having had horrible experiences from past HARD events, I hesitantly bought my ticket, but it was well worth every penny. The venue was at LA State Historic Park and like every other HARD festival, I expected the same old disorganized lines, crowded venue layout, and massive overpopulation. Good thing we went in as early as we could, because it only took us twenty mins to get inside! Also to my pleasant surprise, HARD actually did an excellent job spacing out the stages and sound this time, and I couldn’t have had a better night of glorious bass and beats!

When I go to massive festivals such as this one, I have one mission on my mind…
GET YOUR GRIND ON AND GO WITNESS EVERY DAMN DJ/ARTIST YOU CAN BEFORE THE NIGHT IS THROUGH.
With this in mind, HARD was going to be a challenge because every artist playing from the beginning (6:00PM) til the end (2:00AM) was worthy of being a headliner.

This was my first time getting inside a festival in time for the first set, but we HAD to see the mystery TRVP DJ by the name of UZ. No one really knows who this guy is or where he came from (is it Skrillex? is it Borgore?); all we know is that he produces and plays some REAL TRAP SHIT. His mixing was on point and was the perfect warm-up for the electrifying line-up the EAR-STORM Stage had lined up.

BAAUER was next to play after UZ in the EAR-STORM stage. A 23-year old producer was behind the deck laying some BASS on the peoples FACES. His name has been igniting people’s interest in EDM TrapStyle music these past few months with killer remixes and releases such as Roll Up – Flosstradamus (BAAUER Remix). I would have to say his DJing game could improve but his song selection was just finesse

One of my favorite sets of the night was the ALWAYS crowd pleasing ZEDS DEAD. We’ve always said Zeds Dead is responsible for our love of dubstep, and they didn’t disappoint! Not only was the sound and visuals top notch, but their mixing was flawless as always, and their songs numbed my brain and sent reverberations through my whole body. killa killa, ZEDS DEAD

Then we headed to the DiscoTechque Stage where I got down with the funk of Soul Clap (ranked #14 of Resident Advisors Top 100 DJs of 2012) and deep House grooves of Maya Jane Cole (ranked #9!!). It was awesome to experience something really different, really simple, yet so DAMN GROoOVY. The whole stage held its own unique mood and sexy atmosphere that every one of the “real” house enthusiasts could relate with each other within that moment of the mix.

Just when I thought the performances couldn’t get any better, IT DID.. Gesaffelstein, a man of French Techno, came right after Maya and stunned the crowd with his thunderous mix. There’s no telling what kind of music this man played that night but when it did, it hit HARD. The monstrous build-ups and FATTT JUICY drops made this man my favorite set of the night.

Other notable sets of the night were Kill the Noise, who brought the house down with some moobahton and then melted faces with some dubstep. Diplo also had a massive set, which ranged from electro house, to dubstep, to moombahton, and SOME TRVP SH!T at the end. He had a very entertaining mix, but the most notable part of his performance was his stage. The Moombahton Massive stage was one of the CRAZIEST stages I’ve seen in a while.

Day of the Dead was one of the best festivals Southern California has seen in a while, and it makes us excited for the future of events in Los Angeles.

Most of the behind the scenes video is from youtube channel GLENJAMN. He always posts epic behind the scene video of DJs rocking massive stages all over the United States.