Hard? It doesn’t have to be…

On Saturday 8th August Los Angeles tried to host a dance music event, and failed even more splendidly than usual.

OK… let’s retreat briefly and give you some back story. I first tried to write a post about Hard Festival a few weeks ago after seeing the amazingly convoluted line-up and thinking “where are they going with this one?”. Chromeo, A-Trak, Tiga, The Bloody Beetroots, Crystal Castles & Underworld headlining. First thought - is it worth it, just for Underworld? Second thought - that line-up is going to need some seriously clever programming. Third thought - here we go again!

Go again? Well, yes. Only a few weeks ago I hit my first Electric Daisy Carnival, and while there were a few highlights, it was generally a teeny-bopper, drug-fuelled, psychadelic love-in masquerading as a dance music event.

I was really trying to give Hard the benefit of the doubt, but then the venue caught my eye; The Forum. Holy shit!!! What are they thinking? The audio graveyard in Inglewood, an absolute driving nightmare at the best of times, then throw in 20,000 teenagers tripping their balls off as they arrive and leave, and let the games begin.

Well, that’s what I thought before the party, and thankfully I sat it out. I feel so sorry for those who weren’t so fortuitous, as it was chaos from the very beginning.

The Forum is a nightmare on so many levels, but a seating venue for a rave? The more I heard, the more I thought who the hell was promoting this crazyness?!?! 2 acts had the chance to perform before the event was shut down at 11.30pm due to safety and security issues. People were jumping from the seating areas to the dance floor, and the stairwells were filled with people heading to their seats to escape the packed floor, or heading the other way to get their groove on. The majority of the night was spent with the lights on, stage clear and people being told to behave. (Just what the kids want during their summer holidays!) Understandably people got royally fuc&ed off, and things went from bad to worse.

The rest is a little sketchy to say the least. Stories of the doors being blocked until the riot police arrived, then everyone being forced to their cars and directed to leave immediately. Cue the systematic pulling-over of every car for sobriety tests and detainment of the kids who didn’t want to be driving anywhere.

Another hit in the balls for the Los Angeles dance music scene. I feel for the kids. No wonder EMO looks like a better option these days.

CheckPoint