Just when downtown Phoenix seems stagnant, something comes along like Phoenix Lights to remind people of the city’s unique history and its evolution.
Whether you were standing five feet away from Civic Space Park, where the festival was held, or across the street near the Lincoln Family Downtown YMCA, the earth-shattering bass coming from the Phoenix Lights festival was loud enough to keep one’s ears ringing for days.
It was an unusual Sunday to say the least.
Sometimes I like to step out of my comfort zone and listen to music I would rarely listen to. This concert is a perfect example.
I went during the day and despite everyone being drenched in the desert heat and the air having an aroma of sunscreen, the explosive sounds made me feel like I had just walked into a rave.
In fact, the music that was being played late in the afternoon was very soft compared to the acts in the evening. By that time, artists like Secondcity and Kill Frenzy came on and blew people away.
My knowledge of EDM is pretty slim, so when I listened to the strange concoction of deep bass and melody, I instantly thought of the genre of dubstep.
Several of these artists, at many times, would build up a tempo and then drop a bunch of distorted noises onto the crowd, at which point people would wildly dance while the whole area feels like it’s shaking.
I noticed that unlike groups that perform different, distinct songs, it didn’t seem that clear when one ended and when the next one began with these artists.
And instead of clapping between songs, this type of electronic music is designed to keep everyone in the crowd constantly jumping around and screaming back to the disc jockey when he or she says something like, “Are you ready?!” It is pretty much an endless montage of party music, or at least that’s my impression.
Even during the day, the designs of the two stages at Phoenix Lights were pretty remarkable. There were hypnotic lights projected from the backdrop that perfectly matched the vibes of the music.
The place just kept getting more packed throughout the day as myriads of people were coming from all directions into the venue, some covered in colorful beads and tattoos and some wearing wigs and carrying freakish blowup dolls on their shoulders.
Phoenix Lights would probably be the dream concert of every fan of electronic dance music because it featured such prominent disc jockey artists, such as Hardwell and Zeds Dead, and lasted all day. EDM is still not my cup of tea, but I’ll admit it was pretty interesting and unlike any concert I’ve ever been to before.
Contact the columnist at Oren.Simchy-Gross@asu.edu.
