Exciting Music, Crowd at etdPOP 2010

etdPOP 2010, "The Dream," was a banquet for the senses. The event spanned ten hours last Saturday, from 4pm to 2am, and it truly felt like a dream. The wide range of techno music included the work of Dyloot, Gareth Emery, Armin Van Buuren, and, best of all, Infected Mushroom live. The event took place in a single arena of the Cow Palace, with a round, rotating center stage surrounded by a circular dance floor and seating. Guests could rock out on the dance floor, take in the whole scene from various levels of the seating area,or refresh in the outside lobby. The centrality of the performers and the three designated locations for enjoying the event kept the energy focused and were key to the evening's success.

The evening was sold out to over 20,000 guests, ranging from high school and college students to working adults and a few septuagenarians. Energy was high, the dancing constant, and the music inspiring, making this one of the best dance parties I have attended. The light shows and the variety of the set for each performer kept the eyes busy, with inflating stars, flowers, and, in the last show, smiling mushrooms.

When the stage wasn't exciting enough, the surrounding people and their astounding outfits more than made up the difference. Female guests seemed to be uniting in showing off more skin than you would see at the beach, but the way they shared their skin was generally much more creative. Ripped clothing, technicolor fishnets, body paint, sparkles, booty shorts, unusual bikinis, lingerie, fuzzy boots, and cleverly placed tape were all used to partially cover and display various body parts. Male guests were generally wearing more clothing, but their outfits also ranged from Green Giant costumes to skintight leather pants, and I did spot a couple wearing only underwear, knee socks, and shoes.

As my first rave, this was an unbeatable introduction to the culture. Everyone was extremely friendly- guests, performers, and security guards alike- which gave me a warm welcome into the world of raves. I enjoyed the sharing of arm "candy" with new friends; the rewarding experience of finally finding a huge arena full of people uninhibited enough to dance as crazily as I do with my friends in the Modern dance studio; the exciting music; the wide array of bodies and minds; and, of course, the energy of the performers. The smokiness of the room by the end of the event was the only negative aspect, and I also highly recommend the use of earplugs. The morning after, my hearing was still pleasantly intact even though I was able to clearly hear all of the music of the evening.

All in all, a very successful event, and I eagerly look forward to next year's POP!

EBAC thanks etdPop for access to this year's festival.