Thousands of people surged into Shoreline Amphitheater for Beyond Wonderland rave this past weekend.
Advertised as one of the largest raves to ever be produced in the Bay Area, Beyond Wonderland amazed and entertained the audience Saturday and Sunday night. Over 25,000 were in attendance at the Mountain View event.
Insomniac Events, who are world renowned for their large scale shows, were responsible for the two day festival. The Electric Daisy Carnival is the company's most recognized event.
The Wonderland theme was carried throughout Shoreline. Insomniac performers dressed as animals, mushrooms, and characters from Alice in Wonderland and ventured the grounds interacting with audience members.
The main stage was an elaborate design of a scene from Alice in Wonderland where the caterpillar is smoking out of a hookah while lounging on a mushroom. They even used a smoke machine to give the appearance that the giant animatronic caterpillar was actually smoking.
Saturday night's line-up included major names in the electronic dance industry. DVBBS, Morgan Page, Arty, Avicii, and David Guetta dominated the Madhatter's Castle stage while Dash Berlin and Hardwell kept the crowd on the edge of their seat with each drop at the main stage, Queen's Domain.
Although Swedish DJ Avicii was not on the mainstage, his set was probably the most anticipated of the night. His debut album, "True," was released earlier this month and has already reached tremendous success. His single "Wake Me Up," is currently at number four on the Billboard's Hot 100 list.
Sunday night's set list was equally jam-packed of prominent DJs and producers. Headliner's Carnage, R3HAB, Benny Banassi, Calvin Harris, and Tiësto proved why they are among the most popular EDM artists in the world. Not only did each performer engage with the audience, they played dance anthems that kept the crowd dancing and energized.
EDM festivals can be really pricey. General admission tickets to Beyond Wonderland went for $139 before fees. This gave you access to two days of music, both days starting at one in the afternoon and ending at 11PM. Was it worth it? Like most ravers, I can't put a price on an experience.
But if you were there, other expenses could have included costumes (extremely popular in rave culture), kandi accessories, transportation, merchandise including festival t-shirts starting at $25, and of course, overpriced food and drink from the venue.
If you want to experience a rave atmosphere for yourself without paying the price of a full festival ticket, Zedd will be at the Fox Theater on October 8th and 9th. Cheap tickets can be found on stubhub.com for $20-30.
