Avicii at Nocturnal Wonderland Day 1: 5 tracks you need to know

Sure Avicii sat atop a giant kaleidoscopeic cube at Alice’s House, but our minds are still flashing with neon glowing bunnies, electric pandas, bikini-clad girls, and lots and lots of sunglasses. But Avicii could have been sitting on top of the world for all he cared. The energy levels were off the charts as he tore through his set Friday night at Nocturnal Wonderland in San Bernadino, California. Read on to hear (and see) how it went down.

As Avicii jumped up and down, wearing one of his trademark plaid shirts and throwing his hand in the air to the beat, the crowd bounced in unison. Towards the front, a fan held up a giant panda head helmet that bobbed to the melodies. Lights flashed throughout the airplane hangar-sized auditorium as girls wearing everything from neon bunny gas masks to Japanese geisha outfits danced slowly on stage. To cut to the chase, Insomniac knows how to throw a music festival.

It’s hard to pick out the best moments from Avicii’s mind-blowing two hour set at Nocturnal. Like any good setlist, he ripped endlessly through nonstop hits, meshing them together in the way he always does. These are our picks of the most memorable moments throughout the performance.

1. Avicii – Nothing Without Adele (Avicii Rolling Bootleg)

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Avicii’s still unreleased bootleg of Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep” is a monster of a crowd-pleaser, and one of our favorite remakes of  the classic track that has been continued to be remade time and again. As the track came on, clouds of multicolored confetti shot out into the crowd, streaming down with the smoke and lights so that you could barely see who was standing next to you.

2. Coldplay – Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall (Avicii “Tour” Mix)

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This is one of the more emotional anthemic songs that Avicii let loose over the course of the night. Even though the original remix was a Swedish House Mafia one, Avicii seems to have taken control of this song and really made it his own. It got the entire crowd cheering in unison as the beat built up to a resounding chorus that came crashing down.

3. Avicii & Sebastien Drums – My Feelings For You

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This old classic was definitely a highlight of the show, as the crowd chanted out along with the song “My feelings for you, will aaalways be real.” It’s hard to imagine a track that can unite a crowd as well as this one.

4. Avicii – Levels (Original Mix)

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Another great crowd-pleaser, it was surprising to see this track played within the first hour of the set — far from a grand finale—even though it was arguably Avicii’s marquee song of the year. Still, it got the entire crowd energized, as they sang along with the melody “ba ba ba ba ba ba, ba ba ba ba.” (Editors Note: If you cant hear it in your head, why are you reading this?).

5. Avicii – Abow vs. Sex On Fire (Avicii’s Bootleg)

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Finally, Avicii’s bootleg of “Sex On Fire” by the Kings of Leon is a great example of how creative and versatile he is as a DJ. When you listen to the original song, it’s hard to even think of hearing a good house sample in it. Avicii seamlessly uses this bootleg to get the crowd energized and build up to the next track perfectly.

Photos by Cameron Nehrer