The Electro Beach Diaries Part II: Laidback Luke, Avicii, Matt Goldman
Yesterday we brought you part one of our Electro Beach Puerto Vallarta diaries, and today we’re back with part II. Laidback Luke helped keep the momentum going with a monster set at Xtine, before Avicii stole the week at Collage. It was a fitting way to end the week, and a killer ending to an amazing spring break. Keep reading for all the nitty gritty details!
Night 4: Laidback Luke at Xtine, March 7th
Hey Sexy Lady” and a unique bootleg of “Keep Out The Epic Motherfucker” with “Babylon.” Nero’s “Me And U” worked surprisingly flawlessly with “My G.O.D.,” but it was a huge bootleg of “Nictim” with “Gregory’s Theme” and “Teenage Crime” that had us really impressed at his ability to blend so many different types of tracks into one… Not that we weren’t before or anything.
iSquare – Hey Sexy Lady (Laidback Luke Remix)
Xtine was an absolutely awesome venue for Luke’s high energy set, and he was still going when we decided to call it a night. He seemed to let up on the reigns a little bit with “Dirty Talk” and “Wild One Two,” before turning things much, much darker for the late night crowd. “Antidote” back to back with Knife Party’s “Internet Friends,” were intense tracks to drop around 5AM, but he thankfully decided to throw in the always classic “Better Off Alone.”
Jack Back feat. David Guetta, Nicky Romero & Sia – Wild One Two (Original Mix)
Night 5: Avicii and Matt Goldman at Collage, March 8th
We are no strangers to seeing Avicii live, but nevertheless, we spent much of the week looking forward to his appearance at Collage. Electro Beach organizers went all out with the production for this one, bringing in massive LED screens, lighting trusses, and completely overhauling the entire table situation from the earlier night at the venue for Deniz Koyu. You may remember Matt Goldman from his Neptunes Beach Club opening set, and we’re pleased to say he did an even better job this time around. He pulled out all the stops, playing a very aggressive set filled with bangers like Eric Prydz’s remix of “Midnight City” before Avicii took the decks around 2AM. He would come back to close out the night on an even harder note, dropping “Don’t Ditch,” “Lise,” and Sebastian Ingrosso’s “Meich,” among others.
Arno Cost – Lise (Original Mix)
Avicii’s didn’t have many surprises, but his DJing skills seemed dramatically improved from some of the previous events we’ve seen him at. He opened with “Fade Into Darkness” with “You Got The Love” before turning things to the dark-side with the highly-underplayed “Alcoholic.” (Note to Avicii if you’re reading this: play it more often. It’s awesome and goes so hard.) He also played the upcoming “Nictim” (which is also awesome), as well as “Sunshine,” “Silhouettes,” and “Titanium.”
Tim Berg (Avicii) – Alcoholic (Original Mix)
Just like at Pier 94, he played the old-school intro version of “Levels,” which, let’s just say had everyone in the club going absolutely nuts. The end of the set ended with Dennis Ferrer’s “Hey Hey,” and Qulinez “Troll,” before he played Axwell’s “In My Mind.” Just when we thought it was over, the music came back on for one more track: Swedish House Mafia’s “Antidote.” It was the perfect way for him to close out his set — and our week of partying — on a high note, before handing back the reigns to Matt Goldman.
Avicii – Levels (Vitzi’s Old School Intro Bootleg)
Almost all Avicii shows are guaranteed to be awesome, but there’s something about seeing him during Spring Break that made the whole thing that much better. The club itself was ginormous, and there wasn’t a bad spot for sound or lighting — even in the bathroom. Avicii absolutely killed it, and if you’re lucky enough to see him during week 3, we highly suggest making it out.
Wrap-up
All in all, Electro Beach was one of the best party packages we ever could’ve asked for as part of the spring break experience. Since it was sold either a week-long pass or individual party passes, any spring breaker traveling to Puerto Vallarta was eligible to attend — and we’re thrilled that so many different schools got to party together. Prime Social Group and College Travel Experts proved to be an amazing team in terms of delivering a full-featured experience that combined high production value, amazing talent, and solid venues night after night. We also have to credit Joonbug, who did a phenomenal job coordinating VIP services and made sure that the Dancing Astronaut crew always had a prime viewing spot each night. As much pain as we’re in now, it was well worth it. We can’t wait till next year.
Categories: Music