The sun kept the clouds at bay for the third and final day of Tomorrowland despite unfavorable forecasts going into the weekend. As the gates opened, the early morning sun beat against the remnants of the previous night’s rain, creating a foggy haze that spread throughout the grounds. By mid afternoon the fog had burnt away, leaving clear blue skies and a vibrant crowd in its wake.

Ben Klock helps clear the fog with a 2 hour dose of techno at the butterfly.

Shaking off the sluggish morning, we started our day at Ben Klock, the techno legend who had taken over the butterfly for a 2-hour set. The mass grew as fans from throughout the festival flooded to the front to fall victim to Klock’s propulsive techno. Moving to their own drums, they swayed and bobbed in small pockets of cohesive rhythms, all independently entranced by the German’s sly grooves.

Allure makes a rare public appearance at the Trance Addict stage.

Exploring every nook and cranny of the festival, we took the time to find experience even the smallest stages. Stopping by the Trance Addict stage for a few minutes we caught a glimpse of Allure before moving on our journey throughout the festival grounds. Walking over one of many bridges and noticing what appeared to be a rave within a sewer pipe, we dipped into a hidden tunnel arena that fit just over thirty people.

Packed to capacity, here fans were dancing along to general house music — dancing with each other, not towards the DJ. On our way towards Kaskade’s Garden of Madness we stumbled upon a hidden valley, walked into the wooded area, and to no surprise found a water-side stage aptly titled “Secret Forest.” Daddy’s Groove had control of the booth, and the secretive venue was at capacity with just over 100 fans emerged within a wooded, lake-side platform enjoying hits such as “Stellar” and “Hurricane.”

 

Dannic gives Cafeina another jolt of energy after Dyro’s performance.

A bit further down the road Dannic was tucked away, pumping Revealed Recordings big room electro hallmark, framed by giant pieces of candy at the aptly titled Cafeina stage.

Kaskade leads an army of Americans at the Pearl stage for Smash the House vs Dirty Dutch.

At Tomorrowland Americans are the minority, but over at Kaskade his loyal fans crowded the Garden of Madness to catch a quick hour of the superstar. It would be the the first and only time we heard a “USA” chant coming from the crowd. Peforming for the united crowd, Kaskade delivered a set that was frantic and electro heavy, using bouncy dub and electro to make the most out of his short timeslot. His sights set on keeping the energy high, Raddon stuck with festival friendly anthem — squeezing 21 songs into his hour timeslot including Dada Life’s remix of Designer Drugs “Through the Prism” and Angger Dimas’s rework of his own “Fire in Your New Shoes.”

Steve Angello showcases a catalog of unreleased material to a Main Stage crowd of thousands.

Steve Angello took the decks of the Main Stage around 7pm to a grandiose Tomorrowland-fashioned introduction, equipped with enough unreleased music to last him through the early portion of his set. In fact, a quick flash of “Knas” was the only recognizable offerings during his first thirty minutes. Judging by the remaining 28, it’s clear Steve has got some big room gems up his sleeve to match his modern onslaught of beat-driven releases via X. “You won’t know half of what I play” he told us with a mischievous grin moments before he took control of the volcano.

Guns for Hire raise their guns before dropping an onslaught of unrelenting kicks at Q-Dance.

By the evening the Q-Dance stage had officially become a mud pit, its floorboards splintered and broken from the 150 BPM stomping of a massive throng of fans. Unphased by the conditions, the crowd savored every last hectic moment, obediently obeying the masked duo, Guns For Hire, as they demanded the mud-caked masses to “raise their guns” before unleashing a breakneck set of raw hardstyle kicks and eardrum splitting bass.

The end all back-to-back-to-back set.

The looming collaborative set between David Guetta, Afrojack, and Nicky Romero had been hailed just as mythologically as the festival which would host it since being announced with the rest of Tomorrowland’s colossal lineup. After Angello blew the lid of the volcanic Main Stage, the super-trio became a reality as all three mega-stars immediately look the decks together as the sun began to set on Tomorrowland for one last time. Like godson top of Mount Olympus, the trio delivered a set that was a concoction of their similar sounds; Nicky’s “Toulouse,” Afrojack’s “Jack That Body,” and David’s “Metropolis” collaboration with Romero were all flaunted early on. The unification of superstars was a visual spectacle, but the confluence of sounds that continued were crossbred precisely enough to give the set a distinct edge.

Crowds swell underneath the tent at the Garden of Madness for Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike’s closing set.

While 40,000 fans flooded the Main Stage for Steve Aoki’s closing set, we retreated to the Smash the House vs. Dirty Dutch stage to catch the closing set from the festival’s most dynamic acts, Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike. The spokesmen for Tomorrowland and hometown heroes, Dimitri and Mike’s crowds were the rowdiest of the festival, a massive throng of diehard fans that followed their every move.

Like Mike quenches the crwod’s thirst with a massive bottle of champagne.

In one of the most adrenaline packed performances of the weekeend, the duo enlisted the help of Chuckie, Steve Angello, Martin Garrix and Gregori Klosman to try their best to make the Pearl stage sink. While Chuckie MC’d and Dimitri spun, Like Mike took to the crowd with massive bottles of Grey Goose and champagne, dousing the front row in expensive alcohol.

Chuckie closes out the night by crowd walking as he MCs the final minutes of the festival.

The crowd’s energy soon followed suit, bursting and jumping with as much energy as they had during their closing set on the festival’s first day. When Steve Angello joined the duo on stage the three dropped a possible collaboration, the ID informally dubbed “Sentido” before spinning the throwback festival favorite, Steve Aoki’s remix of “Pursuit of Happiness” that brought the sweltering tent’s energy to new heights; serving as a poignant reminder of Tomorrowland’s overarching theme.

Don’t miss out to experience the same unbelievable atmosphere when Tomorrowland crosses the pond for TomorrowWorld in Chattahoochee Hills. Tickets are still available.

Dylan Farella and Andrew Spada contributed to this report.

Tags: tomorrowland, tomorrowland 2013

Categories: Music