DA’s Photo Diary of HARD Day of the Dead

DA's Photo Diary of HARD Day of the Dead

This Halloween boasted no shortage of events, but HARD still managed to draw out the crowds in thousands for its annual Day of the Dead Festival. While Insomniac’s Escape All Hallow’s Eve brought plenty of trance and techno fans out, HARD attracted LA’s eclectic group of future bass, trap, deep house, and electro heads.

Taking to the Pomona Fairplex, the new festival grounds were noticeably less dusty than previous venues but felt a tad on the disjointed side with the main stage occupying an entirely separate area. Despite some sound issues across the stages, the production was as impressive as ever with main stage shaped in the form of a giant temple. There were plenty of significant performances to speak of over the weekend — Zhu may have proven our favorite, Cajmere was a delightful surprise, and who could deny the violent perfection of Gesaffelstein?

Check out our full photo diary of HARD Day of the Dead 2014.

Photo Credit: NAFT Photography, Scott Hutchinson

Early bird gets the worm

With an 11pm sound curfew, HARD Day of the Dead has turned into an earlier festival. It’s not ideal, but it’s not necessarily a bad thing either. Earlier sets mean more time in the sun and more rest for the next day. Fans who were able to get in earlier on Saturday found time to see artists like EEKKOO, Just A Gent, Sweater Beats, and of course our two favorites: Seven Lions and Jeremy Olander.

The Zipline That Was Too Awesome To Be Real

We knew it was coming, but we still couldn’t predict just how awesome the zipline would be. Countless times we found ourselves walking to and from the main stage, only to suddenly jerk our attention to the sound of screaming attendees ziplining over our heads. If you had the patience for the lineup, the thrill of careening across the festival was well worth the wait.

Deadmau5 & Prydz Go B2B; Mau5heads on hand

Deadmau5 and Prydz’s collaborative set was easily the most talked about performance of the weekend. While a low quality set rip has since surfaced, it doesn’t do justice to the performance itself which saw Joel and Eric trading tracks back and forth two at a time. Deadmau5 classics like “I Said” and “Arguru” were matched with Prydz favorites such as “The Gift” and “On Off.” Despite rumors of mau5heads being banned, plenty of fans still wore their homemade creations with pride.

GRILLSON Brought the BBQ, DIRTYBIRD BROUGHT THE BEATS

Dirtybird closed out its cross-country BBQ tour on Sunday of HARD by taking over a full-stage. Bringing its biggest lineup yet, the stage hosted Dirtybird regulars like Claude VonStroke, Justin Martin, J. Phlip, Christian Martin, Shiba San, and Kill Frenzy alongside special additions Cajmere, Eats Everything, Catz ‘n’ Dogz. Of course, Grillson was on hand to man the BBQ and serve up his famous creations.

SUN GOES DOWN, LIGHTS GO UP; ANOTHER SUCCESSFUL DOTD

Gary Richards brought his A-game to HARD (not to mention some sweet DOTD face paint). As Destructo, he lit up the main stage with tech and g-house, eventually bringing out rappers Too Short and Problem. As Richards, founder and CEO of HARD Events, he put on a colossal festival that somehow managed to be even bigger than its previous iterations. The spacing may have been a bit awkward, the curfew earlier than desired, but you certainly can’t complain about the breadth of talent present or the production behind the stages.