Unicorns, fried eggs, astronauts, cats and memes are a few of costumes witnessed at this year’s HARD Day Of The Dead Festival – and they weren’t all being worn by the attendees.
HARD DOTD took place at the Pomona Fairplex on McKinley Avenue on Nov. 1 and 2 with an approximation of 80,000 fans throughout the weekend. The new venue allowed for a larger display of rides and art installations, featuring a zip line that allowed the attendees fly from the main entrance to the HARD stage.
It is one of the few festivals this year that successfully captured the massive atmosphere of an outdoor festival by hosting acts RL Grime, Diplo, Knife Party, Bassnectar, Zedd, and Calvin Harris in the field stages, as well as captured the indoor compact 90’s rave vibe with warehouse-like stages with acts such as Branchez and T.E.E.D.
The food menu featured a truck selling Pink’s Hot Dogs and another selling Greek food, giving fans a new variety along with the regular fest foods: chicken strips, fries, burger and pizza.
As for activities, the festival had PLUR Cosmetics painting faces through out the weekend as well as Rony’s Photobooth hosting their regular photo shoots. The Ferris wheel was in full effect illuminating beautifully during the night, placed as the centerpiece between the two main stages.
Now lets dig into the costumes! There were plenty of creative outfits, as opposed to the regular cats and fairies. DJ/producer from San Francisco Giraffage came out to perform dressed as a fried egg, “Decisions” producer Borgore in a unicorn onesie, Canadian bass enthusiasts Zeds Dead as astronauts (with a really dramatic opening!), and the creator of it all HARD CEO Destructo came to perform with a painted skull face. The talent was as spirited as the audience this year.
Al Borde’s Top 5 sets:
5. Valentino Khan: L.A. based Valentino Khan touched on the songs that are trendy right now and for that we thank him. The man carried on a set that catered to the hardcore electronic music lovers, hitting them with tunes that are popular and automatically anticipated in a set. He knows what the crowd wants. Additionally, it does not hurt to mention that he shaved his well-known mustache on stage.
4. Cashmere Cat: The looks in the eyes of the audience made Cashmere Cat reach our Top 5. The audience was swaying to the producer’s music, anticipating the artist’s next song decision. Cat’s precision always translates in his sets.
3. RL Grime: The bass producer delivered a set that showed both the producer’s rap and bass music influences. A highlight of this particular set was the visual work curated by SUS Boy. In addition, RL Grime was easily the main attraction at this specific hour, filling up the grounds from stage to where the zip line was located.
2. Deadmau5 V. Eric Prydz: The two partnered up to deliver a set that created a sense of euphoria and nostalgia. Picture this: two hours of their music soothing back and forth with the majority of blue and white visuals. (And if you can’t, we have photos to help you visualize below!)
1. Gesaffelstein: French producer Gesaffelstein continuously proves that the power of simplicity and consistency creates a melodic tension that delivers a captivated connection with his audience.
Now ready to the words in action? Our gallery below showcases our favorites this year and the festival grounds in full effect:
All photos by Jeanette Hernandez / photo-jaye.
