By: Brooke Ricci
September of 2023 contains the closing events of the major EDM summer season, including Electric Zoo. Better known as EZoo, Electric Zoo takes place on Labor Day weekend of September, just in time for New York college students to start partying. However, their (and my own) partying was cut short by various problems and unfortunate events.
First off, EZoo’s three-day festival was shortened to two days after failing to construct their stages in time. Avant Gardner’s recent acquisition of EZoo for $15 million included the construction of a new stage called the “Mega Mirage” as a callback to their own Brooklyn Mirage venue. And like the venue, it was a disaster. The stage was not ready in time due to poor planning, and as a result, the first day of the festival was canceled. Even after completing the stage, the remainder of the days still had problems with their video presentation on the stage screens. My brother was supposed to attend Friday’s show and then proceeded to text me, “never going back” and “how do you have weeks to finish a stage and not complete it on time?” after finding out the news. All are very valid points. I, however, bought tickets for just the Sunday show, so it was not a problem, or so I thought…
Normally, I would not have a problem with a crowd of EDM lovers, yet they behaved unlike themselves. Usually, EDM festival goers are friendly and caring to each other. Even if you are not in a rave family, there will always be someone there to fan you in case you get overheated. Rave culture involves sharing kandy (beaded bracelets) and holding totems (funny and obvious signs) to keep track of one another. The people are protective of one another and want to make sure everyone is in a safe environment, especially if they decide to partake in some hallucinogens to enhance their experience. Unfortunately, the crowd decided that once their personal space was violated, they weren’t past pushing people and endangering others.
Although all of these issues were apparent to most of the festival-goers, my friend Sophia and I had a great time. We were unaware of the rushing of the security gate, and we didn’t notice any technical mishaps. We managed to leave at a perfect time (unfortunately at the cost of the last 40 minutes of John Summit and Dom Dolla’s debut show of Everything Always) and procured the last spot on a bus heading to Harlem, making perfect time to catch the Metro back to Fordham. We got the videos and pictures we wanted and didn’t exhaust ourselves too much. I was even given a plant sprout hair clip, which made my day.
Although I adore EDM music, I think it’s time to face the facts and admit that festivals are just not cutting it anymore. This might not be a future problem, though, because Electric Zoo might not be happening again due to everything said above. Apparently, there are lawsuits brewing against Avant Gardner, and rightfully so. It’s safe to say that Electric Zoo lived up to its namesake, behaving like a true zoo.
