This was my third time attending Decadence Arizona and definitely was the “vibey-est” one I’ve ever attended. There’s something so special about ringing in the new year at a music festival. I honestly think it’s the most perfect way to ring in a new year. You get to escape the world with some great music for a weekend surrounded by your best friends dancing the night away. For a moment you forget everything that’s happened in the past year and look toward the future. I chose Decadence Arizona for my new years celebration because my whole rave family (50+ of my best friends) decided that was the move. The lineup was pretty good, but being able to see my friends and be with them was more special to me.
I was wondering how Relentless Beats would set up Decadence after going to Goldrush where I was blown away by the production level of that festival. I was a little surprised to see that the main stage was inside the warehouse at Rawhide as last year it was under a huge tent so it seemed that they flip flopped it this year. It was probably better insulated to have it in the warehouse as it was a chilly weekend in Arizona.
The Diamond Atrium (main stage) had a stage that spanned across the warehouse with visual screens that shaped out like a diamond that gave some nice production for the artists’ visuals. The only thing was that the artists playing were at eye level with the crowd so it was difficult to see them perform most of the time. I really enjoyed the Sapphire Ballroom stage as the DJs were higher up so you could see them from any point under the tent. This stage didn’t feel as packed which I enjoyed since I definitely needed more room to dance for the sets at this stage. There was a third stage by the ferris wheel at the Ruby Courtyard which I walked by several times to hear some up-and-coming artists.
The Lineup
When the lineup first came out, I was a little underwhelmed if I am being honest. Last year’s lineup was stacked for me with DJ Snake, Porter Robinson, Deadmau5, and The Chainsmokers, just to name a few. There were a lot of people on this lineup I have already seen a couple of times, but I was more excited for the acts I hadn’t seen yet like Duke Dumont, Petit Biscuit, Big Wild, Madeon and Chet Porter (unfortunately he couldn’t make it because of flight delays). Like I said I was going to celebrate with my friends, but I knew I wouldn’t go wrong with this lineup for all the names that were on it. When the set times came out, I made a plan like I usually do of who I would see although I usually go where the music and the vibes take me.
Favorite Sets
Day 1
BTSM
This was my fourth time seeing BTSM and man oh man this set was KILLER. They threw down I don’t think anyone was prepared for it. They took us to some satanic bass church it was absolutely crazy. I really was not expecting to headbang much this weekend due to not as many dubstep artist on this lineup. Overall, it was a high energy set that was awesome on day 1.
Zeds Dead b2b Jauz
When I saw this on the lineup, I instantly freaked out. Jauz has been a long time favorite of mine and I saw Zeds Dead for the first time this year and instantly fell in love. I definitely wanted to check out this set to see how they collaborated and put their sounds together. It was a perfect blend of both of their sounds. They played both of their own songs as well as their new song together “Lights Go Down”. They covered all genres in this set which showed how diverse they are as artists. Very impressed with this set.
Duke Dumont, Rufus du Sol, Zhu, Tchami
I tweeted about how this 5 hour period at the Sapphire Ballroom was straight sexy. Having these four artists have sets back to back gave such a crazy vibe to this stage. I had been wanting to see Duke for so long so finally seeing him was amazing. Rufus du Sol played a DJ set when they normally play live sets. This was awesome to hear what other artists and songs influence them along with their best original songs like “Like an Animal” (this time around played the Yotto remix of it) and “Innerbloom”. Zhu killed it as always and he had a live guitarist and saxophonist that really took the set to another level. The artistry he displayed in his set blew the whole crowd away. Finally Tchami took us to church with his house music. I don’t think I could ever get tired of a Tchami set.
Day 2
k?d
I’ve seen k?d four times this year (yeah idk how that happened lol) BUT everytime he has gotten consistently better. I just saw him in October at Something Wicked and they were basically entirely different sets. This was so nice to see from him and to know he’s growing and crafting his sound. Almost any video I took you heard me or someone yelling in amazement at what he was doing. He played various genres that all flowed together so well. Really awesome set.
Madeon
I saw Madeon with Porter Robinson at Coachella this year which was one of my favorite sets of 2017. So when I saw him on the lineup I just knew I had to see him at Decadence. This set was incredible. I heard all of my favorite songs by Madeon like “You’re On”, “Shelter”, “OK”, and “Beings”. He has such a fun and light hearted sound that you can’t keep from smiling the entire set. Definitely will want to see Madeon again and again.
I had just seen Justice at Coachella, but they were another crowd favorite to close out the entire festival. Boys Noize also had an amazing midnight set for the techno lovers there. I personally rang in the year to Deorro since I hadn’t seen him yet. Zedd was also an amazing set that brought nostalgia for a lot of people hearing “Clarity” and “Spectrum” live. I saw the last part of Snails and that was probably the most wild I had ever seen Rawhide get.
All in all Decadence Arizona brought the vibes. I had a great time seeing everyone and meeting so many awesome people. I met so many people who were at a rave for the first time which brought me back to when I went to Decadence for the first time. Decadence Arizona will always have a special place in my heart.
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