*Disclaimer: This is speaking purely from my experience and social listening on various platforms on Decadence Arizona. You may feel differently and that’s okay too :)*
Happy 2019! I spent my New Years saying goodbye 2018 in my hometown of Phoenix, Arizona to go to Decadence Arizona. This was my fourth Decadence and was definitely an experience to say the least. Between reuniting with old friends, taking my boyfriend to his first Arizona festival, meeting so many followers of my brand and all the amazing music it was definitely a memorable weekend. There was a lot going on with this festival circulating around Decadence Arizona so let’s get into it.
The Venue
Rawhide Western Event Center is located South of Phoenix and Chandler. Relentless Beats transforms this space from festival to festival to bring a unique and personalized experience to each festival. This year Relentless Beats tested out a new layout that extended into a new lot where a huge tent was created for main stage, Diamond Atrium. The warehouse where events like Crush and Bassrush live was utilized as the second stage, Sapphire Ballroom. In between the two stages lived the third stage, Ruby Courtyard, featuring up and coming talent, as well as rides and food. This was the most built out layout I had ever seen for Decadence. In year’s past it was more compact to the warehouse and a second stage right outside of it which usually had issues with sound bleeding over.
What Worked Well
I personally liked the layout, even though it was a very cold walk between stages I appreciated extending the layout to be bigger. The overall production on both stages was top notch. At main stage there were visual screens at the end of stages so that if you were in the back you could still get the experience of seeing your DJ up close. There were also these orb balls attached to the ceiling that changed colors and heights which added a whole other dynamic to the sets.
What Didn’t
In 2016, when there was a huge tent for mainstage, there was an exit between VIP and the stage that helped control crowd flow. This was missing from this layout and sadly caused many issues for packed sets such as Skrillex. There were many safety hazards only having one way to flow this crown in and out through the back. Was the tent big enough? Did Relentless Beats oversell it? I’m not too sure on this, but the tent was packed all the way to the very back. We probably could have had more spread out people if it wasn’t so cold causing people to pack into the stages. I’m not sure if I was just short, but I also had a hard time seeing the stage even all the way in the back and with it being so packed I couldn’t even watch the visual screen.
On Security and getting into the venue, I am always an early gal so I never have to experience long wait times. While testing out this new layout, made some issues in getting to Rawhide due to traffic. So when I heard on day 2 after 6 pm that people waited over 2 hours in ID check and other lines, I was shocked. I further read on Twitter complaints of incompetent security and how these lines should not have taken that long.
Overall Experience
As my fourth Decadence, there was definitely more to this experience than just the music. As I continue to see Relentless Beats grow, their attention to detail does as well which is great. With a lot of out of towners, coming to Decadence Arizona, it was a chance to impress and show what Arizona is about.
What Worked Well
FREE RIDES!! Seriously all the rides were free and you could go as many times as you want. There was also plenty of photo opportunities and art installations that could cater to anyone trying to get that perfect Instagram. There were a lot of food vendors as well as rave apparel and accessory vendors to explore. There were many activities to do aside from catching sets if you needed a break. There were also chill areas for people to relax and take a break in should they need it. Relentless is also great about having people walk throughout the grounds to make sure people are doing okay. Relentless was also smart in placing heaters around the grounds to keep people warm.
What Didn’t
The weather was not on our side, but having to adapt and bundle up and wear hoodies was the move. This wasn’t typical AZ weather so everyone was having to be flexible. Relentless Beats can’t control the weather unfortunately, but they had heaters throughout to help.
The crowd… I’ve been seeing a lot about this. I personally only had an issue with pushing and shoving before and at the beginning of Skrillex, but I understood it’s SKRILLEX. People were trying to get a good spot to see. Most people I encountered said excuse me and what not, but I know others who might have stayed at main stage the whole time encountered differently.
I think in general throughout the weekend people could have just been getting more frustrated by how packed the venue felt, how cold it was, and dealing with long security lines. I think an accumulation of all these things and the more vocal negative people taking to social media could’ve impacted the perception of how Decadence Arizona was going. It’s amazing how much a negative attitude can spread throughout a crowd of people.
The Music
My favorite part of festivals is the music (duh). I had a couple must sees, but after seeing a lot of artists on this lineup multiple times I was excited to just go with the flow and checkout new artists as well as see long-time favorites.
Favorite Sets
- Skism b2b Trampa: This set was WILD as I knew it would be. I saw this b2b at EDC Las Vegas 2017 and knew I had to catch it at Decadence. I definitely left this set with a sore neck and body from headbanging so much.
- 4B: I FINALLY saw 4B and was so happy. After missing him at EDC and Freaky Deaky, I was so content finally getting to see him. He played such a fun and high energized set. It was very cohesive and kept the crowd dancing to kick off day 2.
- Anti Up: *pretends to be shocked*. 7th time seeing Chris Lake, 2nd time seeing Anti Up and 1st set of 2019 and it was L I T. Anti Up debuted at EDC Las Vegas 2018 which was a great way to kick off EDC. I felt this set they experimented way more and it just flowed so well together that I was shuffling the whole time.
Sets that Surprised me: GG Magree and Treasure Fingers. GG Magree had an early time slot on Day 1 and kicked off the festival in a big way. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but she definitely had the crowd going. Keep an eye on this one.
I had never heard of Treasure Fingers, but Ryan and I were sitting at the second stage eating dinner since we had just seen Alison Wonderland at Freaky Deaky and didn’t care to see Marshmello. This artists surprised me for a groovy a** time. Definitely going to be checking out Treasure Fingers more often.
Countdown Set
Ryan and I rang in the new year at DJ Diesel (SHAQ) b2b Nghtmre. DJ Diesel had a 30 minute set leading into the 10 minute b2b and I was blown away by how awesome DJ Diesel was. I really didn’t know what to expect, but he brought the house down. Who knew I’d be ringing in 2019 with SHAQ and that they’d play Rumble, but there I was. I shared a New Years kiss with Ryan then went straight up into headbanging LOL.
All in all, from everyone else it sounded like you couldn’t have seen a bad set. Everyone brought their A game including the up and coming artists at Ruby Courtyard.
So Why So Much Negativity?
I personally had more fun than not. I think the worst point was getting in and out of the Skrillex crowd and truly that encompassed only 5% of my entire weekend. Being surrounded by my rave family that kept the positive vibes going made it all worth it. I think most of the time the more negativity around an event tend to be from the more vocal people who take to social media to voice their issues. The negative posts overshadow the positive posts most of the time.
Yes there are some things that could have been fixed and I’m sure Relentless Beats has taken all this feedback into account and will continue to grow. It was risky testing a new layout with a lot of out of town people coming for this lineup, on top of cold and rainy weather and long wait lines could’ve all made an impact on others causing rude or frustrated crowds. I think this can be a learning lesson for us all to roll with the punches and keep spreading those PLUR vibes we all are hoping to get back. I know this was not representative of the Arizona community I know and love.
I hope through it all, you had an amazing time at Decadence Arizona. Overall, I’d give it a solid 8/10. I personally am ready for a different NYE festival next year, but Decadence Arizona will always hold a special place in my heart. I am wishing you all the best in 2019. Up next, I will be going to Holy Ship! 13.0. Thank you for taking the time to read.
Watch my Decadence Arizona adventures & review!
Watch the official Decadence Arizona Aftermovie:
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