This weekend I traveled to Houston, Texas to enter Something Wicked: The Asylum put on by Disco Donnie Presents and Night Culture. I’ve heard many things about the Texas EDM community and wanted to check it out for myself. I was not disappointed. Also realized that Halloween festivals are SO FUN cause everyone is dressed up and ready to get spooky. From the logistics of the event, overall production, the atmosphere and of course the music, Something Wicked moved its way up to one of my favorite EDM festivals I’ve ever been to.
Favorite Sets
This lineup had such great diversity all around pleasing bass heads, house heads, trance heads and in between. I bought my ticket for Zeds Dead, RL Grime, Claude VonStroke, Tchami, Rezz and Malaa as well as some other artists.
I will say that RL Grime had one of the BEST sets all weekend. This was my third time seeing him and definitely the best. He just released his Halloween VI mix and sprinkled some of the stuff from that mix in his set. It’s hard for me sometimes to watch some artists because I can anticipate what drop is coming next. RL switched it up and put new takes on songs and drops that I was not expecting.
Other Sets
Another couple of my favorites was FINALLY seeing Claude VonStroke and Malaa on Day 1. I have been wanting to see these two artists for quite some time and I got to shuffle my little heart out to them. I got to end Day 1 being on the rail for Claude and couldn’t have been happier. Zeds Dead also killed it and brought back some old school dubstep mixed in with some of their newer stuff we love. One moment you’d be in the feels then they’d drop some filth and you’re suddenly headbanging. Absolutely amazing set and killer visuals.
Tchami, Rezz, k?d, What So Not, all put on really great sets as well 10/10 recommend seeing them if you haven’t. I also saw a little bit of Rickyxsan (LIT) I definitely will try to see his full set in the future. Along with Graves, Bleep Bloop, and San Holo I will try to see their full set next time. With so many conflicts, I tried my best to see a little bit of everything. Space Jesus is still on my list since he conflicted with Rezz (had to see space mom). Quix and CID are still on my list of people to see.
The Stages
I was blown away by the production and quality that Something Wicked had for all three stages. Each stage had its own vibe to it which added to all the acts that were housed at each stage.
Shadowlands, the main stage, held some of the biggest acts in EDM. I caught Party Favor, San Holo, Above and Beyond, Nghtmre, Tchami and Zeds Dead at this massive stage that made it feel like one huge dance party. The screens for the visuals were split up which made it feel more dynamic as opposed to one big screen across a stage.
I practically lived at Mystic Meadows Day 1 to see k?d, Rezz, Malaa and Claude VonStroke and became a place for all the trance fans to on Day 2 to see acts such as Vini Vici, Cosmic Gate and Aly & Fila. The design of Mystic Meadows definitely could transport you to another world and vibe out with everyone. The lighting fixture at the top also created cool lighting over the artist which for artists like Rezz made her look way more mystifying.
Finally, the Bass Crypt stage where people could headbang and get down to some trap and bass music. I saw Rickyxsan, Graves, Bleep Bloop, What So Not and RL Grime. The stage design also made me laugh cause only in Texas would you find a stage with the shape of Texas in the design. Still was an awesome stage with insane lighting and visual production. Overall I’d say 10/10 across the board on production it really added to the overall event.
The Experience
As someone that likes to plan events and wants to work in the music industry, I am always looking at logistics of a festival from start to finish because I think it adds to the overall experience for a person. Security took maybe less than 10 minutes and I went as they were starting to hit peak times for entry, so not bad at all. Never waited too long for water and I learned the bathroom lines were way shorter over by the bass stage than by main stage. Phone service was a tad spotty depending on how far into the crowd you were. The venue of Sam Houston Raceway was pretty big and I never felt like there was too many people. There was grass people could sit on by stages, places for photos, food, vendors, really anything to accommodate everyone. Everything was well planned out and themed for Halloween and the Asylum theme.
All in all I had a pretty fantastic weekend. Being from Arizona and going to a lot of Rawhide and Relentless Beats events, it was SO nice to see how another state’s scene is. The overall production was top-notch and high quality, pretty close to an Insomniac event (Insomniac still the GOAT). You could tell that the company really took time to think everything out and create a solid event. As well as provide a great environment for all attendees. So many rave squads adopted me over the weekend. I went alone but came out with so many new friends and connections with people all over. I will definitely try to make it to Something Wonderful in the spring that’s put on by the same company and Something Wicked 2018 definitely.
Up next for me is a break until New Years (Decadence AZ!). I’ll be going home to AZ for Thanksgiving in three weeks and am so excited. Don’t worry I have some great content planned to fill up these weeks until my next festival. If there’s any content you’d like to see, let me know. Be sure to subscribe so you know when my next post is up 🙂
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