jess in LA

after years of being curious about Splash House, I got to go last year for the first time (and had the best time ever!!) in August. it was hot as balls though, so this year for round 2, I was stoked that our group decided to do June instead (just 100 degrees vs. 115 nbd~)

house isn't my favorite subgenre but Splash House is definitely more for da Culture TM and the Experience. this year was their 10th anniversary so I was expecting a sick lineup, but it was honestly only okay to me (I confirmed with my househead friends and they agreed fyi lol). how could they top john summit from last year?!

I had been super curious/intrigued by this fest when I'd first heard about it for a couple reasons -- 1. it was slated to take place at a venue a mile from my place (here's hoping they use this venue for more and more shows!!) and 2. the lineup was filled with indie artists I hadn't explored in at least the last 5 years.

Empire of the Sun - I was definitely most excited to see EOTS, since they put on one of my top 5 favorite Coachella sets in recent memory. honestly, I do think I liked the Coachella set more since it was in the old Sahara tent and during the night time. there was something so cozy and ethereal about that set that I couldn't really get out in the open and during the afternoon here. BUT - they DID smartly drop Walking on a Dream RIGHT as the sun set... which WAS a dream.

MGMT - the PEAKEST of peak indie sleaze. hearing Time to Pretend and Kids (the ringtone on my pre-iphone touchscreen in 2009 btw) live was like walking out of a time machine in red flannel and american apparel metallic shorts. however will have to say that after I left halfway to catch M83, my friends said the set went downhill.

M83 - this. was. transcendental. I really didn't want to like it after the whole fiasco where the lead singer said he hated EDM fans, BUT I'll separate the art from the artist (or whatever they say!) ... only for you, Midnight City!

Yeah Yeah Yeahs - will admit I'm a basic b when it comes to indie and the only YYYs I was familiar with was Heads Will Roll (thank you Atrak and every trap set ever LOL) - but I still had such a fun time. there's something about hearing Karen O scream things that scratches an itch in my brain.

going to give an honest disclaimer here: I actually don't recall much of this set lol. it was my friend Katie's birthday and I'm usually pretty ambivalent about Snakehips so I decided it'd be safe for me to indulge more and remember less hahah (as opposed to someone i'm a huge fan of and would want to remember every millisecond of the set).

though I will say - (I'm pretty sure) I had an amazing time!! their new album had been released earlier that week so they played quite a bit of that. i LOVE the new song with Tinashe (we got ANOTHER snakehips x tinashe HIT on our hands babyyy!). they also played their Lavender Haze remix (which hit different) and of course closed with All My Friends (plus All That Confetti, pictured above). max vibez!

I think they also had a great middle section where they deviated from their work into some either bass/trap or house/techno (I can't remember specifically but I do recall thinking: "love this deviation!" LOL).

when Flume announced his 10 year anniversary show in LA, I figured I should probably go just for the milestone (and he only announced that one show!). I had NO idea what to expect (besides that Kucka and Chet Faker were billed as special guests)... was he going to do more of a DJ set, smoothly taking us through the years? was he going to do more of a live set like his Palaces set/Coachella 2022 set, where he brought out vocalists for each track?

one of the best sets I've ever seen in my life was actually one of his DJ sets in 2016/2017, so I think that was the image I'd had of him for a while. he has such a diverse and full discography, so I was kind of hoping to be brought on a musical journey (with rise and fall of BPM, and movement from dark to light moods, or even a chronological set list).

the actual set turned out to be more along the lines of his Palaces tour. the set list was epic and filled with both his greatest hits and some OG deep cuts, but my (very big Flume fans) friends and I felt like it was still heavily Palaces. he even had the same fit and stage design as his last tour!

one of my friends is on Illenium's mailing list and got a notification for a meet & greet signing event for the release of Illenium's new album at 1720. the second she asked me to go, I immediately clocked 3 things: the event was: 1. free/first come first serve, 2. at 1720 (one of the smallest, crappiest venues in LA), and 3. FOR ILLENIUM. I've been to my fair share of Illenium events and I was perfectly aware the type of crowd that he attracts in LA. let's just say it's not particularly the crowd I wanted to be stuck in the city's most cramped venue for a FREE event with.

and every fear/reservation I had came to fruition.

first of all, the event had the worst plan (or lack of plan) ever - everyone would line up in a huge line to buy the vinyl, then shuffle over to the stage for an hour set, then everyone would rush over to another line once again to get the vinyl signed. of course after the first insanely long line, everyone would already be impatient and on edge. the best way (which is how Alison Wonderland did a similar event - that went flawlessly btw) would've been to do the set first (or just not have one) and then have everyone get in ONE line - with the first stop being buying the vinyls, and then into waiting for the signing.

secondly, the venue had absolutely zero organization, so by the time the signing was announced to be outside, the entire mob RAN to the one tiny door that led to the patio - causing a huge bottleneck and people pushing and shoving and yelling. girls were yelling 'I can't breathe!' and verbal fights were breaking out everywhere - and the lone security guy gave absolutely zero shits. it was a disaster zone.

illenium's set was fun, but the dude's team has absolutely no idea how to run an event. and 1720 escalated it to dangerous and unsafe. needless to say, I've had every stereotype of his crowd confirmed. most likely won't be seeing him again, and will definitely steer clear of 1720 in the future!

we were all cognizant going into Day 3 that just the weekend before, THAT infamous Frank Ocean set had gone down... and which will probably continue to go down in coachella history (negatively). but even before our Day 3 started - when PHM was first announced - I knew we were in for a historic day too (positively). AND IT WAS.

sets I saw Day 3:

Porter Robinson. felt weird seeing him play so early (haven't seen an afternoon porter set in a minute) but it's always nice and feelsy to see a Nurture set!

Kali Uchis. we mainly stayed for her set bc it was too hot to move to another stage but what a pleasant surprise! she was giving mainstage effort for sure.

Jai Wolf. I can never watch jai wolf without thinking of the time my friend accidentally asked him to take a photo of us T_T... top embarrassing moment 5ever lmao. but he's always a consistently good time - and my non-EDM listening best friend even came with me bc she saw that he was going to bring out Banks. ending with that new collab into Indian Summer as the sun set was magical.

Fish Lake

Blink-182. fyi I heard some Gen Z kids around me refer to Blink-182 as "that one meme song" (referencing 'I Miss You' as a trending tiktok sound) and I wanted to shrivel up of OLDNESS. these dudes have been on my bucket list forever - but surprisingly I didn't know as much of the set as I'd thought! interesting set list. it was all worth it to scream 'all the small things' and 'rock show' at the top of my lungs with all my friends though.

PHM/tba. what can I say about this set that hasn't been lauded already throughout social media? just that everything you read about it is true: historic in the way it came about - probably close to the level of the daft punk set (I SAID WHAT I SAID). a huge dance party that should get coachella to seriously consider restructuring all their lineups to have a dance closer. just a hilarious, fun, and epic good time watching 3 good friends/sickeningly talented DJs have the time of their lives making the thousands of us all scream and dance together. it didn't feel as serious and produced as any other headliner ever. I feel beyond grateful and lucky that I got to witness this special set live (read: I will essentially never shut up about this).

Overall, 10/10 day once again - and 10s across the board! ♡

Day 2 got off to a massive start when I found out upon waking up that isoxo (one of my fave artists!! Sable Valley darling!) was announced as surprise DoLab guest (hot off the heels of his bff knock2 shutting down his own surprise set Day 1). the downside was that he was going to overlap with Blackpink (who I also really wanted to see) - but sacrifices have to be made.. in the name of Coachella!!

sets I saw Day 2:

Charli XCX. I thought I was gonna know ~half her set but I realized I knew more of her discog than I'd thought. FUN nonstop energy bubblegum to electro to hyperpop from start to finish. obsessed. I def want to catch her on tour asap!

Rosalia. I was not familiar with her music at all but omg she put on a damn SHOW. my entire group stayed together (rare) for the majority of her set (even rarer)!

Tale of Us. man, I'd heard/seen the epic tales (no pun intended) of their Afterlife sets so I knew production was going to be insane. and even this non-Afterlife set was epic. they make me think I could really get into techno... maybe haha.

Holly b2b Machinedrum

isoxo. I honestly don't even have words for this set/religious experience. every isoxo set I've ever seen has had the craziest energy ever; I am a feral animal every time. someone on reddit summed it up well: "the Coachella crowd ain't ready for an isoxo dolab set." luckily, the crowd was just as crazy as me and my 2 fave SV stan friends that camped out to watch at rail with me. he brought out knock2, frosttop, and wavedash (drop OK OK OK already!!) and literally had us covered in mud and sweat by the time we emerged from that set. no breaks. trap at its utter finest. absolutely insane.

Labrinth. from what I heard from my friends who stayed that entire set, it was their religious experience. I (unwisely) split my time wandering between this set and HOLO - and missed him bringing out Sia and Zendaya (!!). I wish I got to be immersed in the crowd a bit more, since the sound and set seemed so church-like and gospel-sounding. took my damn friends to church! I 100% know for a fact this set alone convinced most of them to do coachella again next year. pure magic.

Holo. great visual production, but the payoffs (music-wise) were few and far between for me. tho ngl, hearing Opus at the end almost made it all worth it.

Calvin Harris. as one of my friends put it: "GIVE ME THE BANGERS!" and calvin reminded us, once again, how many damn bangers he really has in his huge discography. everyone had a blast hearing the throwbacks and getting taken back to the peak of 2012-2015 big room. imo, this set was eons better than his 2016 headlining set - loved his techno breaks and high-energy transitions that kept it from seeming like a press-play/fade-out type set. such a fun end to night 2!

coa-mfkn-chella. hands down my favorite time of the year. marks the kick-off of festival season. get to reunite with my favorite festival crew ever. perfect getaway. etc. etc.

this year was actually one of our (collectively agreed on) favorite Coachellas ever - and between our group, we've gone to a range of 5 to 10 Coachellas, respectively... so this ain't a declaration to take lightly!

the sets I personally caught on Day 1:

Overmono. I'd been wanting to see this duo again since I caught them at holy ship, and they did not disappoint! actually, I liked their coachella set more... since they were an afternoon set, that probably contributed to them playing a happier/brighter set (whereas their night time HS set was all darker bass). I loved the lighter-hearted vibey bass house they brought to the Gobi. GREAT start to the weekend.

Muna. I had little idea what to expect from Muna (I followed my best friend here) but it turned out to be one of my favorite sets of the weekend! they were fun af and PERFECT happy vibes for the sunny afternoon - plus, Silk Chiffon is seriously one of my favorite songs of the year. they even brought out boygenius for it! the sight of Muna's lead and Phoebe Bridgers singing in each other's faces had the entire crowd in a chokehold lmfao... the cheers were deafening.

Tobe Nwigwe

Wet Leg

Kaytranada. damn. this set at sunset was VIBES af.

Two Friends. I called this set "musical whiplash" LOL. look, I've been a fan of these two since the day Big Booty Mix 1 dropped. MIX NUMBER 1!! I don't think many people can claim that! and I've wanted to see them live ever since... but damn. this set was wild (and not in a good way lol). it was fun, don't get me wrong - but it was just devoid of any sort of flow/mixing/transitions etc. it went from Mr. Brightside to Ray Volpe Laserbeam to a Queen sing along to fkn RL Grime lol. it was absolutely unhinged but lowkey fun, kind of like your drunk normie chad friend at the college bar.

Whyte Fang

Chemical Brothers

Knock2. mfkn bless. I'd been trying to manifest a Sable Valley DoLab guest since the lineup dropped, so the morning I saw b&l post this surprise announcement, I screamed to the entire house. lol. seeing him announced without his bff iso made me wonder if he was going to do a full bass house set, but to my pleasure, he did a pretty trappy set! shut the fkn DoLab DOWN. amazing set to end night 1!!

themed "raves" have been all the rage this past year - with the success of Shrek Rave, Broadway Rave, 90s Rave, etc... and the creators of the Taylor Swift-themed raves traveling the country are just one of the many to join the lineup.

so when my best friend's younger sister invited me to check out their LA stop, I wasn't sure exactly what to expect. both of us have been huge Taylor fans since day 1 (I actually caught the Fearless tour with her back in 2009)!

honestly? the concept - genius. Taylor has a HUGE discography (including hella electronic remixes already) which makes it easy for any corporate DJ to mix without much thought. but despite that, the DJs in question actually did create a lot of the remixes played that night themselves! including some deep. ass. cuts. I was pretty impressed with the depth of their Taylor knowledge. for two men in their late 20's, they played out shit like Picture to Burn (OG fans only!) to Paris (bonus track!); an Avicii/Taylor mashup to a Red remix in "the style of Fred Again" (their words, not mine.. but still pretty impressive in concept).

(the DJs were also genius in picking Tay Tay, knowing the audience it's bound to attract. this was proven when I saw them play out All Too Well 10 minute version and spent all of those 10 mins flirting with the 5 giggling, cute blonde girls they brought into the DJ booth lmfao.)

My friend invited me to this show since we both had seen and loved the Emo Nite (with an ITE - completely different!) set at Coachella - but if I'm being honest, the ITE version of these emo theme nights is way better. Emo Night BK seems like a 4 hour long karaoke session - not really sure what the DJ does. He takes requests in order too, making it feel even more like a middle school dance. So there's no transitions, no cohesive vibe, no remixes or mashups - just FULL ORIGINAL SONGS back to back. it would go from pierce the veil directly into avril lavigne and back.

oh Emoh. my one-time favorite artist of all time. not much can make me miss out on one of his sets - I've seen him pretty much every time he's been in the city I'm in (from LA to vegas to sac to NYC) and he's been part of so many insanely core memories of my life. that being said, this was my least favorite WSN set ever lol.

he did nothing wrong on his end!! no Emoh slander here ever! it was mostly because of the last minute venue change. he'd been planning this immersive set for 2 years for Wisdome LA, with visuals projection mapped to the domes. it was giving Antarctic Dome at coachella, it was giving 6th grade planetarium, and I was SO EXCITED. BUT. Wisdome LA lost their venue permit (?!) the week before the show and Emoh was forced to move the show to 1720 (a fine venue in its own right... but not immersive whatsoever).

for me, anything the Brownies & Lemonade collective puts on is a must-go (from their secret pop-ups to their full curated festivals), and this Memba show was no exception. I got the usual Brownies text about this show the day before (sidenote: I love how they do that btw. giving the 90's 'call this # for a secret rave' vibe in 2023 lol). and I was stoked to see the set advertised as "immersive and interactive"; I thought it was going to be one of those new 360 shows that's become popular ala Skrill/4tet/Freddy or like mini-Prydz Holo visuals etc.

I expected to just slip in quietly and watch from the back (like I usually do when I go to shows alone) - but I was surprised when I showed up at an unmarked escape room and given a WAIVER at the front door. plus I was greeted by this dude lol.

I was ushered into a room with 2 strangers and told the situation - this was a "Memba universe" and we had to work in groups to do tasks to collect all the symbols we needed to get into the show.

... as someone who just got out of a long work day and came ALONE - I was feeling understandably concerned lol. gone was my hope to slip in unnoticed and just quietly enjoy a show.

but it actually turned out to be an AWESOME experience. I quickly befriended the strangers I met while doing our tasks (and had people to enjoy the show with that I hadn't been anticipating!) - and we still even talk on IG today. (this is how you make adult friends, y'all!) the tasks were super interactive, including one where we had to line up and tell a Knott's Scary Farm-costume clad devil man our deepest secret.

even as my subgenre preferences have changed over the years, Tritonal's remained one of those acts that I'll always take the opportunity to go see if they're around. one of my CORE CORE CORE memories of my earlyravedays(TM) is seeing them and Cash Cash on that one joint Untouchable tour they did, during a mini Santa Cruz road trip with my pharm school phriends. they just don't make prog house like 2015 Take Me Home anymore!

Well, neither does Tritonal, really. I jumped at the chance to see them at Time when my friend Susan brought up the idea, excited to scream "after it allll we'll stay, we'll stay untouchableee!~" to the blast of air cannons and confetti and heart-bursting euphoria in a crowded clurb again.

I think we were all a bit surprised when the set turned out to be heavy on the tech-house side (like all sets have been trending the past couple of years) and light on the feels. (sidebar re: the tech house trend: I hadn't tuned into the Chainsmokers' Nice Hair radio show since like 2018 maybe and I recently listened to their 100th episode... talk about a vibe change!! they really went from future bass to trap/bass to pop to tech house in like 5 years lol. I think they had a Mau P track in the mix and I was flabbergasted haha. I mean, gotta evolve with the times.)