This was my first NYE in LA so I didn't know what to expect. I was initially annoyed with how unorganized the event was. The GA line at 10:30 to enter the party was confusing and excessive. I picked up my ticket at will call and then jumped to the front of the line to get in as admission lines crossed with through traffic. Security keep screaming for the crowd to move back and calm down but nobody was listening. I noticed that security didn't search anyone before letting them in. At 11:00 I was finally inside the gates and it wasn't too crowded. The GA bathroom situation was a joke, and guys ended up pissing on the fence next to the porto potty area. Stage 2 & 3 were basically empty, so I preceded directly to Stage 1 to secure a good spot for Tiesto. I was able to squeeze into a great spot second row from the stage. The DJ before Tiesto was actually pretty good and there was a great vibe at this time. The countdown to 2008 was really lame. For the expensive ticket price, I was hoping for something more interesting. When tiesto came out after midnight the crowd went wild. The stage 1 tent seemed relatively small in the first place, so I wasn't surprised when the crowd began to push forward. I did feel crushed, but it wasn't nearly as bad as my experience with PvD at 1015 in SF. Tiesto asked the crowd to chill, but they didn't listen. Tiesto was then asked by the fire marshall to stop spinning and they turned on the lights in hopes of getting the crowd to move back. The crowd was restless and began pushing even more. To avoid the typical LA riot the promoters decided to allow Tiesto to continue after wasting 30 minutes. The vibe from the crowd improved slightly, but worsened dramatically toward the last 30 minutes of the set. I generally liked Tiesto's set, especially when he played Adagio for Strings toward the end. Despite the long lines and near suffication, I would probably return to Giant next year. Does anyone have any photos or video footage from the party?

I took some good footage. I'll try to upload em soon.

The Roger Sanchez tent had a much better vibe and more room to breathe. I wasn't too impressed with Tiesto's set. Overall I think Giant did a great job setting everything up. Memorable night!

___________________
www.rabbanlaw.com

quote:

Originally posted by toddtrance especially when he played Adagio for Strings toward the end.

wow! he played that...what a suprise

sounds like that place was a mess.

___________________
Digweed is not from this planet.

same problems at every giant event.

if you keep going, they are not going to fix.

quote:

Originally posted by vxman same problems at every massive event. if you keep going, they are not going to fix.

fixed.

quote:

Originally posted by toddtrance Does anyone have any photos or video footage from the party?

http://www.tranceaddict.com/forums/...12&pagenumber=2

(Reviews were going on that thread before this one)

___________________
My favorite song is the one that hasn't yet been written._____|_____fb_____|_____ myspace

people were too pushy, I didn't have as good a time as I liked

Imo: Giant knows how packed and Crazy Tiesto's shows can get. Everyone wants to be up as close as possible and sometimes they tend to get out of control.

A fire Marshall should have been called in before the event started to see if the Gates where too close or not.

Trying to move lets say 10,000 people back when the party all ready started would be impossible. Then getting Tiesto on the mic to tell fans to calm down and move back was a joke too. There is no way people would listen to him. He is on the mic that means it is time to go even more crazy!!!

Stopping the music and turning on the lights was a major Buzz kill. And people where still not moving back!

___________________
"Music gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination,
a charm to sadness, and life to everything." Plato (427 BC - 347 BC)

I think the size of the Tiesto tent was a major problem. The crowd was way too huge and it was pretty uncomfortable. If Tiesto ever plays New Years Eve in L.A. again, it's gotta be a solo show similar to TIC.

Bathroom situation was absurd but on the plus side we never waited more than five minutes for a drink.

All in all I really enjoyed this year's GM. I agree that the line for GA was a MESS... but we timed it out and were only waiting for a total of 9 minutes!!! (From the end of the long admission line to being inside... not bad at all!) The security at the gate was pushy, but they seemed to get the job done. Security inside was very passive, but seemed to be on the ball when folks were not handling their drugs well.

The bathrooms I'd say were improved from last years (not GREAT) but I really appreciated the trailers in addition to the port-o-pots. (like the ones at VIP Giant Village) I never waited more than 15 min for a bathroom, which was much improved over last year's 30 min wait. Drink lines as well, were AMAZING. I don't think I waited behind more than one person the whole night.

The layout was a little cramped, but I never felt crowded. The only complaint I really have with the layout was the lack of garbage cans! They only had like, 6 around the food area. Weak.

As for the crowd, I agree that there were a few more "mainstream" folk there, and maybe even a few more candy kids; but overall the vibe was very positive. (I think I ran into ONE drunk asshole and thats it.)

The music was kind of a mixed bag. There was nobody in the lineup that I was going there specifically to "see", so I guess my expectations weren't super high. I'd say for me, Robbie Rivera and MSTRKRFT were the highlights of my evening. The MSTRKRFT tent was DEAD too, so there was plenty of room for me to dance around like a moron, which is always a plus! Tiesto was kinda meh. The first half hour he played was pretty nice, but he never seemed to get his groove back after the fire marshall shut things down. We listened to maybe 20 minutes of Kaskade's set, but it seemed a little dry.

All in all, nothing really stood out as amazing... but the comination of all the factors made it a magical night. Fun party! Once again, Giant delivered. (at least for me).

___________________
What?

the thing that made it a great night being with people i cared about....

SO I am going to try and make this as positive as possible.

Pro's:
The aroma of really good weed.

Con's:
Endless

You really cant do much about the setup of the event, security, bathrooms, crowds, and lines so I wont even bitch about that. I'll go straight to the problem..........Tiesto.

So I have not seen Tiesto since about 04 (completly enjoyed it) and was really excited to bring my friends who arent to big on EDM, in order to show them how much fun it can be and to really enjoy the music/environment.

Robbies set ends and Tiesto comes on.......everyone does the ol' chant thing, whatever, and then all of a sudden the countdown comes on at 12 sec and everyone was a little caught off guard. The clock skips from 9 sec's then dropped to 3 wierd. Tiesto doesnt plan any cool intro or any special track etc. for the countdown. Instead traffic comes on (which started almost half way through) expected..........but boring. So then the next track comes on First State - Falling ok ok. I know that when you play right after someone for this type of event it's hard to try and start over but what the fuck ever happend to building a set! I have never been so disapointed (not in that track but his track selection in general). He starts off with huge breakdowns and it goes on this fucken roller coaster ride within the first 30-40 min that half of the time your not even dancing because there is not one beat to go with. Breakdowns are good but make it some shit that makes my eyes roll to the back of my head or something that I can sing along to.

Then at the point in his set where you would find out if it was all just down hill from there or he was going to take you somewhere the fucken fire marshal stops the whole thing and makes the entire crowd wait for 25 mins before letting him get back on. So Tiesto comes back on and what does he do? Another cheesy vocal track with a huge breakdown! Long story short we left after paying $90 and putting up with 2 1/2 hours of a shitty set. Went back sat on the roof top smoked, drank, and listened to some quality music till the sun came up and have never had so much fun.

IMO-------What makes a great DJ : The fact that they create a environment, an energy that the whole crowd can vibe to, not knowing your entire tracklisting before you play it. The DJ takes that energy and figures out what track to play next he plays off the crowd on what will and will not work. Create a journey, tell a story, make it memorable whatever! I really dont know what he was thinking but it didnt work for me. Although I really enjoyed Robbie's set (best of the night) there was one thing that botherd me...........why the fuck was he playing "the anthem?"

___________________

"I'll beatbox yo ASS" - PVD