Escape Halloween
Escape Halloween 2022 marked the 4th Escape in a row and the lineup was per usual - off the charts. I came to see Martin Garrix’s set after his album this year ‘Sentio’ is hands down the best of the year. It was my 2nd time seeing him this year and I could barely handle the wait. Tiësto’s set is a true rave and party from the legend; it would be my 5th time seeing him in 12 months. Next I was excited to see Subtronics and very intrigued to see some of what Marshmello’s set would be like which I’ll explain why later in the article.
This Escape was different though and very special becauseRavers Naturals gave away 2 free 2-day VIP tickets to Escape. A truly incredible experience for our winner Daniel from San Francisco won and took his cousin from Orange Country. Daniel had gone to Escape in 2021 so he was especially excited for the this year’s lineup and his first time experiencing VIP at Insomniac’s biggest or largest ticket sales rave outside of EDC by way of attendance and all of the activities and Halloween installation experiences.
The SoCal rave community was in full force and brought an enormous energy. The Grimm, main stage, could barely keep from blasting off of the NOS fairgrounds. This blog post is about the sights, the sounds, and feelings from one raver who had the best time ever. Escape was number 13 on the festival stop from the last twelve months with 2 left in the year.
VIBES
The vibes at Escape are extra big. It is such a fun festival. One does have to know what they are getting themselves into though.The rave has the largest attendees out of all the festivals at NOS. I know most would say that HARD Summer is larger, and maybe that is right, but because there are 5 stages it does not get as packed at each stage like it does forEscape.
Escape of course brings a large number of non-ravers to this festival. So many ravers will say that PLUR is not so out there per se. I think this is definitely true and you can tell when you go through security. They are way more intense than the other NOS festivals during the year. That said, if you can handle the crowds depending on how far in into each structure for a set, then you are good to go and having a blast with your friends.
Insomniac and Pasquale Rotella create a totally immersive experience for Halloween across the entire grounds and for the stages. The details and love that go into this festival is truly incredible. The performers are so awesome and always so happy and friendly. This was my 4th Escape and it is so consistent for the decorations, activities, and the performers like I said.
Some of my favorites are the tarot card reader tents, the photo opportunities next to the big top tent, and the fire flaming pipe organ stage. Complete with church pews and performers.
I would say this though, the bass stage should have been in the race track which they now use for Beyond Wonderland and HARD Summer. This festival is so big I don’t understand why that was built in there for it. HARD Summer is a 3-day festival but Beyond is not so I figured that they would definitely erect it for Escape.
DAY ONE
Alright, let’s get into it.
First, we stopped in to check out an up and comer, Zingara. Her set was super fun to kick off the festival with and there were great vibes with this small crowd at the bass stage.
Then we headed over to check out the main stage VIP elevated experience section. The front facing entrance to VIP was this huge façade of a spooky Victorian style New Orleans house. It was incredible and complete with performers on the balcony. Wow. This was a first.
Insomniac always does a super job on VIP. You can always count on super fast WiFi and goodies at The Concierge booth. They had a dedicated merch tent that had we known about would have saved us a bunch of time. There was a really cool candy booth with 3 people dishing out all kinds of gummies and candy into small bags.This was a new one for VIP this year. There was a really great photo-opp with cast members to pose with and it was with lights and an LED screen. I was super impressed. The beauty bar is now a mainstay for VIP and its really great bonus feature. It’s best to get there earlier before 6pm so you don’t have to wait in a long line.
The amount of bathrooms seemed adequate for once in VIP I will point out. Normally, for other festivals there is usually a shortage of at least 2 bathroom trailers which is very unfair to the ladies. There were lines for the girls but they were not as bad like at other festivals at NOS inVIP. The table service for Escape always is huge and it cuts into the VIP standing area but for this year it seemed ok because the section is so long that everyone seemed to be comfortable. I always am in GA for my favorite artists so this in general no longer affects me either way. Last, I would say that the 2 food truck options were not so great. Burgers for one and southern food for the other. There should always be one truck that is vegetarian and/or vegan. I did notice there were many more vegetarian options at Dreamstate 2022.
As for the VIP at the other stages, they were large which is most important. It would have been nice if they had at least one bathroom trailer though at the bass stage.
I will mention that I was surprised that for Escape they did not use the race track for the bass stage like they did for Beyond Wonderland and HARD Summer.
So while we explored VIP, I was listening to Bijou’s set andI always enjoy hearing his remix of Zhu’s Zhudio 54. I am friends with Party with Ray so it’s always fun to hear his tracks.
OLIVER HELDENS
Next up, we saw Oliver Heldens set at 7:30pm. I had not seenOliver since EDC Las Vegas and of course it was fantastic and so much fun. His music in my opinion is really the best of House music. It combines all the best elements of House from diverse bass to amazing vocalists with the best drops.He has so many hits and crushes it with amazing VIP Deluxe edits for the festivals and fresh sounds as he bridges to the next. His mix of heavy bass, electro house, and soft synths makes for such an incredible set. He is the king in my opinion but you can put Oliver, John Summit, and Vintage Culture on the same pedestal. Diplo is really in his own category now between his diverse music and varied sets. He’s really an incredible party.
MODESTEP
We then headed over to see the last half of Modestep. For me, I was not so impressed. He really talks to much in my opinion much like Kayzo does. Perhaps that is why Seven Lions, Jeff, will never so much as say hello.
ALESSO
Alesso’s set was what you would expect. A big room party with lots sick mashups and versus classics along with his hits. Alesso’s sets are such a happy party and I always have the best time. His set at EDC LasVegas at Circuit Grounds was similar but either way they are super loud and always a lit ground. I was very excited to see him all these months later and very close to the stage.
DEORRO B2B VALENTINO KAHN
We then need to leave the main stage all the way at the front to get over to Black Tiger Sex Machine (BTSM). However, well in advance of the end of Alesso set the crowd funneled in for
Deorro back-to-back Valentino Khan. I knew it was going to be both an insane open for this set and also one of the hardest exits of any festival – this set at Escape which was indeed the most packed hands down. The opening was absolute bonkers pandemonium. I was so impressed. It was a straight30 second build into a nasty drop that was almost like sirens but cooler. Here is the video.
After the opening, we then had to try and leave and it probably took a good 10 minutes or longer. This was my 13th festival in twelve months with 15 on the calendar for the year. My point here is this was the hardest exit I’ve ever had yet in my 35+ festivals in the last 2.5years. It was funny to me. I was fine but there was no room move at all. And I wasn’t leading so it was bad. Our friend was and she could barely touch the floor with her feet because it was so packed. Eventually we got stuck by one of the side exits and it got pretty scary actually because a massive group of people couldn’t move that were trying to leave. You have to keep moving in this scenario. If you stop, people will get frustrated and start pushing you off of them and you out of the tent. We had to get out of there quickly because it got extremely dangerous. Thankfully, I kept yelling at her to keep moving and you cannot stop here. This kept the people next to me cool because they could see I was serious about moving off of them and that I was taking it very seriously.That said once we finally squeezed out, barely that it is, and we were able to make it over to the bass tent Sanitarium.
BLACK TIGER SEX MACHINE
This was my first time seeing them. I loved the pacing of their set and how it was a rollercoaster. The parts that were heavy and full on wubz were fantastic and hit you so hard. Their visuals are pretty much insane.They are top notch and must have cost an astronomical amount. They did not repeat that much actually which I was super impressed by. For those that don’t know, they wear these geometric helmets that are cat like but part robot. They are super cool and have thin lights on them that can perform in sync with the music. Their logo or mascot I guess you could say is this robotic tiger droid that is in human form per se but I don’t get a sense that it is necessarily a costume. I feel like they are real tigers from the future that have been created into these robotic creatures. The way they move and the transitions from one set of tigers to the next are perfectly in sync to the beat of the music. I was blown away by this set. Can’t wait to see them again.
MARSHMELLO
I should preface this with I am not a listener of Marshmello per se, but I definitely respect him as a producer and performer. I did have tickets for his 2020 concert at The Forum before it got canceled. I went to hisEscape Halloween set because he is never on any Insomniac Events lineups. I also knew that he had not performed at a festival in years basically and that he would be very excited to perform. He shares the same manager as Alesso and Slushie as a sidenote.
Marshmello is very successful we all know this. My theory that he had not been on any festival lineups was about money but I believe he eventually realized that he was not relevant in the EDM community and if he did not start performing he would be relegated to just a few mainstream commercial festivals. So that is just my observation and I know that I could be off here.Nonetheless, this is why I wanted to see what his performance would be like and how stoked he would be. Per usual, I was proven correctly on more than one front.
The set was a mixture of his hits of course and classics as "versus" mashups. The overall mix was really impressive as you would expect at his level and because of how long it had been since his last festival set. He is a talker though; definitely his own hype man. He talks on nearly every track going into a build. Ordinarily I find this extra annoying. Kayzo for instance is the absolute worst at this. Guy will not stop talking throughout his entire set. Seven Lions for instance says nothing – and probably will never speak. It’s 100% about the music and that is it. It’s not to say I don’t like to hear and see my favorite artists be themselves and talk– far from it, but there is such a thing as overkill. Anyways, Marshmello did a fantastic job and it was super fun. I left in the middle to run over to see the last half of Jessie’s set – Subtronics to end my Day 2 of Escape Halloween.
SUBTRONICS
Jesse’s set was of course nothing short of fantastic. The stage was a patchwork of LED’s that made up a spider-web with a purple background. It looked really cool and with his visuals it had to be the best set of the festival on that stage. His music definitely pushes to differentiate himself from everyone else in this genre of edm. I understand that all of them do but his sound design and leads are unique and usually push the top-end of the highs. He also this year has been taking Y2K Top 40 and making some really dirty mashups that just blow your mind. What left me stunned and mouth open literally was his last track he played. It was also a first for him playing at Escape. This cover or remix was none other than 'November Rain' by Guns N’ Roses.
For those who know their music across every decade, this track by GNR was a huge deal. It marked a track that not only was especially long but it had an incredible breakdown that included an orchestra string section. Jesse Kardon’s used a very distorted layered strings for the Slash lead melody which sounded so fresh and yet gritty that it just jumped off the stage. The track was so perfectly mixed and mastered that it left stunned in my tracks for the entirety. I could tell the kids at this show had never heard November Rain before and could not figure out why Jesse was freaking out on stage but they knew something important was happening. I honestly felt like it was just me and Jesse who were the only people in the room and have such a deep and personal relationship to this song from our childhoods that I really wished I could talk to him afterwards about it and gush at how fucking epic it was. On top of this, the custom visuals made for Jesse’s ‘November Rain’ were so dope and beautiful. The slightly blurry close up of the rain hitting the ground was a layered combination of a slow version of rain falling and a fast version of rain both from the same shot and close up that they created this incredible effect from it. Very intense and trippy. You have to understand that this track is and was inextricably tied to the November Rain music video, therein the rain becoming the second character in the video.
I am seeing a trend this year of major artists doing 80’s remixes for their live sets. Seven Lions by way of Abraxis, for example, played a crazy remix to Cher’s ‘Believe’ and Depeche Mode’s ‘Enjoy the Silence’ at Dreamstate 2022. They are doing this because they have a library of music in their heads that spans every decade and genre.
Jesse’s remix for the last chorus and drop was spectacular.The lead sound melody for the last drop was of course ridiculous and pitched up but the effects on it also made it sounded like it was really a bass. I have uploaded the footage from it here for you to watch and I hope you enjoy it.
This was Day 1 at Escape Halloween. Crazy crowds and incredible music and performances.
DAY 2
KLOUD
This was my first Kloud set and it was very cool on the main stage, The Grimm. The costume and theatrics are definitely 50% of the show and it’s cool. I liked the varying techno builds/drops he played. I’m glad I saw it early in the night. I think in the future there would most likely be conflicts but I always enjoy seeing new artists as much as possible.
VINTAGE CULTURE
Vintage Culture was right after Kloud and is definitely a180° in music and vibes. I did not stay long for this set but I did want to see his first 15 minutes. This set was starting at a fairly chill BPM and going to be a slow build to a party. I love his EDC Las Vegas sets in particular of course so it’s always nice to see what is new or different from him. He really is one of the best remixers in all of edm.
CLOONEE
We walked over to catch a good half hour of Cloonee. Now I don’t like to make a habit of seeing a portion of a set but sometimes earlier in the night before your favorite artists perform you want to see some people you’ve never seen before or mix in other stages because you know you will be at the main stage for more than one set in a row. I saw Cloonee at HARD Summer for the first time this year and it was an amazing party. I was super impressed with his mixing and choices. I would say for a house set he is one of my new favorites. He’s more dynamic than most of the household names that play more loop heavy house tracks.
MARTIN GARRIX
As I shared, this would be my 2nd Garrix set in2022. The first was way back in March at Project GLOW in D.C. just after astart to the Spring at Beyond Wonderland. I will say that Project GLOW was amazing.
I was a bit worried that since it was Halloween and Escape that he would tailor his set for it and it would be a lot different from what he had performed during the summer like at Tomorrowland. If you have not seen his Tomorrowland set, then you should watch it. It’s easily in the Top 3 best sets of 2022 and between his sets this year and the album ‘Sentio’ is why he was named the number 1 in the world this year by DJ Mag.
Martin’s mixes of Limitless, Quantum, Follow, Oxygen,Animals, and the rest of his hits were nothing short of leaving me speechless.His mashups or versus versus are euphoric from Swedish House Mafia and Avicii for instance. He is so fun to watch and loves his fans so much. I was so happy to be so close to the rail for this set. The 75 minutes flew by and was on cloud 9 the whole time. Yes, it is big room genre but his music is so loud and so complex by way of his layers, use of strings, and overall sound design that you can really see how his producing is at another level. His melodies alone are unbelievable and his body of work now is so huge that you are looking at someone so young still you are like how is this possible. Just one banger to the next.
ERIC PRYDZ
After Martin, we watched the opening of Eric Prydz and then went back to VIP to take a much needed break and refueling. The bathrooms are really the key feature for me along with the WiFi. I have seen Eric Prydz a few times now including this year at EDC Las Vegas Circuit Grounds. We then went back into GA and took our time getting to our place up front for Tiësto. The last 15 minutes of Eric’s set was amazing. He did a 10 minute VIP mix of 'Pjanoo' that was so incredible. I was so happy going into Tiësto. I was also super anxious to see how he would open his set.
TIËSTO
Tiësto usually or half the time uses the Lil Jon narrated “Living Legend” opening to the track ‘Split’ that goes right into the drop. This time he did not but opened with a VIP opening version of ‘Secrets’ that he co-produced with KSHMR. He always does his signature holding the microphone with two hands and asks the rave if they are ready to party! I have never in my life witnessed more of party like a rocket blasting off into space than a Tiesto set. The music is so loud and so insanely fun it’s just pure ecstasy dance party. Martin Garrix set is a total celebration of joy and happiness. It’s so uplifting and massive. DJ Snake is also in this category for me in this trilogy. But each of them you can’t really compare to each other. Each of their music and their festival sets are in a league of their own. After 35 festivals since Escape Halloween 2018, I think I have a deep well to draw from. Of course, the festival leaves that extra top end volume for the festival headliners like these 3. They have to. These guys sets are the loudest for a reason. When you reach that level in your career of being the best of the best your set is going to be the loudest of the festival. The mixing tent controls the Master Volume (wink wink it’s not the DJM-900NXS2).
A few of the tracks that are so fun every time he plays 'Split', My Frequency, 'Baila Conmigo', The Business, his Alive remix of Krewella’s track, WOW, Boom, and his 'Midnight City' versus 'Wasted' mashup. He always plays about 4-5 classics by the middle of his set which includes Avicii of course.
Important to note, that Diplo was also headlining during the Tiesto set over on the Sanitarium stage which I will say was really designed so well and loved it.
Overall, it was one the best Escapes I’ve ever been to and the lineup was just so fantastic.