10 Questions You Probably Asked Yourself While Roaming the First Night of EDC Las Vegas 2016

EDC Las Vegas is, as they say, a lot. There’s the music, the crowd, the pyrotechnics, and the fact that the entire affair is happening way past most of America’s regular bedtime. This unusual stew of festive circumstances lends itself to a lot of fun and, most likely, at least a few introspective thoughts as you journey deep into the heart of sound.

Here are 10 questions you too may have asked yourself while wandering through the first night of EDC.

1. Well, how did I get here?
One moment you’re in your boring-ass hometown boarding a Vegas-bound flight, and the next you’re dripping sweat in the techno teepee while Maya Jane Coles melts your face off in the middle of the night. What a whirlwind. For many of the party people in the crowd (and most of us working backstage), the first night of EDC Las Vegas is a lot like landing in a tremendously exhilarating and rather loud foreign country after a long and arduous journey. While you thus may have started the night both dazzled and disoriented by the music, lights, fireworks, and thousands and thousands of faces in the crowd, it’s likely that you quickly acclimated to your surroundings—landing at the festival physically, mentally and emotionally, and turning your inner dial to full-on party mode. You made it. You did it. You’re here. Welcome.

2. Was that one of the most gorgeous sunsets I’ve ever seen?
Short answer: yeah, probably. Just after the doors to the festival opened, the summer sun set pink, orange, and purple over the Mojave desert, literally lighting up the mountain range in the distance and figuratively igniting the fire for the first night of the fest. Fireworks took over the sky hours later, but Mother Nature showed face early on to remind us who the OG is in overhead entertainment.

3. Have I ever before seen so many butts all together at the same time?
It ultimately depends on where you usually hang out, but EDC definitely boasts an exceptionally high butt-per-square-foot rate. The beauty of this scenario is not just all of the shameless ogling that can occur (for both genders!), but also that EDC is a place where ladies and gentlemen have the sartorial freedom to let it all hang out—whether that booty is thick, flat, pale, tan, or toned. In this judgment-free zone, party people of all body types can feel beautiful and appreciated, whether you’ve been working that EDC diet or not. That’s a beautiful thing.

4. Is that Moby, shirtless and fist-pumping at kineticFIELD right now?
In fact, it is! The Mobe-ster dropped in at kineticFIELD as part of EDC’s 20th anniversary celebration, which took a litany of iconic dance songs from the past two decades and wove them all together into a 12-minute rave history mega-mix celebrating the music that has defined 20 years of Electric Daisy Carnival. This greatest-hits collection included Future Sound of London’s gorgeous 1991 classic “Papua New Guineau,” Robin S’ ultimatum anthem “Show Me Love,” Human Resource’s “Dominator,” T99’s “Anasthasia,” and assorted new hits of the EDM variety. The presentation closed with Moby’s “Thousand,” with the man himself onstage singing along to his own 1993 jam. Surreal.

5. Are we the colors of the rainbow?
You’re goddamn right, we are. If you were at kineticFIELD for the aforementioned 20-year sonic commemoration, you may have noticed that the presentation began with a moment of silence, (or as much of a moment of silence as can be mustered by a crowd made up of tens of thousands). This moment was dedicated to the victims and survivors of Orlando, and served as a valiant reminder that the culture of EDC is one in which people of every race, religion and orientation can coexist harmoniously and without fear. After an especially rough week in the news, the EDC crowd’s tolerance, acceptance, and celebration of diversity is a refreshing reminder of what’s possible in society at large, and all of those rainbow-colored flags waving above the crowd were especially powerful to see.

6. Seriously, though, how many people are here right now?
Approximately 140,000, which is roughly the same number of people that live in Dayton, Ohio. Wild.

7. If a DJ drops the A-Trak remix of Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ “Heads Will Roll” and no one is there to hear it, did it really happen?
No.

8. If a DJ tells you to “put your fuckin’ hands up” and you don’t, does a performer dressed as an angel lose their wings?
No!

9. What is the proper name for the dazzling shade of light blue that the sky turns just before sunrise in the desert?
Cerulean? Or maybe like, cobalt? How about indigo? Can we just call it “light blue”? Yeah, let’s go with light blue. It’s light blue. Now go to bed.

10. Do we really get to do this all again on Saturday?
Pinch yourself, for this is not all just a strobe-lit fever dream. EDC Las Vegas 2016 is just getting started. See y’all tonight for round two—same time, same place.