The Best of Beyond Bay 2015: Day 2

The Bay Area brought it for day two of Beyond Bay, with tens of thousands of Headliners turning out to experience the vibes, music and community of the festival. The second and final day of the show featured vibes that ranged from mellow to maximally jacked, as the artists playing the show’s three stages gradually brought up the energy and the BPMs as the day progressed. The show ended with a bang as fireworks dazzled Headliners during the last moments of Tiësto’s set, as the super moon hung in the background. We know we say this all the time, but it was altogether magical.

Here’s some of the best of what we experienced during day two of Beyond Bay 2015.

The Magician

House music ruled the day on the Queen’s Domain stage, and no one embodied the sound better than The Magician, who, in his signature red and white sequined smoking jacket, played as the sunset in the west for a crowd that grew bigger throughout the set. The set contained a lot of great moments, but perhaps none more appropriate than when the Belgian producer played his remix of Jefferson Airplane’s “White Rabbit.” The song is not only a ’60s classic from the Bay Area band, but the chorus’ lyrics “go ask Alice” were perfectly appropriate for the Wonderland themed affair. The Magician smiled widely as the track played, seeming to know that he had nailed it. –Katie Bain

The Blood Moon

How do you add extra oomph to a party already loaded with cosmic vibes? Add a super rare celestial event! On Sunday night, a super blood moon, a super moon in combination with a lunar eclipse, appeared in the sky, creating an attraction that rivaled the fireworks. Hope you got your gaze on, as the next super blood moon won’t happen again until 2033. –Katie Bain

John Beaver

It isn’t often that you have a local DJ grab a crowd like local boy John Beaver did. A veteran of the San Francisco scene, John has a dedicated following here in the bay but from the looks of his crowd you would have thought he was a touring DJ. Only 30 minutes into his set and the floor was packed as he slammed through edits and mashups of crowd favorites singing right along with the crowd, many that he made especially for today. All the while he danced just as hard as any of the hundreds of people grooving to his beats, and he smiled ten times brighter. John’s positive energy radiates from his being in every set he plays. –Alexander Dias

Motez

Sunday afternoon was all about house music in the Queen’s Domain. San Francisco has a long history as a haven for house heads, and the low-slung grooves that Motez was bringing were the perfect soundtrack. He never once strayed from the smooth and sexy, even when the basslines got a little dirtier. Despite my tired legs after nearly two days of raving, I was thankful for the extended Sunday set. –Alexander Dias

Consciousness Group

Brad Waldo loves electronic music, but when he became clean and sober 4 ½ years ago he struggled with the thought of relapse as he re-entered the scene he loved so much. That’s when he found the Consciousness Group, what he calls a “Safe haven for people in recovery.” They have 3 meetings a day at Insomniac events that range in size from 10-50 people. It’s undeniable that drugs and alcohol are going to be present at events, and for those who have chosen sobriety the Consciousness Group provides vital support and a safe environment so they can continue to be a part of the scene they love so dearly. –Alexander Dias

EDC 360

EDC 360 allows you to step inside the EDC experience for a few minutes under the electric sky. Fly above the DJ booth and stand in the crowd as you strap on a pair of virtual reality glasses. Adding V-Moda’s awesome headphones with a Subpac to provide the bass and you have an experience the while not as epic as a trip to EDC, is still pretty intense. –Alexander Dias

Deep House Rules the Queen’s Grounds

Sunday’s lineup on the Queen’s Ground stage included house and deep house producers SNR, Kidnap Kid, Motez and The Magician, a quadruple threat lineup that altogether made for afternoon and early evening sounds that were much less aggressive than those typically heard on the massive stage. It was a refreshing and utterly danceable change of pace that made it feel like the guys with the early slots were actually warming up the crowd rather than just coming onstage and aggressively banging out the hits aggressively despite the daylight. One might call it an evolution in the taste, but we mostly just called it fun. –Katie Bain

The Simple Things

Between all the lights and lasers and build ups and drops and blasts of confetti and fire shooting to the sky, it’s nice to take a step back from all the sensory overload inducing theatrics to appreciate some of the more simple things around you. For me, this was under the LED-infused dandelion forest directly back from Mad Hatter’s Castle by the Buddha garden. A nice reprieve anytime of the day, this spot was particularly beautiful at night. –Boojie Baker

Bike Rides

Always ready to entertain, make you smile and help you loose yourself in the moment, Insomniac performers are a captivating and colorful cast of characters, indeed—easily one of my favorite aspects of our shows. Take this guy for example; each time I set off to explore the show there he was with a bike full of Headliners taking them for rides around the venue. And always with a smile on his face. Always. –Boojie Baker