This party was awesome.  I will break it down into sections in a moment, but for me it was a dream come true.  I will right a separate account of my experiences and a field report as well.

The Bad

Let’s get this part out of the way first.  There was a real hassle getting into the festival.  They had a tiny entrance and about 5 tables of security, so searches were taking ages.  People started rioting so they just started letting people in faster and faster.  I actually never got searched.  They did have a police dog working the gate though.  Based on what I saw inside the festival, this was retarded.  The creepiest guys on earth were dealing at this festival.  At least in America the dealers look like the ravers.  Basically if you saw a black person there was a 95% chance they were dealing.  I only saw a few dudes there just having fun.  To be fair there were also really creepy Polish dealers too.The only problem I had with other people in the fest was in the last hour of the final night.  Some chavs were really looking for a fight.  We left 15mins before the last dj finished to just get away from all that crap.  Security wasn’t really paying attention.  But to be fair it was 545am on a Sunday morning.

The People

This festival was more than 80% chavs and tracksuit type people.  I looked around and my first thought was oh crap.  But actually the vibe was really good at this festival.  Everyone was cool until the last hour.  There was a really good energy and everyone was there to have fun.  I didn’t really have to deal with any crap and my mood never shifted.  I have been to a lot of raves and vibe is EVERYTHING.  Overall I rate all the people that came to GG.  Chavs aren’t so bad when they are just out to have fun, instead of ruin everyone else’s. I even met a really cool rave friend at Digweed and hopefully he will add me on facebook.  It reminded me of the rave friends I met at parties when I was 19.  It was a really good memory for me.

The Facilities

There were no showers.  So good lord.  I mean I was so shocked by that.  I guess it is only two days, but seriously!  Otherwise the food was fine and not too expensive.  The booze flowed really well.  They did run out of water at the end of the night saturday.  They had only one pipe to refill water bottles somewhere.  I never even saw it.  I was fine though.  My set never actually ran out.  I stocked up just in time!!

The Music

Let’s be honest this is what you want to hear about.  I have waited almost two weeks to right this so I will still try to stay on point, but we all know I don’t have perfect memory!  I am trying to decide if I should go in order of awesomeness or in order of appearance.  I think I will do the latter, since I can’t decide who was the most awesome! Ok crap.  I can’t really remember the order too good.  But I can remember who I saw! Aahaha

Friday

Chris Lake

I saw him first for only about twenty minutes.  I wanted to check him out because I love a couple of his tunes.  Carry Me Away is so amazing.  His set was ok.  I mean he was playing at like 4pm the 1st day, but he wasn’t dropping amazing trance on my head.  I could only describe what I heard as ok.  I mean I was really catching my vibe and all, but it was a little too housey for me.

Erol Alkan

YumYum fucking loves this guy, so I gotta be careful what I say.  Basically it wasn’t my style.  He was loving it and the crowd was going nutz so I can’t complain really.  I just am not in a good place to judge it.  I’m not into electro.  YumYum can give a better review of the set.  I think for Erol it was just ok.  I will ask Yum again and change that if he says dif.

Fedde le Grand

I can’t remember his set!  Sorry guys.  I will ask Iceberg if he remembers.  Ahaha. (Wait the order is at least 90% right.)

Scratch Perverts

There set was cool but, and I can’t believe I’m saying this, it was a bit obvious.  They were playing mostly DnB with a lil of the hip hop mixed in.  Basically it was tracks I heard ages ago.  They were dropping tracks people really loved over a year ago.  Now the scratching was cool and they actually didn’t overdo it.  That part was nice.  I mean with scratch DJs that is a real risk that they get so caught up in their DMC crap that they forget people like to dance.  Overall I thought the 30mins I saw was good.  It wasn’t life changing but I DID have a good time dancing.

The Prodigy

I have mixed feelings about this set.  I enjoyed the music and that was awesome but the crowd turned nuts.  It makes sense.  The prodigy are the punk band of electronic music.  I mean they played all their badass hits and I was able to hear them between trips to the water tent and toilets etc.  Hehe.  Honestly when they played Breathe I was so happy.  When I got into the front of the crowd it was just too intense.  A ton of dudes were moshing.  The crowd was full of guys even bigger than Iceberg and he left because his feet kept getting stomped. The girl with me was really stressed when we were near the stage so we had to squeeze out.  It was simply too intense.  The music was awesome, I do recommend just chilling near the back of the crowd.  Great sound and a killer show.

David Guetta

I know he’s a big super store, but I kinda don’t really know that much about him.  I know 2 or 3 of his hits.  He wasn’t playing exactly trance though.  It was more like House but damn I loved it.  He played really sexy tunes and got the crowd just going insane.  He played killer tunes and rocked my world.  Simply an amazing set.  Top notch.

Paul van Dyk

He just lived up to his reputation.  It was really good.  I only caught part of the set but it was classic as always.  I guess for me the fact that PvD kinda always sounds the same wears me out.  He plays amazing tunes but I really like different vibes from different DJs.  If you like amazing high-quality trance, then this is a guy worth seeing.  It was really nice.

Stanton Warriors

Only caught 20 minutes but it was really cool.  Some sexy breaks.  I wasn’t super in a breaks mood, but I really enjoyed it for the time I was there.  If you have heard some of their stuff, then you know what to expect.  The crowd was enjoying it and it was all good.

Tiga

I was really excited to see him after reading about him a few years ago.  I really like the tunes of his that I have heard.  Unfortunately, his set simply sucked.  I wasn’t feeling any of the tunes.  I was bored and apparently everyone else was.  The tent was pretty empty.  Oh well.

Saturday

Eric Prydz

His set was really cool.  It was a little bit housey for my taste.  I mean honestly it was a wicked set.  It’s a little bit hard to enjoy it with the sun still out.  He is a wicked Dj.  I can’t remember too much of the set but when he dropped his current hit YumYum went nuts and THAT is a good sign!

Orbital

Fuck me!  They were so awesome I can’t even explain it.  I wish I was going to more of their festivals.  I’m tempted to cancel Creamfields and stay in London to see them again.  Honestly,  they DESTROYED it.  I have heard some of their stuff since my first weekend in the UK.  My first friend here loves them.  And you know what.  He is a genius.  If you like music at all you have to see Orbital.  They really brought the noise at this festival and were the highlight of the main stage and maybe the whole festival.

Armin van Buuren

Boom!  What a killer trance DJ.  His set was awesome and had such a good flow.  I was really feeling it and it was a good time.  He played some sexy tunes and it kept it all smooth.  It was a lovely little trip.  Ironically, the better sets get the shorter review.  It was really smooth.

Markus Schulz

You know he is my favorite DJ and he rocked my world at Ministry and he didn’t disappoint.  He plays such a deep form of progressive.  I really like it and I loved his set.  Unfortunately, the sound in this tent was too quiet and affected all of the DJs throughout the night.  But really he is great and hits me right in the emotions.  Deeeeeep.

Gareth Emery

He was really good.  I listen to his podcast constantly and I was glad to finally hear him live.  I might have seen him before, but I can’t be sure….hehe.  He is a really sound DJ that dropped some really good tunes.  He drops some progressive onto that trance.  It was really smooth.

John Digweed

He simply still has it.  What an amazing DJ.  I need to see him more and more.  I loved Digweed when I saw him 10 years ago.  The tunes he played were so deep and so insane.  Man this guy is a DJ worth seeing.  I feel like maybe people have forgotten that he basically created Progressive House.  My biggest regret of the festival is that I didn’t see 100% of his set.  I can’t wait to see him again.  Really!

Sander Kleinenberg

Total letdown.  When I saw him at Ultra in Miami a few years ago he played with a killer VJ and he destroyed it.  This time he let me down.  The set was supposed to be so cool as he was controlling the visuals.  It was so average.  The visuals were ok and the music was ok.  Seriously I know he has the ability to destroy it so that made the let down even worse.  Especially after what Digweed did.

Menno de Jong

He played the final set I saw.  The tunes were really good.  I  have liked a lot of his stuff in the past.  The sound was simply too quiet.  It’s a shame.  I really liked what he was doing and I would have liked to really feel it, but the sound was just killing me by this point.  I mean I don’t like my music too loud but everyone was complaining.  I will try to see this guy again.  He has good tunes and his mixes were spot on.

Conclusion

Man what a great weekend.  The only problem was the music ended way too early on Friday and the trouble at the gates.  Overall the festival is simply too short.  They overstack the Sat DJs and they just don’t have enough action on Friday night.  I would like a more balanced experience.  I didn’t really like all the rides and that crap but the people with me did and that is good enough for me.  The festival is trying to cater to a mixed crowd and I get that.  They just need nicer toilets. If you like good music then you should hit this fest!  I loved it!!!

As the only American at Urban Art Forms this year, I think it is my duty to take the time to write out a full and detailed review.  So I will cover the basics now. 

The Weather

It rained pretty heavily for most of the time I was there.  The stages are actually on proper flooring, not on a field, so the festival wasn't really affected.  The tent area however, turned into a mudbath.  It was totally crazy.  All the locals seemed to have wellies with them, so they adapted nicely.

The Facilities

The provided several sets of indoor toilets and showers.  The quality was pretty high and they didn't seem to run out of toilet paper.  Make sure you bring some of your own just to be safe, along with a towel and one euro coins for the showers!  The whole place was pretty nice and everything was within 10 minutes walking.  Some of the toilets did get clogged during the festival, but there seemed to be staff there all the time trying to clean up etc.

The stages were divided into two areas, so you could spend 30 minutes getting out of one area and through security of the next.  This was kind of annoying, as I love psytrance!  The decorations were pretty good and the food and beer were not TOO overpriced.  Certainly more than most pubs in Austria, but less than a lot of high end clubs in London.  The food was tasty, although I brought a lot of my own as well.  Good way to get through it all.

Near the psytrance tent they had a drug testing setup as well.  Similar to what DanceSafe does.  They would test everyone's gear to make sure no one got poisoned etc.  I think in this day and age that is a really important thing.  Safety first!  Also a few of my friends had to go by the first aid station.  They had a proper doctor there in addition to all the ambulances.  The medical treatment was pretty quality in my book.

The People

Austrians are really friendly and amazing.  I wasn't sure what to expect, but everyone I met was so cool and shared their supplies.  I made some new friends.  The girls in Austria are pretty as well, so if you're at the festival looking for that it's possible.  I was so busy with my friends and rushing to see all the DJs etc, that I only met a few girls.  I was the only American there and a lot of people were shocked and didn't believe I was from Los Angeles.

You can definately come to this festival alone and not have to worry about having a killer time and making amazing friends.  It all really flows nicely.  The vibe was really positive.  I did see one fight at the back of the main stage though.  It ended quickly and the first thing I heard someone say was, "Germans…"  I thought that was hilarious.  Austrians kick ass.

The Music

This is what you really want to hear about.  If you like psytrance or drum and bass, then this festival is a no brainer.  It's cheap, not too crowded and these stages were amazing.  All of the DJs I saw were awesome and the vibe was so cool.  The mainstage was a mix of genres, mostly focusing on techno.  I have to say that Deadmau5 was awesome.  Definately the highlight of the show for me.  Personally, I really love trance and that was sorely missing at the festival.  Overall, the sound quality was insane and never too loud.  They had sound engineers all over the place constantly checking levels.  That part was really top notch.  If you like any of the DJs on the lineup, then I definately recomend checking out this festival.