Insomniac outdid themselves once again with the 15 year anniversary of their Nocturnal Festival. Tens of thousands of people graced the the fairgrounds of San Bernadino for an absolutely insane lineup of talent, attractions, and performance artists. A big rave experience like this definitely lies in the eyes of the beholder and with so many options for music and things to do, it’s easy for everyone in attendance to have a completely unique experience.

I always get hyped for the big shows out here because it means that I’m going to see a bunch of homies from elsewhere all at once; think WMC consolidated into 1 night of sensory overload. It also happened to be my lady’s first massive since moving to LA and I was looking forward to showing her what goes on out here. To be honest, at events like this, I spend more time running around people watching, hanging with crew than just listening to beats. Obviously it’s not as cut and dry as that but with so much going on it’s really hard to stay focused.

We arrived at the venue early with the Evol Intent boys who tore the place up with the first gig of their Live tour. If all that you know of these guys is Drum & Bass, then do yourself a favor and look deeper. The crew includes some of the most respected and in-demand electronic artists in North America with a live performance that covers the spectrum of D&B, Dubstep, Electro, IDM and everything in between. It’s definitely an eclectic and out-of-the-box experience.

That set was followed by a refill, the collection of crew, missioning it to the Electro stage for Treasure Fingers to jump onto his second set for the night, and watching Kill The Noise struggling to carry his rider-alloted beverages in a tub across a sea of ravers to the stage.

When walking through one of these shows put on by Insomniac, it’s clear that these promoters do raves on a whole other level. For one, they have production value like no other promoter I’ve ever been fortunate enough to witness. The property was littered with lighting and decor, there were fireworks, dancers, carnival attractions, rides; the stages were big and roomy and done-up properly, big screens for everyone to see what was going on, proper sound, the list goes on. I mean, the Drum & Bass stage had a full size battle tank on it for christ’s sake. A tank! Enough said.

It’s clear that Insomniac puts a considerable amount of effort assuring a surreal experience for both their patrons and artists alike. For the ravers you’ve got stimulus overcharge and for their talent and guests, unmatched hospitality and well, it’s pretty much carte blanche.

Thinking back now, and i’m ashamed to say it, but all I really remember of my night is what i’ve mentioned already, my solo mission to catch The Glitch Mob, the end of Switch, the rowdy madness of Rusko, a night cap from Pendulum and a whole bunch of funny shit that I’m not gonna get into. I don’t even know where the night went but i know I had fun and that’s what it’s all about right?

Big, big thank you to Insomniac for having us. Had a blast hanging with all the in and out of town crew and witnessing the chaos of another 50,000 person rave. CaCaw! @armannireign.

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