Ultra Music Festival

Bicentennial Park

March 26, 2011, Day 2
Downtown Miami, FL

Review and Video by Abraham Mizrahi
Photos courtesy David Afkham

Jumping onto the Metro Mover headed downtown on March 26 felt just like any other day. But upon squeezing onto the crowded Metro and opening my eyes, my senses were assaulted by the overwhelming colors spanning the neon spectrum. This was to be no ordinary trip downtown, for it was the weekend of Ultra Music Festival.

Video by Abraham Mizrahi

Gone were the usual denizens of the area, replaced by people of all ages drenched head to toe in all the colors of the rainbow. There was no lack of vibrancy among the crowd headed downtown, yet there was a serious lack of clothes. I must've missed the rules for the contest to show as much skin as possible. This "contest" was not exclusive to the girls in attendance, before entering Bicentennial Park there was an overwhelming presence of gentlemen flexing glamour muscles and guts trying to keep pace with the many hot, toned women.

Convenience stores lining the streets along the march towards Ultra's pulsing beats were all turning away disappointed patrons in search of the most necessary ration of the day: lollipops. These suckers were in short supply, because the word around the festival is that “pacifiers are so passé.” To the more innocent out there, ecstasy (MDMA) causes serious teeth grinding. Lollipops aren't just delicious, they'll keep you from waking up the next morning with a headache worse than your average hangover.

Steve Aoki at Carl Cox Tent

After navigating the outside fanfare and successfully passing through TSA-like security checkpoints, I finally arrived inside the festival. The first stop was at the information both, to pick up an essential map of the electronic music theme park.

Once past the initial barrier, I was able to view the landscape of the festival, which seemed overwhelming; especially to the uninformed and/or high. Tucked into the landscape were five stages; each simultaneously hosting performances for the duration of the day. This massive frenetic setup made traversing the grounds and interpreting the map of events a full time job. No matter how hard you worked at scheduling, it was impossible to see every act.

Tucked into the landscape were five stages; each simultaneously hosting performances for the duration of the day. This massive frenetic setup made traversing the grounds and interpreting the map of events a full time job. No matter how hard you worked at scheduling, it was impossible to see every act.

Afrojack at Main Stage

One of these stages was the Carl Kox and Friends Tent, which proved to be the spot for high intensity partying all day. Kox, a long-time staple of the South Beach party circuit, did not disappoint. The stage went on to host newcomer and Dutch favorite Afrojack, as well as the seasoned electronica veteran Moby. The successful crossover artist put on a riveting DJ set, and although he strayed from his classics, he managed to keep emotions and energy running high.

Footsteps from the Carl Kox tent was a domed tent dedicated to the genre of dubstep. Performing in this tent was the dubstep pioneer and acclaimed actor Goldie, along with the hosts of many BBC Radio 1 programs, including Skream! and Benga.

Deadmau5

During the journey from stage to stage, I was offered enough “rolls” (MDMA again) to be full for days. Weaving through the crowd to get to the main stage was like walking through a Deadmau5 costume competition. Many party goers took it upon themselves to create different and creative effigies of their favorite music man/mouse.

Past the main stage was a “live” stage, which in an unexpected twist hosted several acts including Cut/Copy, who took the opportunity to put down their laptops and pick up real instruments.

Courtesy Grant Williams

The real star of the show at Ultra was the lighting/effects that provided hypnotic and astounding visual accompaniment to all the sounds. Each stage featured its own dizzying array of lasers, back lights, and video projectors.

After a day of being bounced around by powerful bass and thumping speakers, it was finally time for the main event of the day: Deadmau5. As Deadmau5 took the stage, the crowd grew to extreme proportions to watch the world’s most identifiable DJ. As the man/mouse got deeper into his set he was accompanied by a larger-than-life Tommy Lee, who along with his drum kit was raised on a pedestal high above the stage. Completion of the set corresponded with the stroke of midnight, and like that Ultra Music Festival day two, was over. The festival quickly released the thousands of excited ravers upon the city of Miami, partying until the gates and DJs would accept them the next day.

Ultra Fans, connect with us on Facebook