-Started the night off at the Dim Mak Stage for Steve Aoki's set. Displaying a spanking new stage set up and production show, sir Steve stunned the crowd for what was perhaps the most electrifying performance of the evening. He dropped 3 new tracks during his roughly hour long set: Earthquaky People (ft. Rivers Cuomo from Weezer), Misfits (ft. Travis Parker), and one unknown track in which he sang - topped off w the can't-be-missed, always fun Warp 1.9 & his usual bottle popping act, Aoki had the crowd raging full force in the 100+ degree temperatures. As the sun began to set, I needed a break from the mayhem and headed over to grab a drink, seeking a change of pace from the heavy-hitting electro style.

-After having my face properly rocked off and dancing up a storm and cooling down w an ice cold beverage, I was ready to head over to see Doorly [left] for some wompy headbanging, who was playing with surprise guest Nervo [right]. Doorly has really made a name for himself over the past few years and is climbing up the charts in the Dubstep category, and after seeing him live for the first time, I must say that he really has asserted himself as a top-notch act - Nervo & him as a pair turned out to be a match made in heaven, a beautiful blend of dub elements and international house sound. Perhaps the coolest part of their set was the fact that there was virtually no one at the stage for the beginning of it, being accustomed to performing in front of massive crowds around the world to counting on your fingers the number of people watching is definitely an adjustment. However, the two of them welcomed us with a fantastic and extremely interactive, nearly private show, taking some time to talk with their fans. Great people, unfortunately Nervo wouldn't accommodate my request to hear her new collaboration with Afrojack and others, 'The Way We See The World'. Alas, another time...

-Lastly, I moseyed on over to the main stage to see Pretty Lights. This marks the 6th time that I've seen the Boulder-bred artist do his thing, and I can truly say that each time has signaled a clear progression of both stage presence & quality of sound integration with production techniques; a.k.a Pretty Lights has evolved into melodic machine, who effortlessly controls the crowd & awes you with his ridiculous light show. He keeps you entranced with slower classics such as 'Hot Like Sauce', and picks it up at the right moments, reminding you that leaving early is simply not an option when he's in front of an audience.

-All in all Identity Festival was a huge success and definitely a bargain for a mere 20 dollar ticket. Despite the crazy Texas heat, thousands of loyal fans continued to pack stages from opening to close in order to catch some of the best artists in the industry for what was a fun-filled and most importantly safe day - a smashing hit for the first nation-wide touring electronic festival ever!