LED Festival 2011 packs a punch of Drum and Bass, Dubstep and Dance
Deadmau5 in Victoria Park 2011 review
Thursday 16th June 2011
After the successes of the London Electronic Dance festival 2010, deadmau5 and friends return to East London's Victoria Park to set up shop for the return of this festival. In short, if you live in London, like electronic music and a bit of a dance, then this event is right up your street, especially with a line up of familiar names and new groups to enjoy.
The event itself was split between the main stage, playing host to the more house / dance acts including Zane Lowe, Calvin Harris and headliner Deadmau5, and the aptly-titled 'Let's Go Crazy Arena' tent behind it, with artists Nero representing dubstep in fine form alongside heavyweight drum and bass DJs Hype and Fresh.
Of course, the talent in the Let's Go Crazy tent was such that it was busy all day, providing plenty of loud beats and deep bass lines throughout the afternoon before the bigger names appeared on the main stage. Highlights included a live band in the form of Modestep, performing their modest repertoire of catchy dubstep tracks and mixes, a no-holds-barred assault by DJ Hype playing a classic drum and bass set and poster-child Nero showcasing their latest dubstep productions, with the pounding bass and jerky synth lines reaching the climax of the evening. Being able to fill a large event like this shows that dubstep as a genre is maturing well and still growing in popularity, although it did start to grind on your ears after several hours of it, so the following electro/breakbeat sets by DJ Fresh and Skrillex in the line up were good to break things up and give a bit of variety for the mad crowd who had been head stomping and moshing pretty much from midday onwards.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the festival and stuck in the sun, other house and dance acts provided a more sedate (although no less enjoyable) alternative to dubstep, covering house, electro and pop tracks to get the crowd going. Zane Lowe took the standard approach of mixing up rock, dance and pop records, egging on the crowd with his usual shouts of enthusiasm, while Calvin Harris chose a great mix of catchy dance tracks and firm favourites to provide a solid follow up to his appearance at the festival in 2010, getting the crowd moving and in the mood as the sun slowly fell into the evening.
By the time Deadmau5 took to the main stage, the worry was that it was going to turn into Drowned Rat as the clouds came in, but luckily for the huge crowd that had gathered, the rain held off and the Canadian was able to kick his set into gear, complete with his trademark animated mouse head and stunning light show. His was a great 1.5 hour show covering his electro-inspired dance productions with catchy bass lines and hooks, with singles 'I Remember' and 'Ghosts N Stuff' being particular crowd pleasers. Owing to the weather he wasn't able to come out to continue his set in the middle of the audience as he had done with other gigs, but this was only a minor disappointment in a great set that had the crowd moving in a sea of glow sticks and smiling faces.
Having been spoiled by the amazing line up from 2010, it's a shame that this year's LED Festival was crammed into a one day event. But with so many acts playing, there was definitely something for everyone, in particular showcasing the big names in the dubstep industry and providing another great chance to see Deadmau5 this side of the Atlantic.
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