People dancing as the sun sets at CRSSD
Oh, CRSSD Festival… Just when we thought it was safe to hang up our sultry bodysuits and lace rompers for the year, you collaborate with the Fall weather to bring back the heat and get our bare skin back on that grassy dance floor and into your lusty embrace. Prepare the flash tats and glitter bombs!
It’s our 4th date and each rendezvous has only gotten hotter. This year’s line-up brought back CRSSD alumni while balancing out plenty of new and notable artists. The fashion did not disappoint—this weekend included an influx of unbuttoned Hawaiian shirts and at least one girl who managed to make overalls sexy.
For those that haven’t yet had the pleasure, CRSSD may seem like just another EDM festival. However, if you’re thinking it’s just sex, drugs, and turntables down at the Waterfront, guess again.
The idyllic backdrop and signature, laid-back San Diego vibes brought in by the crowd have made the festival greater than the sum of its parts (I mean, there are freakin’ sailboats swaying to the music next to palm trees and historic buildings that play tricks on your eyes after dark). CRSSD has laid its roots here in our fine city and we’ve shaped its personality into a dance party that has the whole West Coast making a bi-annual trip.
Nora En Pure’s mix of tech-house and indie-dance played as the afternoon crowd came through the security lines before heading for the sparkling fountains. Afterall, it isn’t CRSSD until you get your feet wet.
If the fact that FKJ’s name stands for “French Kiwi Juice” wasn’t enough to steal a large portion of the crowd away from Nora, his tropical grooves and layers of instrumental loops were. Described as the “French Thomas Jack”, his sound scored nicely with the Waterfront backdrop and ivy-covered City Steps stage.
The twenty-year-old DJ, REZZ, who has been lauded as “the female Gesaffelstein”, made sure things didn’t get too bright out at The Palms. She brought out her dark and sinister techno and even revealed some new tracks. It sounded as if whoever mixed her set bent the volume rules as the extra decibels were noticed and appreciated by the crowd.
Big Wild— one man show with two drumsticks—pounded away for the largest crowd of the afternoon. EDM darling Justin Martin headlined The Palms while the Swedish, electronic-pop Miike Snow closed out the first night. And yes, he played that “Genghis Khan” song.
As for Sunday…
Claptone provided his Berlin-born, disco inferno and spun down the sun. Those white gloves of his played maestro and orchestrated a funky dance party that rivaled just about any other set of the weekend.
Mr. Tropical House himself, Thomas Jack, has been no stranger to San Diego’s shores with his yearly stop at East Village’s Quartyard. His 7:45pm set helped those that “went too hard” on day one find their Sunday rhythm and get back into dance mode for the rest of the night.
CRSSD 2015 alumni and crowd favorite, ZHU brought his mysterious magic to the Ocean View stage to cap off the weekend.
For San Diego, four rounds of CRSSD is a great thing. It’s officially our hometown festival, and the production company behind it has proven that the “have love, will travel” approach works wonders. Music lovers from Los Angeles, Las Vegas, San Francisco, and beyond still make their way south for two days and nights to dance inside our southern California postcard.
Home of the Chargers? Future tech hub? CRSSD Festival has proven that San Diego is the perfect music festival destination. Let’s just hope that as the festival’s popularity grows and inevitable instinct to “scale” sets in, that CRSSD won’t outgrow Waterfront Park or San Diego.
Until next Spring…