Vegoose: Best Performance of 2007

This is quite possibly the most cliché thing I could say, but I'm going to say it anyways; a picture is worth 1,000 words. And this picture from Daft Punk's performance at Vegoose 2007 is worth so much more than that. This was my third time seeing them, and each time it has gotten that much better.

The day started at around 4:30 A.M when my Dad woke John C. and I up to begin getting ready. We left Northridge at around 5 and were in Vegas by 10. We checked into the hotel (Four Seasons, top 4 floors of Mandalay Bay). We ate some breakfast and then headed over to the Sam Boyd Stadium (where Vegoose was taking place).

We get in line, and about after 20 seconds of waiting, I realized that I had forgotten my ticket back at the hotel. I told John to go ahead and go inside and I would wait for my Dad to bring the ticket to me. Once he brought it to me, I took the walk back to the line and...of all the people to meet up with, I saw Xav and a few of his friends. W ewalked inside the stadium (outdoor area, actually) and talked for a bit. We watched one song of Gogol Bordello (who was INCREDIBLE).

I then headed over to the "Double Down" stage to wait in line (FRONT ROW IS THE ONLY WAY!). First up was Lupe Fiasco, he kicked some old school beats (Mobb Deep anyone) with fresh lyrics over them, it was pretty awesome. Then came Mastadon who was...interesting, to say the least. Following Mastadon was Cypress Hill who was insanely good...they really know how to get a crowd going. Finally, before Daft Punk, was Queens of the Stone Age who were good, but not as good as I hoped they would have been.

Then, Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Leading into the best mix of Homework, Discovery, Human After All, Stardust and Together that you have ever and will ever hear. There is no text that can do this show justice - it is a show of light, a show of music, and the combination of the two just seems to absolutely destroy any other precedent of a good show. I seriously was dancing, jumping, rocking out for two hours straight. And I wasn't even tired after. I could have gone on for another three, and wish I had. There was an after-party at the LAX club in the Luxor, but it was 21+ only, so I was out of luck.

After waiting TWO HOURS for the shuttle John and I paid $30 each for, we got back to the hotel and passed out. To dreams of robots and rocking. To melodies of synths and drum machines. It was glorious.

Human.
Together.