Now it’s LIB’s 20^th birthday and sanity has thoroughly eclipsed. Long forgotten are the times when bass music didn’t completely dismantle your brain. Rezz, Zhu, Glitch Mob, Mindchatter, Liquid Stranger, and Tokimonsta spearheaded the effort. Other artists like Phantogram, 070 Shake, and Ozomatli provided moments of respite between the chaos. Mind you, this is a five-day festival. There’s enough time to experience everything, but the pace is the trick.

Lightning in a Bottle’s geography compliments the lakefront. The Woogie stage is a northern star on the peninsula where typically more trance and house music is spun. Along the way there, you’ll find a myriad of satellite stages, shops, quaint pockets, and at one point a nice warm communal fire to rejuvenate at. It’s easy to get turned around, it feels like everything is always slightly off to where you last put it. It’s Alice in Wonderland scored in halftime dubstep.

Thunder and Lightning stage wrap around the water until you get to the desert campsites. Most of the music is scheduled for Friday – Sunday, which is naturally when the lake becomes its most crowded. Be that as it may, LIB’s stages for the last 2 years have never been as packed as other festivals. That’s one of my favorite things about it – you can go to the front of the stage if you wanted, or easily find a spot elsewhere if you prefer better audio. It’s meticulous and intricate, the vibrant atmosphere makes you forget how much effort goes into making it a smooth experience.

The number of solid Phantogram songs that I completely forgot existed is embarrassing. They’ve been jamming for more than a decade and in doing so stacked out their discography. “Fall in Love”, “Mouthful of Diamonds”, and “Run Run Blood” – the two-piece harbored a moody vibe that other acts failed to fly near. Rezz closed out on Sunday by taking that energy and clipping it. The Canadian glitch-bass alchemist launched remixes of Linkin Park’s “One Step Closer” and RATM’s “Killing in the Name Of”. Sophisticated flips that echoed the original artist behind screaming distortion walls we colloquially know her for.

My favorite of the festival was Moore Kismet, an 18-year-old glitch-bass artist who is leagues ahead of their contemporaries. Kismet’s music is an octahedron – it reflects an abundance of emotional electricity, in so many directions, and goes absolutely so needlessly hard. They are a master at micro editing, in producing music with thousands of different textures and paths that all flow down the same river. If G Jones is the darkness, Moore Kismet is the light. Both comprise the top of the game right now, and illustrate how intricate, emotional and connecting bass music can be. It’s truly a privilege to be able to see where their music will go in the near future.

Ozomatli played with Chali 2na and Cut Chemist, and I’m curious to see if other EDM publications cover it. On one hand, it’s not their wheelhouse. But will they oversee such a creative set? Frankly, the performance was a black sheep – Chemist only spun on vinyl, their instruments had playable frets and notes, and the rapping felt more like Kool & the Gang (Chali is getting old let’s not kid ourselves). They were one of the best performances of the entire festival, no contest, perhaps in spite of the excess of electronic music? Cut Chemist weaved a narrative with his sample choices: “In the beginning.. the music was simple” queued Ozo to start a drum circle. “Then.. it became more complex..”

Zhu’s set leveled up since his Countdown headline. Like literally, he’s 20 feet in the air on a walkable platform above fire dancers. Fitting his mystique perfectly, especially since there hasn’t been a Zhu performance before midnight in a healthy while. 070 played prior – it’s interesting to see how she was able to fit her performance into a festival that’s more or less already defined.

For example, and for the uninitiated, 070 Shake is the voice behind Fred Again’s “Danielle (Smile on my Face)” (Danielle being her actual real name). The crowd went wild for that track, yet lukewarm for the songs bookending it. The result is an inconsistent set, but one I enjoyed nonetheless. She has a solid command of auto-tune and I’m a simple man.

In reality, LIB is more than the sum of its parts, and dear god there are a lot of parts. It’s the only festival where the in-betweens are just as exciting as the main stages. I remember grabbing some lemonade adjacent to a small village where someone with a megaphone was playing Lego with an audience. Next to that, a perfect replica house from the 80s launching non-stop club music, immersed in drab wallpaper. Further down the road a large, trekking, fluffy beast was throwing a mobile rave – loyalists walking enticed and in tow. Campsites turn into boiler room sets. It never stops and in doing so feels like a census-designated area, if only for a moment.

It’s a safe festival that continues to be worth your time. One to consider when planning out your schedule for next year. Until then, keep an eye out for our upcoming interview with Nala, or check out last year’s coverage to compare and contrast the vibe. Lastly, lock into their socials, both for the main fest and the Do Lab to keep tabs on the forecast.

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Echoing between the bracelets of the Lightning in a Bottle (LIB) commonwealth. It’s been a rough two years for us all and in turn, the cathartic release from LIB festival is one to cherish for years on end. The mornings were tranquil, the nights were spiritual; rhythmic stomping assembled dust storms across Buena Vista Lake. There are no laws, but everyone is chill. For five days, Bass is God.

Which is a bit misleading. Yoga lessons were soft and ambient, near-silent if not for the mentor’s melodic instructions. Further down the way stood the Grand Antique, a portal resembling an old saloon town wherein Smooth Hound Smith crooned into the soft evening glow. In limbo between each stage is a probability – some totems for sale, a crew of snazzy fits, perhaps a few steampunk dancers professing atop an ice cream truck. Look hard enough and find the drunk sloth grooving with vague rhythm under a quaint unassuming marquee: 

“THE BUTTHOLE CHAKRA WORKSHOP HAS BEEN CANCELED”

G Jones is an earthquake. His monochrome B2B set with Eprom was relentless, a titanic adventure that graced the crowd their latest collab effort “Acid Disk 2”. The late SOPHIE made a soft appearance through their remixes, which was particularly compassionate. It felt warm to have her presence if only for a moment. Glass Animals were just a stone’s throw away over at Lightning stage, a completely different vibe for a just as passionate crowd. They set a precedent on Friday that upcoming headliners would have to claw to come close to.

But Kaytranada was freshly sharpened. “10%” hits different in a crowd of thousands bouncing the inquisitive chorus across themselves. He opened the set with finger drumming and sliced chops before a smooth flip into the radio bumps. Successively, Big Wild relied perhaps too much on the radio hits – to the detriment of none. Having the bar located directly at the sonic apex of the Lightning stage is a strategy for the books.

Thunder stage was completely under the service of Big Freedia and no one was the same. Her accomplices twerked through space and time and dead-dropped into the stage like meteors ad nauseum. We crawled out in shambles. Exhausted, I turned to a friend and point out an apparent schedule error. Some act named “Burning Desire” holds a headline spot, for just ten minutes? Before Purity Ring? Yeah, alright. When suddenly:

Ignited swords and daggers dance across the stage. Troupe leader smirks, with her own fiery armaments, directing acrobats like a puppet-master committing arson by proxy. The fire-dancers clashed their weapons together and sparks fly; the crowd howls, hypnotized. You could feel the flame from the outskirts of the front row. Daggers split in five directions and the dancers spin and pose with the entire stage ablaze. Ten minutes felt like nothing, I ate my words.

Purity Ring’s intricate stage setup proved to be turbulent with the quick turnaround between acts, but when the ball was rolling it slammed. Megan is a seraph, decked in a gorgeous flowing outfit that evolved with the wind. Behind her is a throne of smoke and lights where Corin can comfortably play his midi ornaments. In true synthpop fashion, her delicate vocals illustrated cryptic images. Their live rendition of “Lofticries” was a smooth lull in a night full of stimulus:

“Let it seep through your sockets and ears
Into your precious ruptured skull
Let it seep, keep you from us
Patiently heal you”

Nestled between Grand Antique and the north side of the lake sits The Stacks, a bass hive for smaller electronic artists to flex their tech. I’d heard of Templo years ago through the vines but to catch his breakbeat abrasions live was something else entirely. The entire stage was drenched in 100hz, a low-frequency flood much to the delight of the community. Folks were dancing in makeshift towers that loomed into the sky. Blessed vibes in all directions. 

SAKA is another indie artist to put on the fridge. Unreal halftime and riddim artillery forged a symbiotic relationship with the crowd. The harder they went, the heavier he sent it. Later that night at Woogie stage, his track “Shaolin” would be deployed by Four Tet and desiccate the iridescent stage into pieces. The resulting interaction is so genuine it’ll melt your heart.

The lake was pristine during sunlight hours. Those who crashed out on scuttled floaties the night prior took to the sea to refresh, alive with the sound of vague bass from over yonder. It was a safe haven for those receding the wind and dust from the campsites. Meeting people has never been so easy, the wavelength that people were tuned into was warm and welcoming. As it should be. We were implored to interact and meet, ask for help, directions, and hugs.

This year that sneaky lightning was finally captured in that gosh dang bottle. We talked to a doctor/nurse duo who commented that this event was their light at the end of the tunnel. What a light it was.

In no uncertain terms, it was a celebration of humanity. A paracosm in which experience is paramount. The Do Lab went above and beyond to ensure a safe experience for all. The paths and locales were handicap accessible. Medic tents paired with Dancesafe ambassadors were emended and intermittent. An ambulance even responded to Megan James’ inquiries, as she briefly halted her performance to ensure the crowd was safe. I can’t imagine a better run festival, one to channel out our hearts from the cages locked from a uniquely arduous two years.

It’s about time.

*Note: on Thursday evening it was disclosed that two medical incidents resulted in fatality over the weekend. Festival organizers are currently working with county officials and the families involved. Our hearts go out to their loved ones affected by this tragedy. 

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