Preface: I have attended Phoenix Lights the past three years. I’ve attended EDC last year, 5 HARD Summer’s in a row, 3 Coachella’s in recent years, and a plethora of other festivals and concerts.
PHOENIX LIGHTS DAY 1 WAS AWESOME. There was so many things that went right with logistics and the overall experience, not just the stage production and artists. To start from the beginning, our group of 6+ (+ because we met up with other friends, but the core group was only 6) arrived around 7:30pm, after gates had opened at 5pm. There were tons of people there already, but from will-call to walking past security into the gates probably took a maximum time of 20 minutes tops (ABSOLUTELY RIDICULOUS FOR A LARGE FESTIVAL IN A BIG CITY).
The set up itself was incredibly simple (2 large and 2 “small” stages centered around an aisle of food and drink, 1 water station, and 1 bathroom) but got the job done effectively and efficiently. There was a little sound bleed walking between stages (which is to be expected), but the walk itself between stages was around 1-2 minutes max.
In terms of stage production, the main stage MOTHERSHIP was awesomely planned out – a grassy area in the back, some plastic/hardwood/something hard boards placed in the pit. Getting close the front was NO problem, and the crowds were simply superb as well. The INVASION stage was also something else – it was simply a RAGE fest. Both intimate and grimy, the INVASION stage felt like every headbanger’s darkest, wettest dream. Yet despite the “dark” and “aggressive” vibes, everyone was polite and there was little to no aggression to be found, even during Sikdope’s and Subtronics b2b Squinto’s sets. The FALLOUT and COLONY stages were incredible with their own merits as well; Shiba San stole the show at COLONY with an awesome vibey house set blasting omnidirectionally, and the FALLOUT stage had HouseNeckt rocking out from the post-apocalyptic Jeep stage.
GO TO DAY 2 IF YOU CAN.