Full Flex leaves its mark on Vancouver

A neon circus flooded Vancouver streets on Sunday as ravers, young and old, came out of the woodwork by the thousands to bask in the spectacle that was the Full Flex Express.  With two stages, seven diverse artists, and seven hours of mind-bending production value it was a festival for the books.

As endless hoards lined the fairgrounds outside of the Pacific Coliseum TOKiMONSTA tested the limits of the outdoor stage’s savage sound system and kept crowds happily dancing as they teemed with excitement.  

Taking over the reins from TOKiMONSTA, British DJs Koan Sound showered a perpetually growing crowd in bouncy eltro-dubstep. With the perfect mix of hard-hitting beats and energy fueled dance music Koan Sound deserves the attention of all EDM lovers regardless of their musical preference.

They had certainly garnered the attention of rising BC dubstep star Datsik who quietly bobbed his head, trademarked flat brimmed hat in tow, from behind the DJ booth.

Sunday night Full Flex was the place to be.

Meanwhile, inside, Grimes was busy hypnotizing the Pacific Coliseum with her dark, ambient tones, and her jarring bass rhythms. Her voice was filtered through a delay, and it echoed throughout the transfixed crowd.

Grimes is an anomaly: if Björk and Nelly Furtado somehow spawned a mystical lovechild deep within the caverns of a wintry Icelandic snow cave, she would sound a lot like Grimes.

Oblivion was an obvious highlight, especially noticeable as it is receiving heavy airplay on The Peak right now.

The stage, was as atmospheric and ethereal as her music: draped in radioactive green and yellow, bubbles shot into the sky as a giant green projected face stared at the audience for some sinister reason.

As the haunting vibes of Grimes came to a close and the house lights flicked on an already jacked crowd clambered for Diplo and another injection of pure dance music.

Radiating a traditional DJ vibe Diplo mixed rap, pop, rock, and Brazilian favela flavour flawlessly into a set which reeked of individuality. It was a unique experience to watch thousands forgot that they were at a concert as the Pacific Coliseum transformed into a giant house party.

Backlighting Diplo’s larger than life presence, the guy radiates I-do-what-I-want cool on a ridiculous level, was a visual presentation that could have only been created during a drunken night and a MS Paint binge. It was the crowning jewel of Diplo’s carefree set and while no one wanted it to end the draw of Pretty Lights was not to be denied.

Expectations for Pretty Lights were high.

Without a doubt the man definitely lived up to his name – literally. His stage production was a miniature metropolis, consisting of tiny towers lit up with LEDs that displayed orbiting multicoloured cubes and geometric shapes. Pure white lights whizzed through the skyscrapers and exploded into brilliance, as solid beams of blue, pink and purple lights were strewn into the crowd: all timed to Pretty Lights’ eclectic mix of lounge infused dub.

By this point the crowd was in full swing. Dancing, spinning, even singing along at points, was made possible thanks to Avicii’s Levels, which has reignited the popularity of the Etta James’ vocal sample contained within Pretty Lights’ Finally Moving.

Uninspired by our singing, however, Pretty Lights cut the sound, and demanded that we sing LOUDER. Vancouver rose to the challenge, and the energy shot through the roof.

Finally, it was time for the king of drops.

Skrillex virgins heaved in anticipation. Was popping their cherries going to be a delicious experience, or a letdown?  

The Skrillex countdown clock started at five minutes and the anticipation was enough to weaken even the bravest.

With one minute left the bass kicked in.

Thirty seconds and you could feel the bass.

Ten seconds and you began to brace yourself.

—Three—

—Two—

—One—

BOOM Whom Whooom Whomp BOOM

Even with the full countdown there was no way to prepare for the initial drop.

Skrillex live. The man is at the top of his game; in the flesh, in his element, and in a fucking spaceship.

It was everything.

The full power of Bangarang hit you like a wall with unbelievable speakers the likes of which you have never experienced. Everybody was going nuts.

Five acts in, and the energy was, by far, at its high point. It was magic. The backdrop a nerd’gasim of videogame headshots and CGI madness.

For returning fans, we all know seeing Skrillex live is like dancing in the streets during a hurricane.

For a large portion of the general populous the intensity present at Sunday’s show would have been akin to their worst nightmare but for bassheads it was a temporary trip heaven. A unique communal experience unlike anything else, shared amongst those riding the raging wave of musical evolution.

As Right On Time graced Skrillex’s behemoth sound system more lasers then a Coldplay show erupted from the stage and giant fire encrusted demon robots barrelled through a barren landscape on a massive LED screen.

Skrillex performance eclipsed the Mothership Tour in every way. Not only did he play his set in an actual spaceship, the sound system was undeniably superior. Crisp, controlled, and outrageously loud: the experience demanded the audience’s attention.

Time to produce and expand his catalogue of tracks gave Skrillex’s set a stronger sense of cohesion then during the Mothership tour.

One could go on forever, but simply put: he finished with Cinema and we all bowed down. Skrillex is a master of his craft.

By the time one AM rolled around no one wanted to go home. The Full Flex Express was the whole package. Not a single person should have left with a frown on their face. Production wise, the festival was unparalleled and the talent was staggering.

To Blueprint, you have outdone yourself.

To Skrillex and friends, please hurry back. Vancouver needs you to push its nightlife to the next level. You’ve given us a taste and there is no going back now.