Los Angeles has always held a special place in its heart for Swedish House Mafia. EDC 2010, the largest EDM event held in Los Angeles (and the last one ever for that matter) hosted the debut of this super trio of producers to the west coast who threw down a set that is still talked about three years later. Fast forward to present day and some massive singles later, Swedish House Mafia has taken the world by storm and become perhaps the most well-known dance music group the world has ever seen. About a year ago however, the boys made it public that their time as Swedish House Mafia was coming to an end, and therefore announced that their thank you to the fans will come in the form of a “One Last Tour” taking over almost every major city in the entire world, with the final two stops being the first two shows they ever performed, Los Angeles and Miami. Not surprisingly, the tickets for the final Los Angeles show on Saturday, March 9th sold out in a short 15 minutes. Not wanting the fans to miss their opportunity to witness this one final show however, a second day was added on Friday, March 8th. Although I was not able to make it to the Saturday show, I was more than happy to attend the Friday show and witness one of my first ever group of favorite producers one final time.
As 10PM quickly approached and Alesso wrapped up his set, the trademark white tarp slowly raised in front of the stage as we waited anxiously for the time to finally come. Right on cue, all remaining lights in the festival dimmed to black as random images of different locations around the world and Los Angeles flashed on the screen with a dark ominous composition of sounds played in the background. As the tarp dropped and the extraordinary instrumental track “Greyhound” pulsed through the massive speakers. This intense entrance could only be seen to be believed as the strong emotions from the crowd were felt through the static air. It appeared as though the stage’s full blown pyrotechnics and laser display had been saved for their performance exclusively because the production during these incredible two hours was something that could be compared with the production of some of the world’s largest music festivals. The most unifying moments throughout the set was without a doubt the many massive sing alongs that took place as everyone locked arm in arm belting out the lyrics to some of their most popular song’s and remixes one final time. The remix of “Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall,” “Teenage Crime,” Daft Punk’s “Around The World,” and of course “Save The World Tonight,” were some of the most goosebump worthy moments this night provided, as the crowd’s screaming voices at times seemed to overpower the pounding bass. Before we could blink an eye the last ten minutes ominously approached as almost every song we could possibly ever hope for was played out. The final minutes of this moving set was filled with what felt like an endless mix of “Don’t You Worry Child” and “Save The World,” and we hoped it would never end. After their last final goodbyes and thank you, they walked off stage to the acoustic mix of “Don’t You Worry Child,” as a very nice message from the boys came in the form of scrolling credits thanking everyone who made this wonderful journey that is Swedish House Mafia possible. Although at times Swedish House Mafia has been criticized for being too commercial, the fact is that Axwell Steve Angello and Sebastian Ingrosso have very much been a long time contributing factor to introducing many current EDM fans to the scene and opening our eyes to the wonders this music provides. On behalf of Los Angeles, and all of Southern California for that matter, I would just like to say thank you Swedish House Mafia for the memories you have created that will surely stick with us for a lifetime. To close, I will leave you with the mantra that was flashed on the main screen many times throughout the night. “We Came. We Raved. We Loved.”As a resident of the downtown area, I was lucky enough to be able to take the metro that runs directly into the venue, which was a nice change from all the hassles that come along with trying to find parking at a crowded event. Unlike the last show I attended at the Los Angeles State park, the lines and entrance process was very smooth. After waiting in line for no longer than ten minutes we were inside the venue. Really sticking with the theme of ‘Masquerade Motel,’ the entrance to the main festival grounds was a neon illuminated ‘Motel Entrance’ structure that greeted every happy attendee as we made our way to the music. Months prior to the event, the boys made it clear that they wanted everyone attending this Carnival Sequa themed occasion to wear the standard mask, and a very strong majority obliged. Once inside the grounds the very first thing that caught my, and every other fan’s eye was the massive main stage located at the end of the field. Taking a page from what seemed like Coachella, the setup had a very strong festival like atmosphere with a lineup to match. On the main stage at 5PM was the Anjunabeats wonder child himself Mat Zo, helping to get the beats pulsing as everyone poured into the venue. Mat Zo’s style of Trance synths mixed with some house influence really satisfied the crowd as he had everyone dancing and jumping to every drop even before the sun had set. Following Mat Zo was a new up and comer out of Sweden who has had a number of massive hits produced within the past year in Otto Knows. His very popular track “Million Voices” was without a doubt a crowd favorite due to the massive reception it received. As night fell on the venue, the festival really began to take shape as the whole illumination of the main stage showed what it was fully capable of. The next and final DJ to take the stage before the trio was Sebastian Ingrosso’s personal prodigy and perhaps one of the fastest rising producers in the progressive house game, Alesso As expected, his set was massive and it was at this point that the night really became full-blown spectacle.
As 10PM quickly approached and Alesso wrapped up his set, the trademark white tarp slowly raised in front of the stage as we waited anxiously for the time to finally come. Right on cue, all remaining lights in the festival dimmed to black as random images of different locations around the world and Los Angeles flashed on the screen with a dark ominous composition of sounds played in the background. As the tarp dropped and the extraordinary instrumental track “Greyhound” pulsed through the massive speakers. This intense entrance could only be seen to be believed as the strong emotions from the crowd were felt through the static air. It appeared as though the stage’s full blown pyrotechnics and laser display had been saved for their performance exclusively because the production during these incredible two hours was something that could be compared with the production of some of the world’s largest music festivals. The most unifying moments throughout the set was without a doubt the many massive sing alongs that took place as everyone locked arm in arm belting out the lyrics to some of their most popular song’s and remixes one final time. The remix of “Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall,” “Teenage Crime,” Daft Punk’s “Around The World,” and of course “Save The World Tonight,” were some of the most goosebump worthy moments this night provided, as the crowd’s screaming voices at times seemed to overpower the pounding bass. Before we could blink an eye the last ten minutes ominously approached as almost every song we could possibly ever hope for was played out. The final minutes of this moving set was filled with what felt like an endless mix of “Don’t You Worry Child” and “Save The World,” and we hoped it would never end. After their last final goodbyes and thank you, they walked off stage to the acoustic mix of “Don’t You Worry Child,” as a very nice message from the boys came in the form of scrolling credits thanking everyone who made this wonderful journey that is Swedish House Mafia possible. Although at times Swedish House Mafia has been criticized for being too commercial, the fact is that Axwell Steve Angello and Sebastian Ingrosso have very much been a long time contributing factor to introducing many current EDM fans to the scene and opening our eyes to the wonders this music provides. On behalf of Los Angeles, and all of Southern California for that matter, I would just like to say thank you Swedish House Mafia for the memories you have created that will surely stick with us for a lifetime. To close, I will leave you with the mantra that was flashed on the main screen many times throughout the night. “We Came. We Raved. We Loved.”
– Photos Courtesy of CollegeChickoftheDay.com
– SHM Masquerade Motel LA Tracklist
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