Written by Sal Scot
With cupid showering arrows across the valley, Crush cranked-up ravers with ratchet beats until coasting them across the moon with the likes of Seven Lions.
Shadows spread across the landscape; its fingers seeping into roses halted solely by the flicker of an idle candle. What once seemed to be only a fairytale angel with heart-tipped roses manifests itself. Your hands intertwine – eyes locked – BOOM as you hit that gas and race down the I-17 to CRUSH Music Festival. Get ready roses turn to ratchets as Peking Duk, Jauz, and Keys n’ Krates crank your heart into a valentines day muscle car.
HOW TO GET THERE
Taking over as the edm event frontrunner, Raw Hide packed Frontier Hall like it was Decadence at 1am with an NYE intensity. Located near the outskirts of metro-Phoenix, nearby hotels offer many affordable choices, range from $70-120, the closest of which, Wild Horse Pass Casino. Being 20 minutes south of Sky Harbor Airport – on the boarder of Tempe, and Chandler – travelers can make it from as far away as Tucson, and Flagstaff having 2 1/2 hours being the longest drive. When it comes to getting to the front gate, it’s relegated to mostly driving. Taxi’s cost as little as $5 from a close hotel, to $70 for north Scottsdale. With ride-shares like Uber, and Lyft running at least ten percent cheaper, they might be the best, and most efficient choice.
CAPACITY
Maybe it was the mad rush to mend a broken heart, or the single stage concept, but CRUSH hit Frontier hall like a missile, packing it earlier than Decadence day 1 & 2. Outside lied the aftermath of this bachanalia, a seemigly battlefied with bodies in repose speckling the grass as if their canvass. Entering the warehouse, the field of starry-eyed beatnik circles rationalizes itself in the form of 4 thousand hard-core ground cracking ravers. With VIP, Tables combined on the far end, the entrance wall became the highway for which madness traveled. Being able to walk right up to the stage corner and swing around the whole exterior made this event memorable for those needing to feel in your face intensity.
CROWD
Passing only six weeks since Decadence, the weather heated up as fast as the cloth were ripped off. Headbangers were in heaven and princesses prancing around as bondage pants and bathing suits fit the weather like a glove. Girls wearing the minimum, and bands of roaving sailors might of might of left people looking for the pool, but once those biki-clad babes where tossed on someone’s shoulders, fists in the air the electricity was clear. People came from all walks, making a landscape more like an ASU pool party than an edm event, but with the 70 degree night, the theme wasn’t edm it was living it up in the breaze.
VIP
Unlike Decadence VIP and tables were unified on the far wall with two separate decks, VIP the second closest. With being able to walk right up to the stage VIP wasn’t the most necessary, but provided a great scenery for those wanting a little less crowd, but don’t think you’d escape the energy.
FOOD
While joining the masses exiting the security check, you start to hit the event as your eyes train on trinket to knickknack, to cloths, and drink walking through a variable EDM bazaar. Unlike I’ve seen before party goers had option after option of cloth, like $20 hoodies, jewelry, and from what I had surprisingly good pizza leaving all with no shortage of choices from every tent. Maybe Raw Hide has gotten their legs fully under them, but impressive jump in logistics that changed with security checks, and ticket lines seems to have spread to vendors.
WHAT MAKES IT DIFFERENT
Made to be a smaller event, the one stage centralized the crowd creating a raw energy that surpassed Decadence day one without question. Having the hard beats only broken up by Seven Lions sailing the crowd across the moon until Keys N’ Krates jerked you head first back to reality closing the night out with waves of people hopping through the crowd. Having intense drum and bass sets at the perfect hours of the night set the stage for a captivating night. The usual problem of keeping the intensity at 2am was broken this night shattering any question of the skill that took the decks each set.
Full photo gallery HERE!
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