Picking where to rave on New Year’s Eve can seem like a daunting task. Especially, when the choices are as long as a CVS receipt. Thankfully, mega-promoters like Insomniac make the choice a whole lot easier with massive parties that accommodate a diverse line-up to satisfy my assortment of interests across the electronic music spectrum.
The newly-minted Insomniac party where I celebrated the new year was Forever Midnight at the Convention Center in downtown Los Angeles. The very southwest corner of the city center to be exact. A vast space that normally plays host to an array of massive events such as the annual auto show. Or, on occasion, Tony Robbins! Insomniac’s Forever Midnight clearly needed to make a statement.
The humongous halls were wisely separated in the interest of sound bleed but unfortunately, the acoustics didn’t help the cause. Reverberated beats overpowered nearly any treble emanating from either stage.
The festivities began for yours truly at the Forever Stage hosted by Factory 93 with an easy, steady dose of Kaytranada which again was sadly overpowered with excessive reverb. His private edit of Beyonce’s “Cuff It’ couldn’t even save the set. Off to the Midnight Stage I went where one Martinez Brother went back to back with Jamie Jones before being followed up with a rousing set from dance music’s fantabulous duo, ANOTR. The guys behind “Relax My Eyes” who took us all by surprise in 2023. Their nearly two hour set brought the house down with bangers both old and new including Wallace‘s “Ayo!.” Armand Van Helden’s remix of “ADD SUV,” and of course, their one and only centerpiece, “Relax My Eyes.”
Solomun took over shortly thereafter with a countdown set that stumped even the best trainspotters with plenty of classic, prog-house mixed in with a ton of unreleased tunes that’ll probably end up on Diynamic sometime soon.
The Convention Center is a massive spot that easily takes care pf capacity issues but sadly, it’s a trade-off for inferior sound. One can only hope that Forever Midnight finds a better space suited for sound quality next New Year’s Eve.
