Aside from the fact that 2014’s Escape: All Hollow’s Eve was my very first electronic music festival, there are many reasons why this event holds a dear place in my heart as the best rave in southern California. The atmosphere is incredible, the NOS Events Center is extremely easy to navigate, and Halloween is in full gear. Rebranded as Escape: Psycho Circus, the festival follows the classic Insomniac theme of Wonderland but with a horrifying twist. Headliners come dressed to the nines and ready to dance the night away with familiar faces and new friends. Top it all off with a stellar lineup of artists and you get hands down the best festival experience in the area.
While every event has its downsides, the flaws of Escape: Psycho Circus are easily overlooked by the impressive scale of production that can be seen all around the festival. Attention to detail is absolutely stunning, as can always be expected from Pasquale Rotella and the team at Insomniac Events. The name itself is more than just a compilation of words: there is a whole section dedicated to making headliners feel like they are at an actual circus, featuring bizarre sights and circus rides. The mainstage was huddled under a massive circus tent this year, which had its ups and downs. Overall, decor was at its finest and nothing fell short of my expectations.
This year was also unique in the sense that the company went all out for their haunted maze. Rather than having two small walk-throughs, they created an incredibly immersive experience like no other. Anyone daring enough to enter the Escape Asylum is saddled up in a strait jacket and challenged to free themselves from a 30-room haunted house full of tantalizing terrors and all of your worst nightmares. While I was regrettably unable to make it through the massive line for the attraction, I have no doubts that it was a fantastically frightening experience unparalleled by any of their previous haunted houses.
But of course, everyone’s favorite aspect of the Psycho Circus is the incredible talent it brings every year. Kaskade, Eric Prydz, Tchami and Dash Berlin all threw down with massive sets that took headliners on spiritual and emotional journeys. As basic as it sounds, I thoroughly enjoyed raging to Tiesto and The Chainsmokers because I had never seen either of them prior to this weekend. Not to be overshadowed by their more experienced seniors, newcomers like BlackGummy, Joyryde, and Kayzo helped pump up the crowd and get the night started. Needless to say, the lineup was spook-tacular and flawless in all ways.
This year especially, the crew at Insomniac had to prepare for a massive turnout. Seeing as Hard Day of the Dead did not take place, locals flocked to the Escape: Psycho Circus for what turned out to be a completely sold out show. 55,000 headliners filled the venue each night and payed homage to the Halloween festival of the year. While it was incredibly challenging to navigate through crowded stages and walkways, the smiling faces and unique costumes made up for the lack of space. One of the biggest downsides was that the mainstage was fitted under a tent with LED pillars lined throughout the whole stage. Although it looked stunningly beautiful, the pillars distracted from the actual stage and made it feel much more crowded than it should have. In that sense, I feel like Insomniac should have planned better. Still, that minor detail was not enough to take away from the magnificence of the whole experience.
Overall, I give this year’s festival a 10 out of 10. From the music to the decor and all of the unique experiences offered, I would not have traded this experience for any other Halloween festival in the nation. Insomniac never fails to impress me with this wonderfully curated event. I look forward to returning to the Psycho Circus and seeing what terrifying twists and turns the Insomniac team has in mind for 2017.
