THIRST 2013
Venue: Sepang International Circuit, Sepang, Malaysia
Date: 14th December 2013
Promoter: Future Sound Asia
Review by: Michelle C.
Special Thanks: Future Sound Asia, Heineken MY, Geometry
Thirst 2013 according to a raver who doesn’t know what Levels is
I’m not a dance music fan (that’s right, “dance music” – what am I, 45?). I went to my first rave because of a ridiculous quarter-life crisis in 2012. I couldn’t tell the songs apart (10 raves on and I still can’t), my ears rung for days after and my body was rendered useless for the next week. But I loved it because dancing like a complete fool is awesome. It also made me feel young, but let’s not go there.
Anyway. I’m not a dance music fan. But I am a huge Madeon fan. So huge, I liked the stuff he produced for Lady Gaga before I even listened to them. The fact that he looks like Greyson Chance doesn’t even make me flinch. So you can tell how Thirst 2013 was going to be different for me.
Before I even make it in, I can already tell the crowd is going to be insane. I can’t be too sure, but I’d say there were about 500,000,000 young ravers trying to inch their way in. Give or take a few, of course. As soon as I make it in (after beating off a minor who wanted to abuse my IC – get your own wrinkles, child), I race towards the Star Arena, where Xu’s signature shaggy do can be seen on stage. Due to his popularity as part of Twilightactiongirl and Lapsap, he’s gathered a decent crowd to jump along to his beats, warming them up for the French prodigy that’s coming up next.
As soon as Xu finishes his set, Madeon steps up to the plate. There he is, in all his boyish glory. While he didn’t attract a massive crowd (I cannot possibly fathom why), the energy in that tent alone could rival that of most major festivals I’ve attended. From the stellar LED display screaming his name in neon lights to the moment all the hipsters lost their shit when he dropped Disclosure and Two Door Cinema Club to Madeon himself rocking out on stage, everything turned into a mishmash of what-the-hell-just-happened, SOMEBODY-HOLD-ME-HE’S-DROPPING-POP-CULTURE and I’ve-died-and-gone-to-heaven-haven’t-I. In my very short but productive raving career, it is safe to say that I’ve never danced so hard before.
With jelly legs and shortness of breath, I stay on for DJ Wire’s set. While I am still recuperating from the best set in the world (some say, at least), I still have enough mental capacity to enjoy his set because classic hip-hop is my jam. The crowd has dispersed significantly to the Green Stage for Afrojack, but hey when someone throws Bob Marley on the decks, I am not one to stand idly by. So I dance as much as my post-Madeon jelly legs allow me. Wire, you’re cool in my book.
Now, I’m excited for W&W. Mostly because I’ve seen David Guetta before (guess who headlined the first ever rave I went to?) but also because I missed them at this year’s A State of Trance. Now, the Star Arena isn’t large by any traditional means. So when you throw an act like W&W there, the reason why 80% of the ravers are there (again, give or take a few percent), you’re going to have a problem. But despite the human traffic, the exponential temperature hike and the negative square meter space you have to dance in, the crowd was relentless. They breathed every drop with a vengeance and howled along to every beat like it was their last. I don’t know what was going on at the Green Stage, but I cannot imagine the same kind of energy bursting through that tent that night.
I still can’t tell any of the songs apart, but now I understand why everyone yelled at me when I showed up late at ASOT. All I can say is, I’m hella glad I caught up.