Concert Review: Kaskade Back In San Diego After Four Years!
By: Annalysa Vasquez. Sleep Train Amphitheater, San Diego. October 2, 2015
On Friday October 5th, the night was filled with energy, happiness, and fun thanks to Kaskade and I will do my best to describe the magic that happened during his show for The Automatic Tour. San Diego was the second stop out of eighteen lucky cities to host the tour to promote Kaskade’s new album Automatic. It has been FOUR years since Kaskade has performed in San Diego during LED’s ID Festival back in 2011, and two years if you count his Redux Tour- although it was only a 21 and up event there was a very limited amount of tickets. So thank the EDM gods for bringing Kaskade back to San Diego!
I have been to many Kaskade shows up and down California since 2011, but I have never experienced his music the way I did at this show. From the stage set up, to the crowd, to the music, to the overall atmosphere- this show is one for the books. Opening up the show was CID followed by Galantis. I can’t really say much about them because it took me almost an hour to get in. I attempted to arrive an hour early so I could get a good spot, but I underestimated how eager attendees were to get inside the amphitheater. That said, I missed CID and caught the end of Galantis’ set. While I was in line, however, I could already feel the energy from the people. Everyone was decked out in their best Kaskade gear, trading kandi’s (those cool handmade bracelets), and talking about all the songs they couldn’t wait to hear. Walking into the venue, you were hit with happiness by seeing all the smiling people rushing to the stage to hear the beautiful sounds coming from the speakers.
There was a sea of people dancing and talking, enjoying the music that was set to play in between Galantis and Kaskade. Then, everything went dark, and the crowd went silent-it was the calm before the storm. Then the crowd went absolutely wild as the opening melody to Kaskades 2008 track “I Remember” started to play which was then mixed into his more recent track “Disarm You” from his new album Automatic. It was the perfect blend of old school Kaskade plus the new school. After those first few moments, the rest of the night was filled with non-stop dancing and emotions. I think I cried at least twice because his music touches my soul so deeply. He played so many tracks it was hard to keep track, but since I am a devoted fan I was able to catch almost all of them. Some of his older music he played included “Eyes,” “Turn It Down,” “Angel On My Shoulder,” “4 am,” and “Room For Happiness.” These are essential songs for any Kaskade playlist and is always a guaranteed hit with any crowd. Some of his newer songs he played were “Disarm You,” “We Don’t Stop,” “Feeling The Night,” and “Last Chance.” Kakskade is brilliant at what he does. He was able to mix his old music with the new, while taking us all on a musical journey with the different styles he incorporated.
Kaskade fused electro house, deep house, and trap. Trap? Yes you read correctly! Kaskade dropped some trap music during his set and the crowd went unbelievably wild. You could see and hear the complete surprise from the crowd when he played a trap remix giving the entire show a whole new dimension. Not only did people get down with trap, people also caught the feels when he played some classic EDM tracks like “Show Me Love” as well as his own tracks like “Its You, Its Me.” When songs like that came on, I looked around the crowd to see everyone interlock fingers and lift their hands to the sky. You could just see all the love that was happening because of Kaskade and his music. It was a truly beautiful sight. But all good things must come to an end.
You know that saying, “always leave them wanting more?” Well that’s precisely what Kaskade did. Everyone, including me, was so enamored by the music that time was not even a concern. It was, however, a concern for the venue being as it was located in a residential area. The show was scheduled to end at 11 p.m., but Kaskade played until 11:45 when the plug was pulled leaving the crowd desperate for more. He was in the middle of a track when everything went silent and the stage lights turned off. It was so abrupt we didn’t even know what was happening. When everyone realized that the show had ended there was a wave of sadness. It was like a bad break-up, instead of having a decent closure with good feelings left to go your separate ways, we were left with no closure wondering what we could have done to make him stay. Ok, that was a little dramatic but you get my point. People refused to leave because they wanted to hear more, so security had to start kicking people out.
All in all, it was an amazing show filled with awesome music and great vibes. Hopefully Kaskade won’t make us wait another four years before he comes back to San Diego. And for those who have yet to see him live, what are you waiting for? It’s an experience you will cherish for life.
To hear some of Kaskade’s music check out his iTunes or Soundcloud page, as well as checking out some of his live sets from Coachella, EDC, and Ultra Music Festival.
https://soundcloud.com/kaskade
https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/automatic/id1029738562 [1]