From 8pm until 6am June 27-28, Massive Intent hosted Future Fest: a huge electronic playground for colorful characters and DJs alike. Big names in electronic music like Eddie Halliwell, Dieselboy, ATB, DJ Dan, and Bassbin Twins took turns cranking tunes through a sound system that shook the whole Expo Center.

The places was packed to the brim with scantily clad jailbait, lines were long, bass pumped, and glowy instruments of all shapes and sizes were flung through the air. Here’s a quick breakdown of the good, bad, and funny from Future Fest.

The Good
The sights and sounds. Massive Intent put on a hell of a show in the main arena. No expense was spared here; the music was clear yet intense and lasers/assorted lighting goodies were dazzling and well used. The music is the most important thing and they definitely got it right.

The dancing and general sense of happiness. “Rave” has a lot of negative connotations, but people just looked like they were having fun. It could have been that everyone was on E (and there were plenty of people who were), but smiles weren’t in short supply and almost everyone was dancing. This is quite a contrast with a Saturday night at Mohawk where hipsters stand around and check their iPhones while the band plays.

All of the random people that wanted their picture taken. There are plenty of pictures to come of the various entertaining guys and gals at Future Fest.

The Bad

Eight dollar parking, five dollar Budweisers, etc. This is a pet peeve. People pay as much as $50 (or $100 for VIP) for a ticket and then the real spending starts.

The will-call line to get your tickets was ridiculous. It took me 20 minutes to pick up my passes in the VIP line (Thanks to Jimmy at Massive Intent for the hook-up!) with only a handful of people in front of me. There were three other lines for general admission sorted by name. FIRST name. Everyone lined up in their line, assuming they were sorted by last name, you know, the standard. Then they got to the front after spending who knows how long in the heat only to find out they were in the wrong line. The poor ticket booth people were running around frantically and this was a huge misstep.

The Funny

The outfits people wear are infinitely entertaining at a rave. More pictures to come!

The girl that walked up to me, nostrils silver from huffing paint, asking if I was Nick. After I assured her I was not, she caressed my face and asked if I was sure. Then she asked if I knew Nick. I said I did not. She took a step back, flared her metallic nostrils, snapped “you don’t know NICK!?“, and stormed off.

The “model”. A buff, shirtless guy stopped and started talking to me like we were old friends. He told me how he does some modeling and dances at a gay bar but assured me he wasn’t gay. Sure buddy, whatever. Can I go now? He requested I take a picture of him and asked for my card. He was taken aback when he found out I write a music blog, as if I were supposed to be a famous fashion photographer there to take pictures of him. Also, he had the audacity to ask me if I was rolling.

All in all, the night was fun and eventful. Massive Intent puts on a great show and I’m definitely looking forward to doing it again.