Lovefest 2006 hit San Francisco hard on Saturday, September 23. From the start of the parade at 2nd and Market to the end of the afterparty at the Bill Graham Civic Center Auditorium, we had over 16 hours music being performed by some of the best DJs in the world (or even more than that if you headed to the End Up for the after-afterparty). You can hardly count all the big names that came through. We had Paul Oakenfold, Christopher Lawrence, Bad Boy Bill, DJ Rap, Dieselboy, Junkie XL, Lee Burridge, Above & Beyond, Benny Benassi, Donald Glaude, and the legendary Grandmaster Flash.
And that doesn't even count the hundreds of other crazy talented crews, DJs, and performers that helped turn San Francisco into one giant party.
We also had San Francsico residents. With Lovefest coming on the heels of Burning Man, we had a city primed and ready for another major event. Circus performers, dancers, stilt-walkers, and other performers came out to add to the crowds of party people, hipsters, clubbers, ravers, and tourists. The varied crowd was amazingly peaceful too - outside of the occasional drunk there seemed to be a sort of harmony among the crowd.
After the sun set there were dozens of after parties to choose from. We checked out the official afterparty massive at the Bill Graham Civic Center Auditorium. With an all-star lineup and huge venue it turned out to be an insane party. Compared to 2005 there were easily twice as many people in attendance...it was the first time in years I've gotten such a crazy vibe from a show.
The enormous main room was dedicated mostly to trance, while two side rooms played house/progressive and drum'n'bass. And the lighting! I was blown away by the visuals in the main room - that was one of the best setups I've seen in a long time. Check out the soon to be posted video to see it in action.
If you're in the Bay Area around this time in 2007 I highly recommend you come out for next year. The only other party I can think of that compares to this is Movement (formerly DEMF - the Detroit Electronic Music Festival).
Check out the Lovefest gallery here
Check out the Lovefest Afterparty gallery here
