CRSSD Festival 2.0: Celebrating paradise on the waterfront
San Diego’s CRSSD Festival, which debuted in March with a sold-out crowd of about 15,000 over two days, returned strong the weekend of Oct. 10-11, featuring a hybrid of indie bands, DJs, and electronic music producers. Present again were three stages, gourmet food trucks and craft beer, all in the picturesque bayfront setting of Waterfront Park.
The event, which is 21-and-older and discourages rave gear, offers a more mature and classier take on the SoCal electronic festival scene. Having fixed nearly all of its freshman problems from earlier in the year, CRSSD, an incarnation of San Diego promoters FNGRS CRSSD, was undoubtedly aided in this improvement by their co-producers, Goldenvoice. Welcome to CRSSD 2.0.
After the problems that plagued the first CRSSD, it was a relief to see that all of the hiccups were cured. The people spoke and CRSSD listened. This time, will call and media check-in was moved to the northeast corner where there was far more space, proving to immensely help the line disaster of last time. With memories of waiting an upward of 4 hours just to pick up credentials and wristbands, it’s mind-blowing to think that will call wasn’t placed here in the first place.
The internal set-up too was improved, with free water and multiple port-a-potty locations spread throughout the venue. While there were lines at both, neither was any worse than is expected from a festival. Traveling about the festival certainly had a better flow this time, giving attendees more time to focus on who to see. This became the real challenge of the weekend. With so much top-notch talent, there was incredible overlap. However, if you’re going to have complaints, too much choice is not a bad one to have.
The second incarnation of CRSSD only had two real setbacks: the prices of food and beverage and the massive and obvious police presence. There were so many more pressing problems at the last event, that the cost of food and beverage wasn’t even worth mentioning. This time however, the deep hole in wallets after just a couple of hours couldn’t be ignored. It was blistering hot and people wanted to drink. It’s safe to say that the event made a killing, taking advantage of the overheated attendees.
While the exorbitant price of food and beverages was annoying, even for San Diego, the real disturbance of the weekend was the incredibly large police presence. It’s one thing to feel safe in your surroundings, it’s another altogether to feel like you’re living in a police state. For an event that is 21-plus with an 11 p.m. curfew, it all seemed a bit overkill. Tip for next year: more plain shirt security guards and less herds of officers.
What CRSSD unquestionably gets right, is the music. For the second time in a row, there was a lineup of some of the finest well-rounded electronic musicians on the planet. The heart of this festival lies in the balancing act between well-curated main stage attractions and lesser known “underground” performers on the secondary stages. While the main stage offers you consistency and familiarity, it’s the Palms and City Steps stages that continue to surprise you hour after hour. The era of main stage dominance has come and gone.
Top 5 Performances of the Weekend, in order of appearance, but first another photo gallery, this one from Glen Ayrton Silva:
The Flaming Lips at CRSSD Fest (Photo by Glen Aytron Silva)
Bob Moses at City Steps
There are times you follow the beat like your ancient ancestors, tribal, primal, in the moment. Bob Moses comes, parts the Red Sea of people, and absolutely leads the way. I didn’t even try to make it to the beginning of Zhu’s set. To see the duo of Tom Howie and Jimmy Vallance gather a crowd of devotees at sunset, pulling from all corners of the festival, is to have a religious experience.
Jamie xx at the Palms
Standing underneath towering palm trees, full pirate ship regalia hovering in the distance, Jamie XX served as a perfect transition between the shamanic trance of Bob Moses and the psychedelic cartoon dance party of the Flaming Lips. The crowd at CRSSD was in such a frenzy, it was almost hard to leave for the Lips. Almost.
The Flaming Lips at Ocean View Live
What needs to be said? Wayne Coyne and the Flaming Lips never disappoint. Both times I’d seen them in the past, I had hoped he’d come into the crowd in the famous bubble and was disappointed. This time however, I was not. Replete with costumed animals dancing about the stage, the madness was a perfect way to end Night 2.
Kygo at Ocean View Live
After seeing Thomas Jack, arguably one of the forerunners of the tropical house movement, perform at both CRSSD and the famed Woogie Stage at Lightning in a Bottle, there was no way I was missing Kygo. While many of the highlights on this list are more memorable than Kygo, his juicy set at sunset on the main stage could serve as the underlying theme of the entire weekend: celebrating paradise.
Nicolas Jaar at the Palms
From Lightning in a Bottle in 2013 to Coachella in 2014 and now to CRSSD in 2015, I never miss a Nicolas Jaar set. This guy has earned his headliner position. At a festival of this size, Jaar’s diverse deep house is the closest one can get to the vibes that frequent the smaller niche festivals like Lucidity and Desert Hearts. Back at the Palms, there was no better way to close out the end of CRSSD’s beautifully executed Round 2. Even if it meant missing the beloved Maya Jane Coles.