Review: Paradiso Festival at The Gorge Amphitheater

July 3, 2012 By 2,218 Comments

USC Events celebrated their 15th anniversary on June 23rd by producing Paradiso Festival at the Gorge Amphitheater in Quincy, Washington. The festival attracted a crowd of almost 20,000 people, making Paradiso the largest electronic event held at the Gorge to date. With twelve hours of music and three stages, carnival rides, dozens of acrobats, giant crowd surfing balls, and stilted performers, Paradiso was a total sensory immersion into the realm of electronic music. The main stage hosted massive DJs from all over the world including Afrojack, Knife Party, Above and Beyond, Avicii, and many more. Huge ribbons of LED panels swirled around the DJ booth which was suspended 15 feet above the stage. In addition to the electronic visuals, the scenery of the Gorge provided breathtaking views of the Colombia River, including a gorgeous sunset over the Cascade Mountains during sets by Avicii and Quintino. It is easy to say that the combination of geography, weather, and lights secured perfect raging conditions this past weekend.

 

In addition to mind blowing music and aesthetics, the vibes radiating from each festival attendee were full of joy and love. Paradiso had the friendliest atmosphere of any massive electronic event in the Pacific Northwest this year. All people present came with the mindset to have a good time and enjoy the day. Though accusations of the music all sounding the same and frequent questioning of who the DJ on stage was could be heard through the crowd, each person present had an excellent time regardless of their musical knowledge. The star of the day was Quintino, the electrohouse DJ responsible for popular bangers such as Epic and We Gonna Rock. Quintino was joined onstage by infamous Dutch DJ Afrojack, who kept his presence secretive until the end of the set. Quintino’s set on the Digital Oasis stage coincided with Avicii’s set on the main stage, resulting in a crowd of diehard bassheads dancing with all their might to triple buildups and massive drops.

Paradiso was a complete electronic experience of massive proportions. The thousands of haggard people leaving the festival exited beneath a giant banner reading “Paradiso Festival: See You Next Year!” USC Events will nonetheless be producing another extraordinary EDM festival at the Gorge next summer which will be even more impressive than the last. Can’t wait that long for the next massive to hit the PNW? Stay tuned for more info on USC Event’s annual Freaknight Festival on October 26th at Wamu Theater in Seattle.

Written by: Catherine Couture


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