Buzz on November 5th, 2010

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The HARD Haunted Mansion last weekend was a tale of two stages.

A typically (for a HARD event) insane lineup brought out the costumed masses to the Shrine Auditorium, and the two-night, Halloween-appropriate event rewarded the early arrivals and the well-prepared.

||| Photo galleries by Kristy Sparow

Yes, it took up to an hour and a half to get inside the venue, and another 15 to 20 minutes to negotiate the switchbacks between the indoor and outdoor stages. But if you came ready (i.e., with the set times in hand, since there were no printed schedules on hand), you got a lot of dance-music candy in your bag – 25-plus artists performed over two nights, including the legendary Underworld and surprise guests Miike Snow on Sunday.

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The energy was tactile throughout the Shrine as zombies and naughty bunnies shuffled side by side.  Masters of electronica deftly maneuvered thousands of frisky revelers as if their dirty beats were marionette strings. Life should always be so good.

Busy P graciously filled in with a multi-hour opening set for a few artists who had international visa issues.  The Bloody Beetroots played to a teary-eyed assemblage – half of which were there to see them again, and the other half vowing in hushed tones to see them again. Crookers, Rusko and Fake Blood rounded out the varied listening styles, laying a solid foundation for the house that House (and dubstep/grindcore/electroclash) built.

Calvin Harris devastated the throng shock-and-awe Awe style, while Underworld showed the kids how it all started. Booka Shade, fresh from San Francisco and Dallas the two previous nights, brought their trademark stand-up drumming/tech house collaboration to mix things up.

And Flying Lotus and Miike Snow struck the crowd with Dr. Frankenstein’s fabled bolt of electricity, immediately resurrecting all the ghouls languidly lounging near the walls and on the outskirts into fits of extreme otherworldly gestures.