It's funny to realize that a place in the mountains that attracts countless people every season also happens to lack an overwhelming amount of culture and major events that are geared toward people of all ages. It's a hard choice; would you rather have the mountains, or the happenings of the city? I guess the right answer here is mountains, but it's definitely healthy to head out and experience the crazyness of a real city sometimes. There's a few things that my hometown of Los Angeles has that my favorite bubble of Whistler does not. One of these things is something I value very much, and that is a solid music scene.

I hadn't been down in years. I had so much to catch up on. Family, doctor's appointments, drivers tests, you name it. The point is, I had to go back down whether I wanted to or not. The funny thing is, I didn't really like the idea of going back to the big city until I got there. Finally I have the freedom to enjoy what it truely has to offer and am no longer limited to what I can do down there. Last time I actually lived down there was when I was too young to go out and do stuff on my own. Time has flown by and damn have things changed.

 So I arrived late Sunday night and immediatley went to bed at my Dad's office apartment. The next day I got up and explored the city streets for a bit and got bored fast. I sat at the apartment until about 8:00pm when my first activity had begun.

I arrived at the Roxy at 9, and there was little to no line. Now you're probably thinking, "how the hell did this kid even get into a venue in the USA?" Well the answer is, these shows are all ages even at the clubs, but if you're under 21 you gotta buy a $3 drink ticket for sodas at the door.  Not bad right? The club was awesome and really compact. Even though it's not as upscale as the surrounding venues, it sure beats all of the places back here in Whistler. I caught a little bit of the opening act, but I was in for a huge treat when the Tenderlions hit the stage. I hadn't heard of these guys before the show, but they made me an instant fan. At first, I thought I was about to watch a DJ set, but I was very wrong. Tenderlions consists of Evan Atkinson and John Bryars. Evan runs the digital mixer and turn tables and John rocks the drums. They play similar to what you'd hear at a sweet electro show but a million times more elaboate and energetic. They transformed the growing crowd into a full on dance party. After they ended I ran out back to see if I could meet the guys. I was in luck and found them loading their gear. Being the nice guy I am, I helped them pack up and in return they took me up to the lengendary Roxy backroom. I got their contact info and you can expect the full interview sometime soon! Anyways,  the headliners, The Midnight Juggernauts began their set. I had pretty high expectations for them and they definitely played well. My only issue was that they played their biggest hits much differently than usual, which was interesting, but it personally made it a bit disappointing in a way. Either way, the show was rad.

 I grabbed the setlist as soon as they pulled the curtains down.

So after a fun first night back in town, I spent the next few days enjoying the city lifestyle and looking around. I even got in touch with some old friends I grew up going to school with who I haven't seen in about 5 or 6 years! I visited my old school and hung out with my old friends and even met a few new ones. We all got tickets for the weekend Halloween festival, HARD Haunted Mansion. This is a two night annual party in downtown LA at the Shrine Auditorium.

A few long days passed and the first night of HARD arrived. I made my way to dowtown, through the masses of weird people in crazy costumes, and reached the front of the mainstage with the entire sold out crowd behind me. The first act of the night was A-Trak.  He comes from Montreal and plays live mixing and also knows a thing or two about turntables.

Next was the Bloody Beetroots; the new school electro gods from Italy. I have never been to an electro show where it felt like a punk show and the crowd went nuts!

I took a break after these guys and bought some over-priced drinks and chilled out. I came back to the front just in time for the world famous 2ManyDJs. This act consists of the two brothers of indie dance legends Soulwax. What made this set awesome was that they animated the album art of whatever track they were mixing to up behind them on the big screen.

To get an idea of what I'm talking about, watch this:

I left the place after their show and got back to the apartment around 3:30am. I slept as much as I could the next day and did pretty much nothing. I went to a pre-party at my buddys place for dinner and we all went to the second big night of HARD. Some of the highlights include...

Steve Aoki and Crookers

Major Lazer

and last but not least, JUSTICE

Long story short, that was the hardest I've partied in a long time and I'm extremely fortunate to have witnessed some of the best electronic acts in one place. Only in a big city like LA do things like this annually occur, and that is exactly why you should get out and do a big city trip if you need a little break from your local bubble. Trust me, its totally worth it! I can't wait to go back, but I am even more excited for snow now that I'm back home in Whis. I know where I'll be next Halloween...

Catch you later

- Cooper