The OC Pacific Festival went off without a hitch in the heart of Costa Mesa at Triangle Square, ALL PICTURES ARE UP!

We had a chance to check out Pacific Festival in Costa Mesa over Labor Day weekend and the lineup consisted of Miami Horror, Steve Aoki, The Sounds, Classixx, Them Jeans, Casette, Dan Sena, Chiddy Bang Bang, Rob Roy and much  more. The musical acts, the food and drinks, and kick-ass Southern California weather made for a formidable experience. Even the infamous Jesse James and Kat Von D made their relationship official by appearing publicly together at the festival! It was nice to see a diverse mix of people gathered for the sole purpose of amazing music and drinking. Besides awesome music, everyone had access to a wide variety of good eats and beverages at the event.

Miami Horror made their U.S. debut and I was blown away by their sound, especially live. Right when they took the stage, they showed enthusiasm and their fun stage presence translated into audience excitement. They got the audience roaring and dancing, even when The Sounds were the headliners. For their first performance in the states, it was incredible and I would not be surprised if they headlined an event in the near future.

Unlike Miami Horror, this was The Sound‘s last live performance in the states before they head back to Sweden to work on their upcoming fourth album. Usually by the last stop, most artists tend to be burnt out from touring but The Sounds were not. Their energy and passion on stage surely made a lasting impression on every attendee there and they definitely delivered. Looking forward to the next album!

Finally to the main event: Steve Aoki. Stage diving, spraying champagne into the crowd, jumping around stage, screaming into the mic, Chiddy bang, insane stage lighting, and paper confetti blasting into the audience? Yeah, just another Steve Aoki show. The event was nowhere close to over when Aoki’s set ended, it was just the start of the evening. After Aoki’s build up, a lot more artists performed throughout the night and our friend Dan Sena dropped his newest track which got the crowd in a total rage.

All in all, it was a great event and something new. Orange County is already limited to music concerts and to have a festival (which hosts like 50+ artists) is something unheard of here! The crowd was great, heard some new bands, drank lots, and partied hard. Will we be seeing any more festivals in the near future? I hope so.

I spy Heist & Co.

Full gallery available after the jump!

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Miami Horror took the stage and even more people gathered around just to get close to these handsome Aussie rockers. Since they didn’t spend time with a sound check, the mix was a little funky on the first song with the vocals overpowering all the other sound, but by their next song, everything was worked out and I was blown away by the playful 80’s vibe and musicianship of these guys. Their songs are always some incarnation of guitar, drums, bass, and a pair of keyboards, but who’s playing what is totally up in the air. They kept trading instruments like some musical do-si-do, but it was the singer’s vibrancy and the versatility of their set that captivated the audience and I. His enthusiasm and stage presence translated into audience excitement and by the time they brought out the cowbells, I was totally smitten. After all, there’s no such thing as too much cowbell. The drummer kept everything right in the pocket musically, and the singer got the audience to roar as he scaled the scaffolding on the right side of the stage. The smell of beer and cigarettes was concentrating around me, but it wasn’t altered states of consciousness that had everyone hooked on these cute, emaciated-looking rock hipsters from half a world away. Their sound was the perfect mix of all the musical stylings that we got in day one of Pacific Festival: sparkly, fun electro pop and all the raw excitement of a good electric guitar solo. Even though The Sounds were supposed to be a bigger attraction, they had a lot to live up to after Miami Horror’s set.
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