The tour formerly known as Dayglow is making 2012 the year it demands to be taken seriously. The name change is just the beginning. While the gimmick (or attraction, depending on how you look at it) hasn’t changed, the announcement of 2012’s 30-date The E.N.D. (Electronic Never Dies) tour has brought excitement far beyond what just the paint can, with exciting young stars like Tommy Trash, Felix Cartal, and Sunnery James & Ryan Marciano and big name DJ’s like Steve Angello, Dada Life and Bingo Players, all joining the ranks of veterans like Sander Van Doorn, Laidback Luke, Axwell, Chuckie and Benny Benassi, to name a few.
Though Dayglow/Life In Color has always seemed a little too – I don’t know – juvenile for me, when I thought more about it, maybe that’s not the case. I had a conversation with a friend of mine recently and the topic of Sensation had come up, specifically the announced Sensation Innerspace dates coming up at the end of October at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY. When talking about who we thought might appear in the lineup, my friend told me something interesting from his experience. When Sensation travels to the almost 20 countries it hosts parties in, the lineup is not paramount but rather the experience. Sensation parties are supposed to be some of the best in the world but not because of the big names they get to play there. People willingly go, no questions asked, knowing that whoever plays, the show will be something you will never forget. It’s an odd concept to us Americans who have become completely used to picking what shows and festivals to go to based almost entirely on who’s playing (and, ironically, get mad when David Guetta, among others, is accused of just “pressing play” on stage). Surely any DJ worth his weight can get up there and play good music, maybe even some stuff we’ve never heard before, right? Yep. And when good music is accompanied by stimulating visuals, great sound and other experience-enhancing aspects present at Sensation-type parties (Barstool Blackout, anyone?), does it really matter who’s playing? No, it doesn’t.
So, while I may be guilty of my motivation to see names like Tommy Trash or Felix Cartal throw down again, I now am prepared to go to Life In Color with the understanding that it is an experience. The paint part, as gimmicky as it sounds, is probably going to make for an experience like I’ve never had at an electronic show before, whether that be for better or for worse. But like they say, you can’t knock it ’till you try it. And as long as I know the music’s going to be good, there’s no place I’d rather be anyway. If you’ve never been to Dayglow, don’t get me wrong, I understand your reasons. I’ve never been for many of the same reasons I’m sure. Something tells me, though, that if there ever were a time to give it a shot, it’s this tour. Plus, my nether regions cannot ignore an opportunity to see scantily-clad girls wearing at most a paint-soaked white T-shirt. Click through for the creepy yet cool promo video and all the info you need on dates and tickets!
All the info and tickets are available through Life In Color’s website. Pertinent dates for most of our readers are as follows (sorry CO, none for you):
- Sunday September 16th – R3hab, Bassjackers and David Solano @ Governors Island, New York, NY
- Monday September 17th – Felix Cartal and David Solano @ House of Blues, Boston, MA (Gballz will be there!)
- Tuesday September 18th – Bassjackers and David Solano @ House of Blues, Boston, MA
- Friday September 21st – Tommy Trash and Brass Knuckles @ Sovereign Center, Reading, PA (I’ll be at this one!)
- Saturday September 22nd – Dirty South and Brass Knuckles @ Festival Pier, Philadelphia, PA
