Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Tomorrowland 2013 from a Rager's Perspective


So the Tomorrowland Aftermovie was officially released today. I remembered the last two years exactly on this day I was sitting in front of my PC at work thinking "Damn! I need to be there and show them how to rage!" Well this year I actually went, and was part of all the madness. I figured after watching the video, it would be a good opportunity for me to share a few pointers and thoughts for those of you looking to lose your Tomorrowland virginity as well.

If you haven't seen the official 2013 After Movie, click on the link below. It's moving shit just like every year:


My top 15 Recommendations for a Tomorrowland Newb


One: Do Dreamville camping instead of any other accommodation option.  You can setup wherever you want and make new friends!  Hotel people pretty much missed half the fun of the TL experience. How do you guys think I made a train car full of new friends from different countries after losing ALL of the friends I came with?

Came with no friends, left with hook ups in 5 countries
Two: Plan to go for FOUR days of festival. The Dreamville pre party is a rage-a-thon which lasts an entire day. Pretty much come here as soon as you setup your tent.

Three: While are you are at the Dreamville party, grab yourself a drink and keep the plastic cup. You will never get a chance to get another one. Also keep your daily newspapers as memorabilia.  Two of my three copies got destroyed in the rain unfortunately.

Four: BBQ'in or any type of cooking is almost impossible, especially if you are traveling by air. Also who wants to cook when you are hung over. I kept my meals simple, or just bought them at the many dining options available in Dreamville. They actually had pretty good Mexican food believe it or not. Our go to drunk munchies was of course Belgian fries (fries with soaked in ketchup and mayo). 

Five: Rep your country, and rep it hard. Except if you are from Cali, then the Republic of California is your actual country.

Rep your country each and everyday 

Six: When europeans yell "hey.." respond by saying "ho!" It means you are really raging hard to a set with the crowd. Infact, I started a few of my own without even knowing the significance of it.

Seven: They didn't show much of the thunderstorm which pretty much took over day two of the festival. Rain boots and ponchos could be essential since it rains a lot in Boom. Spend a little extra and get yourself a tent that doesn't flood. Also be mindful of where you setup your tent. Some areas at camp are prone to flooding.

Eight: Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, the home town boys ruled the entire weekend. I m not sure where that closing set came from, or if they got outside help on putting it together. It was an epic set that you would expect a Tiesto or Guetta of 2011 to close with. From the Dreamville party to the festival, they made it known that they were the hometown favorites.

Nine: Most of the focus was on the main stage in the video, but there is more to it! Just remember that the main stage 1/15th of the fun you could be having somewhere else. The best rage honestly was discovering a random stage hidden underneath a bridge or just simply following the music with a few friends. (Yes there is a stage underneath a bridge and another one in between a food stand).

Ten: Samsung Galaxy Secret forest was a great place to meet your friends. It's located almost in the direct center of the festival, and also away from the crowded areas.

Eleven: Guys on guy's shoulders. It's perfectly common in Europe. Call it a bro bonding experience.
So many places to get drinks from, theres no reason not to (Elise Loeb)

Twelve: Don't expect to bring a random ratchet with you to The Church of Love. That is what your tent is for. Besides you don't want to catch an STD while you are in Europe.

Thirteen: Since tokens are used throughout the festival and Dreamville, I found it easier to get wasted on that high quality European beer such as Desperados (6% + tequilla) or double fisting Maes Pils which are 3-4 tokens max. While mixed drinks start at 6 tokens, they aren't very strong and run out fast.

Fourteen: Buy a booze bag! It comes with a collectible bag, and a Tomorrowland phone book. Also tokens to get your schwaste started.

Fifteen: Lastly if you are thinking about going, your only realistic shot of getting a ticket is through the Global Journey travel package which gets released before all the other tiers of tickets. General public tickets sell out in 1-2 seconds, so your odds of getting one are slim to none.

Final Thoughts


It's hard to compare Tomorrowland to any of the other fests I have been to in the US, simply because there is nothing like it. I would say hands down it's the best organized festival out there strictly for EDM. Only Coachella can go head to head as far as size and organization, but still it's not an EDM only festival. Tomorrowland's venue is almost twice the size of Coachella. EDC Vegas still is the best EDM festival in the US, but it is about 1/8 the size of Tomorrowland.

We will have to see how TomorrowWorld turns out, but one thing for sure is that you can not duplicate the international rage like you can at TL. Imagine everyone there feeling like they have won the lottery (because it's impossible to get tickets) then raging balls to the walls daily. Also at the sametime people respect one another's cultures and also do their part in taking care of one another. I m glad I embarked on this journey and can't wait to do so again in 2015. To do this right, you do have to plan a year ahead. So I will start my planning again next year. If you guys have any questions feel free to send me a message or email. Those going next year, rage extra hard for me at the 10th Anniversary!

There are more countries then the olympics here! (Elise Loeb)



2 comments:

  1. Love it!!!! Everything you said was so true! Wish every event had a posting like this to read beforehand.

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    1. Hopefully we can go to more rare events and I can post more guides :)

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