A Review of Lightning In A Bottle 2014 by Steven “Sloth” Toth

This year’s Lightning in a Bottle took place on a wonderful cloud of floating smiles and excitement. Upon arrival the wait for our wristbands was minimal- taking only a few minutes. Our greeters welcomed us warmly and we were taken by shuttles from car parking to our campsite. Arriving to the festival was exhilarating and the anticipation I had for LIB met its requirements, plus more.

The Woogie stage, my other home while I’m at LIB, looked spectacular. The stage was propped up in a tree like the previous year and the dance floor was overlooked by groovy shade structures that complimented the artistic style that The Do LaB usually portrays.

Thursday nights are typically mellow at Lightning in a Bottle- the only music coming from renegades and campsites. Nonetheless, eager participants flooded the campsites and festival streets. Wondering around, our minds were boggled as to what The Do Lab had in store for us this year. Finally, we found ourselves at The Chocolate Boogie renegade stage to catch Tara Brooks and Lee Reynolds pumping out those funky deep grooves.

Friday morning glowed with spirits fresh, high energy and full-on excitement. The yoga classes were poppin’ off as people aligned their tripods: mind, body and spirit. As much as I love yoga and mindfull well being, I awakened that morning indulging mimosas for breakfast. My Slothy vibes were in full effect and I was ready for some Woogie: round two with Tara Brooks. Not only does she supply bass thumping tech house that vibrates your inner core, but she is also a drop-dead sexy woman . . . I struggled to contain my droolin.

Next up on the Woogie was Maxxi Soundsystem hailing from the UK. His track selection was immaculate as each bass drop enlivened a bounce . . .Did I mention the speakers for the Woogie this year were protruding with pristine sound quality?

The energy then flowed over to The Lightning Stage for The Polish Ambassador’s sunset set. Let me just say, The Polish Ambassador knows how to put on a party! A full-on onesie throw-down was raging on stage, contagiously making the crowd go nuts.

The Glitter Girls came on after The Polish Ambassador and blew my mind with their stage performance. I had not known much of who these lovely girls were, but I praise my ignorance because the surprise was jaw dropping. They’re pretty much a group of highly attractive girls who perform acrobats and twerk to 808 bass while getting half naked. I was in heaven.

As the night made it’s welcoming presence upon the festival, the neon lights and outlandish costumes crawled on the scene – it was time to get furry and weird.  Two notable highlights were Damian Lazarus and Claude VonStroke, each a house music legend that displayed cunning examples of the boundless ways the genre can flow. The party continued into the late night until my body finally crumbled and flopped into my tent like a dead fish.

Saturday morning was just as glorious as the previous morning, but my god was it hot. Our campsite had a giant dome set up with solid speakers. It was time to whip out my laptop and mixer and channel some musical lushness for that early afternoon comfort. After a couple hours of mixing it was time to head to the outer festy lands. Per usual we jolted straight to the Woogie, but this time it was mandatory as the one and lovely Pumpkin was on the decks. It’s hard to imagine an LIB without a proper dose of Pumpkin vibes accompanied by the glimmering sun descending.

Woogie than brought out the “Queen B” of the house game, the beautiful J.Phlip. Booties began to pounce to the low-end rythms that the Dirtybird all-star was wheeling out.

The sun made its departure and the colorful night time visuals of art and light were in full effect all throughout the festival grounds. Once the music cut off on the mainstages we headed back to our campsite where a couple buddies and I DJ’d through the night.

Sunday was mellow yellow as I stayed at the campsite vibing with friends until sundown. As the sun began to take its final bow, we headed over to catch Lee Burridge who was evoking a three-hour journey on the Woogie stage.

Next, I caught Tokimonsta on the Bamboo stage, who intertwined heavy-hitting booty bass with sensual beats. We then shimmied on over to catch Phantogram who was absolutely mind-blowing. A flawless performance of electronic synths, refreshing vocals, and contemplative melodies.

I closed out the festival with The Gaslamp Killer. The dude is absolutely nuts and to be honest I don’t even really know how to explain what he was playing but it was on point, and exerted all the remaining juice I had left.

At the end of it all, LIB was, once again, a beautiful display of humanity. People synchronized in harmony, sharing gifts and joy all because it feels good. The music was phenomenal, the art was inspirational, and the overall atmosphere was like a comfy snuggle.

The Do LaB successfully brought love to the masses and they did it right!

Thank you, thank you, and thank you!

Photos By Chelsea Lawler