I found myself fortunate enough to arrive in Las Vegas a full 24 hours before the Electric Daisy Carnival started Friday night, leaving Thursday night open. My first stop? Hakkasan nightclub inside the MGM Grand, to see Hardwell headline a show with Dannic and Dyro supporting, as well as Michael Woods in a 2nd room. A very strong lineup, I was excited to check out such a famous club, and I arrived during Dannic’s set. You enter the venue amidst commotion and crowds of people and eventually find yourself being escorted up an elevator to the floor of your choosing. There was the smaller and less crowded lower floor where Michael Woods was putting together an awesome set, and then two floors above it. The first was the half-circular shaped main floor with multiple bars, the DJ booth and the entire dance floor area. The above floor was a balcony with great views of the floor below. Unfortunately, this prime EDC week event was incredibly crowded and I found it difficult to move at even the farthest regions of the club. This made enjoying the music and taking in the full experience of the venue very difficult, at least in my opinion. I witnessed Dannic throw down a strong supporting set that kept the energy going for a while, then brought it down for 20-30 minutes, wherein he brought it back strong and finished with a bang. You could tell the crowd was clamoring for the main event, Hardwell the 25 year old superstar DJ/ producer from Holland. While I did not get to witness the whole set, what I saw was a strong performance from a noteworthy DJ, playing classics like “Spaceman” “Apollo” and “Zero 76.” On my way out I stopped to enjoy some of Michael Woods on the lower floor, and then departed through the Casino floor to the next stop of the night.
