The best memories are sometimes unintentional

2018 was a year for me to save money so I made the conscious decision to skip this year’s USC Events Lucky 2018. Though bummed out, I knew it was a good financial decision; but some close friends bought me a ticket because they just couldn’t imagine having such a good time without me which ended up one of the most memorable night I’ve had to date.

Once in, I was just on time for Jauz’s opening as a female voice counted up from ’10 to 100 percent’ into an instant frenzy of electro bass house music. I was running between different stations around the main stage as I was drifting in and out of the soul of the set. Out of the corner of my eye, I was zoned into a collage of purple and yellow lights as the Jauz logo displayed boldly among rainbow lasers. The notable visuals were collages of different neon colors in the form of geometric shapes and grids, where one my favorite was when the camera was panning through a grid mountain range as a sunset dissipated in the background.

Afterward, we went on to catch Rusko. I was super excited to see him because he had taken some time away from performing and it was one of my main priorities. The trek between stages was dense since everyone was just as excited to enter the Leprechaun’s Lair. I had to sit in the back of the room while hearing the heavy reggae bass that Rusko is so well-known for. Unfortunately, the place was so crowded that it was impossible to get closer to the stage. After being bumped into a multitude of times I decided to excuse myself and meet my squad in Clover Park. The place was still as beautiful as last year’s as it was adorned with giant pegboards, pretty lights and different activities alike.

We returned back to the bass cave since and got mid room as Black Tiger Sex Machine asked the holy question, “Are you all ready to attend church?!”. The crowd screamed in pleasure as BTSM immediately started throwing down that heavy bass with beaming lasers protruding to the back of the room. Red lights flashed all over the screens while “Religion” played with sounds of screaming bears and smashing bass. After missing out on a proper BTSM experience the first two times, I finally was able to find the answers to my prayers.

As soon as ‘church’ came to a close, we were all ready for one of our highlights of the night, GETTER. I knew from my one previous experience that he would be nothing short of amazement. From the immediate start of his set, he started with his trademark melting face visuals. He played some great mixes of his newer songs and even some of his own rapping. My favorite moment of the night is when he played a special remix of Inhalant Abuse and the people around started to groove in motion together as the acidic rhythm waved us back and forth. GETTER has failed to impress me both times previously and I hope he makes the decision to stick it through in the EDM scene because he’s quite an asset.

We hung out shortly for Wasted Penguinz and quickly migrated to the main stage to catch Flux Pavilion. The first time I saw him, I wasn’t as focused on the set and not remembering made it all the better. Flux‘s swirls of neon colors reminiscent of splattering paint captivated me as the entire crowd radiated nothing but pure groove and good vibes. Everyone was having a blast as he played many of his hits but my favorite part was when he played Cut Me Out, since he released it shortly after I saw him last. The multiple screens flashed strobes of lit as confetti shot throughout the room. Everyone soared to the sounds of the music as the night slowly drew to a perfect close.

This year’s Lucky was much more memorable to me than last year’s for a large number of reasons. The music and production were extremely superb and USC seemed to have put better effort on this event. There was a small hand of shortcomings but I’m glad to be around to see what the events are evolving into.

Lucky 2018 changed my view of Lucky entirely and because of that, you’ll definitely catch me at the end of the rainbow next year.  

-Jeffrey Davis