I’m not even sure where to start in describing the LovEvolution 2009 festival that took place in San Francisco over the weekend. If I had to sum up my thoughts, I would say it was “Simply Amazing”!

The experience of being at this event was so rich that I’m not going to try to condense it into one post; I’m going to share it in two recaps. (Of course, I should also mention that we’ve got exclusive LovEvolution video and photos coming soon to our blog!)

Sam and I got to San Francisco on Friday evening, just in time to grab dinner and head over to the listed Presents Tyrant party (featuring Lee Burridge and Craig Richards). This was a great way to start the weekend. The tunes were killer, and the crowd’s energy was super positive! (We’ll have a photo gallery from this event for you in the next day or so.)

After wrapping up a fairly late night at the Tyrant party, Sam and I headed back to the hotel for what seemed more like a nap than a real night’s sleep. Before I knew it, my alarm was going off, and we were hustling to get downtown to check in for the LovEvolution parade. As we made our way downtown, we started seeing other partygoers. The weather was shaping up nicely, and you could sense that something big was about to happen.

We got our media credentials and then headed to the listed float. More and more people kept showing up to the area where the floats were parked, and you could feel this strong sense of anticipation and excitement: we were all ready to get on the floats and get the party going!

Eventually, we all got on our respective floats, and the parade got started. As the listed float began its procession, we were being blessed with a barrage of pounding, underground beats being played by DJ Dory! (We’ve got video of this.) I can’t say enough good things about Dory’s DJ-ing; she’s controlled and technically sound, but also not afraid to get dirty!

As we made our way through the streets of San Francisco, I felt like I was in heaven. The sun was shining brightly…the air was the perfect temperature…and I was surrounded by high quality dance music and thousands of people who were lost with me in the tunes! It just doesn’t get much better than that!

As the listed float kept making its way through the streets, the crowd became thicker and thicker. The girls were hot, confidently showing off in their revealing party outfits, feeling emboldened by the music. Everywhere you turned, everybody was getting down! All races and ethnicities, all sexual orientations, all ages, both genders – just a massive crowd of people united by a shared love for quality dance music!

At some point in the procession, I looked over at the DJ booth and saw Dory handing the reins to none other than Naveen G! I knew we were in for a treat. Naveen stepped up in a major way, as he always does, delivering his own unique ilk of proggy, techy, dark, make-you-lose-your-mind kinda tunes! I remember a particular epic build up that Naveen worked into his set…when the beat dropped, I watched one guy surrender to it and start following our float, led uncontrollably by the speakers

As Naveen kept jamming out, we were getting nearer to our stopping point at the Civic Center. The crowd was getting even wilder; I saw people holding on to street posts and dancing, basically losing their minds as we rode past. At some point before we reached the Civic Center, I hopped off the float so I could mingle with the crowd, which (needless to say) made for a very interesting experience…

To Be Continued in Recap (Part 2)…

Eddie B