my HARD’s gone soft

We were required to shut down Hard Summer at The Forum last night by the Los Angeles County Fire Department. They declared the event a “hazard” after seeing concertgoers jumping from the balcony to the floor, along with numerous other potentially dangerous activities. The Inglewood Police Department backed the decision of the Fire Department and assisted in the clearance of the venue.

While we, the promoters, worked with the authorities to consider other options to continue the concert, ultimately they made the decision based on the safety of the concertgoers. We are happy to report that there were no major injuries.

We are offering refunds to all concertgoers.

-The Official HARD Website

anticipation...

The last words said by Hard Officials after a heart wrenching disappointment – HARD was officially shut down by the Los Angeles Fire Department all before midnight.

As I made my way unto the night and into Inglewood for LA’s HARD SUMMER FEST, I could feel the good vibes waving in the air. Candy bracelets here, and fury boots there. The creators of HARD Fest have really built a strong community of loyal fans.

I circled the Forum on foot three to four times, finding lines and lines of people waiting to get in. Finally, I got to will call to pick up my tickets. Now, the wait to get in. In the crowds of lines that didn’t seem to be moving, I suddenly see 50-60 fans  jolt in blurred figures right past me yelling, “RUSH!” They took down one of the fences and bum-rushed the security for a quick and easy way in (I was too slow to react with them).

After an hour, “YES I’M IN. Wait, I missed Crystal Castles?” “No worries, but where’s the music? No one is dancing, everyone’s a bit uneasy, how do I get down to the floor?” -thoughts that crossed my mind after two hours of waiting for Chromeo to come on.

In those few hours, I saw how this night folded out…more after the jump

Continue reading “my HARD’s gone soft” here…

I first tried getting to the floor, but the density of the crowd stopped anyone from inching anywhere. Security had the ports blocked off, but some found that hopping the barricades worked perfectly. I stood in patience waiting for Chromeo and listening to some guy on the microphone telling us to find seats – that the fire marshalls didn’t want us standing. I found mine.

Fire Marshall’s orders. Ha.

Sitting was tiring, so I moved my feet, lost my seat and went to find some water. While sipping on the patio outside , I noticed an entire crew of riot police. Yep, I saw the batons take some guys down. Pretty fucking epic. After that, I found myself being herded outside the exits with everyone else on the patio. Getting kicked out wasn’t my plan for the night, but it was just me being at the wrong place at the wrong time.

uh oh..

I couldn’t really do much else after this, got some pretty sweet photos thanks to FMLY FRND, Noah Diamond of DJDT. That’s about it, the cap to my night was watching the mobs of people dancing around cars blasting Steve Aoki trying to fill in the HARD’s void.

My heart goes out to Gary Richards and the creators of HARD, they all did a great job on the event and I really hope there’s more to come. It was a shameful turn out, but I’m sure they are all really proud on what HARD means to the city of Los Angeles.

PICTURES…

I saw this guy in the blue take down some guys rushing the fence. This photo was probably taken after.

Steve Aoki tearing it up.

Whatchu doing with that girl back there, David Macklovitch of Chromeo?

M.I.A. making her way out before things got too heavy.

Peace out CSC Security

And the road ends here.

More pictures provided by Noah Diamond’s

Also, check out his montage of the night. All footage shot by King Diamond himself:

(Music by The Exes – Believe Me)

The Exes – Believe Me

Again, I truly hope this isn’t the end of HARD Fest, I will catch you guys at HARD Haunted Mansion.

Uffie – Make it Hott (Crystal Castles Remix)

Side beat: Check out Lucky Date!, so thick!

M.I.A. – Pull Up the People (Lucky Date! Remix)

Wordsworthe – favorite quote “he’s holding a gun, probably tear gas, or something that would hurt if it hit you”

Wordsworthe – the jumping starts at 2:20