If you were lucky enough, you got to lead up to Halloween night with three full days experiencing something like no other. And if not, don’t fret, you can catch Freaky Deaky next year in 2017, October 28-30th! This festival was filled with fake blood, grime, bass and more.
The venue itself was equipped with two large tents and one smaller tent with stages located in Toyota Park. I think an expansion to the soccer stadium would have been the perfect touch to add not only room but also grass to get a break from the concrete. 50+ artists, both local and global, each brought their prime performances this festive weekend. “The Shrine” stage closed each night with Disclosure, DJ Snake and Tiesto. The headbangers that attended went hard during all of these performances. Next, “The Big Top” closed with Dimitri Vegas/Like Mike, DJ Khaled and ScHoolboy Q with some unforgettable mixes. Lastly, “The Crypt” stole hearts with Bro Safari, Dubfire Live, and Jamie Jones. React also brought in some irresistible talent, such as Travis Scott, San Holo, Figure, Crizzly, Paper Diamond, Bleep Bloop, Hippie Sabotage and Headhunterz. This years hip-hop/edm lineup improved the venues energy, excitement and entertainment. Providing a mix up of some funky/jazzy dubstep in the future would really have sealed the deal.
Along with the crazy lineup, each stage was equipped with a magnificent light show with entrancing transitions between each performance. You never got bored looking at the enticing visuals, exotic dancers and graphic screens. In accordance to the lights came the sound quality; each drop vibrated in your chest and brought a smile to your face. Whether the music captured you in the front row, in the middle of the crowd or to the back where there was room to dance, your ears clearly heard each dramatic dynamic of the bass drop of the song.
As you danced your way around the venue you experienced various decorations for the Halloween vibe, which included a fire breathing sculpture at the front entrance. I would have liked to see more artwork or creativity to see fest come to life more. Next, each tent was labeled with big bold letters, from the front gates for tickets to the FREE water stations, tasty food/beverage vendors with desserts, chicken wings and even hot dogs as cheap as 2$. The festival was also prevalent in providing a medical tent, various rows of portapotties easy to access with little to no lines and epic merchandise. You could tell that React was intentional when it came to taking good care of you.
What tied the whole fest together was the crazy freaks that attended. Each individual dressed up from head to toe with costumes such as gumball machines, bloody thirsty vampires and animal onsies. Everyone got freaky with the music showing off their dance moves and outgoing good spirits. One ecstatic fan even climbed up the tent rafters to headbang upside down until security had to come grab him. Security was located not only the front checking wristbands but throughout the venue and in front of each rail. They also did a great job handing out bottled water to all the dehydrated fans and keeping things safe. Each night left my back sore and my ears ringing in the best way possible. Most importantly, my heart filled to the brim with the incredible journey I ventured on, by the side of my new friends that I made along the way.
