To Ultra or Not to Ultra

Ryan Xristopher

Mainstage at Ultra 2007

Something I’ve gotten tired of as I’ve gotten older is people telling me what I do or don’t like. Hey, you can’t like football if you like techno. You can’t like folk music. You can’t like PBR. You can’t like dubstep if you like house music. You can’t like house music if you like dubstep. You can’t like minimal if you listen to anything else, and you can’t like anything else if you listen to minimal. You can’t like this because you like that; you have to like this because you don’t like that. Enough already!
Each year I’ve gone to WMC, I’ve hear the same thing, though in the three years it’s gotten progressively worse.

“What do you mean you’re going to Ultra?”

It’s for kids, for posers, for the masses, for people who don’t know about the intimate cool parties or the super underground shows that start in somebody’s apartment at 7 in the morning. I love the intimate parties, I dig the underground, but if you’re even the least bit interested it what it means to be big, bright, and loud – go to Ultra.
Just in terms of size and scope, it’s one of the bigger production efforts in the world of the electronic music scene. Literal mountains of speakers and phenomenal visual presentation are what Ultra is all about, with however many tens of thousands of people all mashed together, milling in Bicentennial Park.

The music there isn’t generally groundbreaking. The mainstream trance, progressive, drum and bass, and techno performers generally play about what they should, and everybody has a good time listening to things they’ve already heard. If you’re looking for what’s next in music, look elsewhere. However, if just want to relax into the comfortable – go to Ultra.

It gets a little hard to move around eventually, especially after dark, and you can take or leave your social commentary about the state of the rave scene and candy kids if you start observing your surroundings too critically. But if you want big and booming, if you want a loud, anonymous, organic experience – go to Ultra.
There are always few standout performances there, too, so don’t automatically discount the musical potential, either. Loco Dice and Luciano in the Carl Cox tent last year was mindblowing. Ferry Corsten is always a trip to watch. Josh Wink three years ago. Deadmau5 put on quite a show a few years back. Roni Size Reprazent. Etc.
It’s worth mentioning that Sasha & Digweed will always have a special place in my heart because of Ultra. Three years ago, playing in the rain under garbage bags, absolutely crushing everyone brave enough to dance through the storm. And those who saw Sasha & Digweed’s set two years ago were certainly treated properly. I remember they closed out with “Total Departure”, and as the music faded out into complete silence, there were several thousand people holding their brains in with one hand and picking up their jaws from the floor with the other.

Some of the main performances have a tendency to fall flat on the big stages, too, if they aren’t careful. The Tiesto, Paul Van Dyk, Prodigy, BT, Richie Hawtin-type shows can be a little too hyped for what you actually get.

Whatever you decide though, to Ultra or not to Ultra, just make sure it’s your own decision, so you won’t regret it later. It’s not always good, but it’s always fun.