HARD Summer Didn't Have It So Easy

Hard Summer was supposed to be the ultimate electronic dance party of Summer 2009, with a booty-shaking lineup that included DJ AM and Crystal Castles. Unfortunately, the event's sold-out venue (the Forum in Inglewood) couldn't handle the 18,000 wanna-be ravers who showed up and the dance party was shut down before the big acts could even hit the stage.

HARD Summer succeeded in booking acts such as Underworld, Steve Aoki, A-Trak, Chromeo, Crookers and more. But a strong roster of artists is just the beginning of a well-organized festival, and HARD's soft underbelly was soon exposed - it fell short in the logistics department.

I arrived around 10:00 expecting to see Chromeo hit the main stage, but the only thing I saw hit the main stage were a few bottles and a cluster of aggressive teenagers causing a ruckus. Normally I would be on the floor attempting to get near the stage to feel the vibe and energy of the music up close, but last night I kept my distance and found a nice safe spot in the oxygen-thin bleachers of the Forum.

The staff in the yellow shirts at these festivals are usually verbally abused by the concert goers, because they are never able to help direct you to your seat or give you the information you need. Last night at the Forum, the staff in the yellow shirts were probably ready to quit or fight back, because the HARD fest attendees were putting up a battle to get to the floor.

Around 10:30 I gave up all hopes that the music would actually begin and I started to fear the parking lot in the instance that the festival would be shut down, so I took off.

Since Twitter appeared to be down last night none of the negative tweets about HARD fest went through and so today (August 9th) it should be interesting to see all the tweets from the dissapointed crowd.

Might I suggest that if attempts are made to re-do this festival, the organizers plan for it take place outside, on a flat surface, with more security and potentially a dress code requiring attendees to wear more than underwear.

(see more pictures from the Hard Summer here)

Statement from the official Hard website: "We are terribly sorry. Inglewood PD made the decision to shut down the event tonight much to our astonishment and yours. There are many questions to answer; rest assured you will not be left hanging. Please check back soon." Information regarding ticket refunds has not yet been released.

See more pictures by Buzznet photographer Derekx, who with all his might attempted to cover the HARD fest for Buzznet (pre-shutdown of course).