SLC Live Winter Edition • February 16- 17, 2024 • The Gateway
Reviewed and Photographed by Mark Daluz
Let me first start off by apologizing to all the EDM fans out there. I’d never heard of SLC Live until a couple days and boy do I wish I had. Although Indie Rock is my top jam, a big chunk of my early music listening had been EDM, listening to legends like “The Chainsmokers” and “Illenium”. It never crossed my mind that an EDM concert of this stature was possible in Utah but I was so wrong. SLC Live gave Utah EDM fans the chance to listen to legendary and iconic DJs “deadmau5” and “Gryffin”. All uniting all kinds of people from different backgrounds, communities, and groups. Under the lasers and lights of the Gateway Plaza, I was in for a night to remember.
Day 1
On my way down to SLC from Park City, I was in the unfortunate situation of driving in a low-visibility snowstorm with ski season traffic. I had to hold out in a gas station for a while until the storm calmed down. When I made it to the Gateway, I got in right as Suprtek was ending his set. Very unfortunate but I didn’t let that ruin the night.
The first artist that I actually got to see in its entirety was “Obayashi”. There was still light and a big chunk of the crowd hadn’t shown up yet but that didn’t stop people from having a good time. There were a few people in the crowd that just danced the evening away clearly having the time of their lives. One notable moment was Obayashi remixing Awolnation’s – Run, which got everyone moving. Warming everyone up for what was to come.
Swaylo then took the stage. It’s rare for me to take pictures when I see something amazing happen in front of me but the visuals throughout the night made me forget why I was even there. The combination of screen effects and energy was enough to warm me up in the chilly night. People’s energy really started to ramp up as more and more people started to dance.
By the time it was Le Youth’s turn to take action, the crowd was reaching venue capacity. It was getting hard to make your way around the Gateway just from the sheer amount of people. With more people, the more creative outfits I saw people in. From the Retro 80’s ski outfits to the walking glowsticks. Le Youth was the only DJ I saw that actually moved away from his mixing spot to walk around the stage to hype up the crowd. Which helped in great effect to get everyone hyped for the inevitable beat drops. One thing I wished the other DJs did was engage more with the crowd. I know you have to be in the moment when mixing so it was refreshing to see Le Youth have some engagement with the crowd.
Deadmau5
Eventually, it was time for the main headliner of the festival. The one and only, Deadmau5. Truly one of the most iconic and famous DJs of the era. Accredited by many as the first true superstar of the EDM genre, it was an honor to have him back in Salt Lake. By the time he made his grand entrance, it was impossible to get closer in the crowd. Though everyone enjoyed the prior acts, the whole venue went bonkers for deadmau5. There is just something about that insomniac and demented LED Mickey Mouse helmet that brings you back to the 2010s.
As for the actual show, it was electric! When trying to walk around, It was so cool to see people smiling and dancing. Overall having a great time. Deadmau5 gave off a more chill energy than the DJ’s before him but his presence and out-of-this-world visuals gave that breakthrough energy that everyone loves. I totally forgot the Gateway was a mall as that night it felt like a sold-out show at the Delta Center. Although I would’ve loved more heated lamps, it didn’t take away from a bumping night.
Day 2
I had a full shift at work so I only managed to come into the venue at around 7:30. Just enough time to see Jason Ross halfway into his set. His set consisted of a lot of Trance music and Big Room electro house. Throughout the show, he reminded me a lot of Tiesto. There was a pretty big crowd already established by the time I got there so I walked into a lot of people grooving to music. Visuals matched the genre as they resembled those Acid or Mushroom trip visuals from YouTube. He also had the most intensive amount of laser popping off as I can’t remember a time a laser was in motion. Overall, Jason Ross was a great choice of settling me into things as I awaited the next artist.
Which for 2024’s SLC Live was ARMNHMR. Before going to today’s concert, I told one of my managers at work about todays lineup and told me to watch out for ARMNHMR as it was one his favorites. So when I saw this duo jump into position as the venue went crazy, for a second I thought they we’re the headliners. There music heavily focused on Bass as throughout the set my whole body didn’t stop shaking. Luckily, it wasn’t the only genre they played as they sprinkled a little of techno into the mix. It was clear that they loved the faster music as it rattled the speakers and crowd for an hour straight. Definitely one to save in my artist rotation.
It finally hit 9 which meant it was time for the headliner for Day 2, Gryffin. Before today, I knew Griffin but I couldn’t remember why. When going through his popular discography songs I didn’t know how I felt an attachment. That question was immediately answered though as Gryffin made his entrance. It was followed by the song that had me in a chokehold in 2019. “Just for a Moment” was his first song of the night which was accompanied by a confetti cannon going off with steam filling the venue. I thought the energy from deadmau5 was crazy but this was another level. EVERYONE had their hands up or phones capturing the truly epic moment.
I also can’t explain how cool it was to hear a song that you loved completely from point-blank range. With higher spirits throughout, he went from banger after banger like when he remixed Sweet Dreams by Eurythmics. Gryffin soon pulled out a guitar to shred alongside his music, which really got the crowd going. Performances of “All You Need to Know” and “Woke Up In Love” really added some musical performance into the show giving us a break from the programming.
SLC Live is an event that I will start looking out for in the future as it was a bunch of fun throughout. Everyone was smiling and having a good time. Will go down as one of the best shows I’ve been to.