Amongst the many Southern California New Year’s festivals, one differentiates itself as the premier in house and techno: CRSSD.
The San Diego-based promoter has been making a name for itself for almost ten years with its bi-annual CRSSD festival, but recently added a third event to the mix called Proper NYE.
Held at the baseball stadium Petco Park, it’s one of their most significant events logistics-wise and is only in its second inception of ringing in the New Year.
We attended our second Proper NYE with even more skeptical eyes now that they have one year under their belt and found some minor issues that arose last year still exist and have evolved into issues we can’t sweep under the rug.
Music: B+
CRSSD events always feature the best names in house and techno and truly understand who the current big players are and who is pushing the boundary.
With viral artists like Chris Avantgarde, Disco Lines, and Gorgon City joined by HUGEL, AHADADREAM, and Ciara B, you could discover someone new or finally see who you’ve been standing.
But, there was a considerable artist discrepancy between New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. Due to the vast amount of NYE events all across Southern California, it seemed CRSSD had major competition for headliners on the holiday.
While they did snag one of the last Claude VonStroke sets for a while, December 31 lacked the energy and star power of January 1 (a Monday and day that ended at 10 PM).
We aren’t knocking the talent of the lineup or the roster. Still, the layout of these creatives made it hard to appreciate everyone or see the artist you truly wanted to since everyone was already tired and the second day began so early.
Venue: B-
There is so much we like about Petco Park and so much we don’t.
While it was great to have real, clean bathrooms and plenty of bars, it still felt like there was always a line. And with no indicated free water stations, many had to pay $9 for Dasani water.
The navigation around the venue was also really chaotic. Gallagher Square, the hill typically used as the stage for Petco concerts, was under significant construction. So, the second largest stage was located in the parking lot.
They did an excellent job with the makeshift space, which had a pretty good amount of space, bars, and heaters, but the only bathroom was a few porta potties at the front of the stage, where you had to push around the crowd to access.
But none of the stages felt too crowded, so we appreciated that.
Getting to all of the stages was also super confusing as well. The signage left a lot to be desired, and you had to go from the entrance, down the bleachers, to the Field, up the bleachers again, and then back down some more stairs to get to the Lot.
Petco has still not figured out how to get people up and down the bleachers safely. Some people are going up, and some are going down, but some areas are only allowed up, some are only allowed down, and other stairs are blocked off. It’s a mess just asking for someone to break an ankle.
Unfortunately, we also ran into a not-OK raver who was sent to the medical tent and then promptly RELEASED when she was alone and incoherent.
We got her back to her friends, but it’s clear medical did not know how to deal with these typical festival issues safely. Only a few medical tents were challenging to reach at the main stage and were found at the other stages.
We worry for safety in situations and conditions like these.
Vibes: A-
CRSSD always brings out some of the nicest ravers around. They’re typically older or San Diego locals who have attended festivals since they were young and know how to behave. There were some typical drunk or pushy people (as usual for any NYE event). Still, we had significant interactions with everyone around us, dancing and exciting each other and leaving room to move.
At one point, someone had a medical emergency in front of our group, and everyone around us held up their phone lights to draw attention and cleared out quickly so they could be assisted without fuss.
We couldn’t ask for a more PLUR set of attendees, even if there’s no Kandi and only a few flow artists.
Production: B
Sound issues continued to plague Proper and seemed even more glaring this year.
There were four stages: the Wall, which had a literal long, horizontal wall screen; the Terrace, a long hall; the Lot in a parking lot; and the baseball field itself.
The main issue was sound. San Diego has a strict sound ordinance, which means many events end around 10 or 11. But since this is New Year’s, the event was allowed until 12:30 PM. Yet, they still had some sound limitations since the main stage was tranquil and there was proper bleeding across all stages.
This was further reinforced as day 2 had no sound issues. We could identify with everything clear, loud, and bass-y across the board.
Visual production was primarily minimalistic, in typical CRSSD fashion. The Field had fire effects, lights, lasers, and fireworks that were used sparingly until the impressive midnight fireworks show, while the Lot had very effective lasers and lights.
The Wall was our favorite visual production since it differed from other setups and allowed artists to personalize their sets more.
As expected, if you’re looking for wild production, CRSSD events might not be your favorite, but they can be effective and impactful when used with bumping speakers.
Overall: B
Overall, we were a bit disappointed with this year’s Proper NYE. Day 2 was fantastic, but the organizers seemed to have a lot of things working against them on Day 1. Combined with the dangerous bleacher navigation we noticed last year and inconsistent safety issues, we hoped year two would be a far improvement for Proper NYE.
It wasn’t a disaster by far, but we expect bigger and better from the giant Petco Park and one of the longest-running promoters in San Diego.
Featured image credit imkeiki
