DJ Sara Landry pumping up the crowd and throwing down hard techno beats.
On Saturday, August 31st from 4-11 pm Techno DJ Sara Landry and friends shut down the main streets of DTLA and played in the middle of the iconic street, Anderson St. Sara has played all over the world and in the world of electronic dance music she is more than well known. Her show started at 4 pm but she did something unusual. She performed in the main streets of Downtown Los Angeles with all the apartments and buildings looking down on her. This greatly impacted the growing acceptance of electronic dance music by placing her show in a visible and iconic space in Los Angeles. It also had a huge impact on traffic and the people living there. It was right under all these important buildings and apartments that caused some local disruptions and affected traffic heavily.
However, the show was a huge success being sold out and even having some locals standing outside on their balcony looking down at Sara getting their groove on. The show ended at 11 pm with invite-only after-parties to keep the party going. Sara was not able to do this alone. With the help of Factory 93, a Los Angeles-based event production company, designed the custom-built stage that included top-of-the-line lighting and art. Also, HEKATE was the promotion company who have promoted many large-scale events such as Coachella. These two teamed up to organize and promote this fascinating show.
One of the security guards responded to the question, “Given the size and location of the event, what were your initial concerns regarding crowd control and safety measures?” He answered, “With the event being in such a famous area I was more concerned about the locals who were not part of the event. We were instructed to help them move through the area without getting caught up in the crowds. Another concern was preventing overcrowding because of people trying to sneak in. We needed to make sure the crowd didn’t get too dense so we had strong security in all areas that could be possible sneak-in points.”
One of the locals who lived in the building to the right of the stage responded to the question “In what ways did the event affect your daily routine, such as commuting, accessing local businesses, or general movement around the area?” He responded “The event had sent us letters about five months ago letting us know this was going to happen for sure as well as notes for our jobs and also giving us free Uber rides for a month which is pretty awesome. They also sent us another letter a week before reminding us. But it did have a pretty big impact on my daily routine. Driving was obviously a hassle. It’s already bad as it is and with all the streets closed I had to take so many detours to get to work but I had an excuse to be late. The noise was definitely shaking my apartment but I wish it was music I liked then I wouldn’t have minded. The whole area was taken over by people coming to the event which made it a little difficult to run errands but I am glad it was just one night and it is all over.”
One of the attendees of the event answered the question, what were your first thoughts when you arrived at the event, and how did the atmosphere compare to other music festivals or events you have attended? She responded with, “The whole vibe was just intense in the best way possible. Everyone was hyped and of course the music was so good Sara always throws down. I think it being in such an iconic place made it so much cooler and added a whole new level of hype. And also the fact that it was on the street made it feel like a huge block party. Definitely a one-time thing and I am so happy that I got to experience it.”
