If you feel like 2016 was a disastrous year, you’re not alone. From back-to-back-to-back celebrity deaths, to a U.S. election that will put Donald Trump in the White House in the coming weeks, last year blindsided many of us with what felt like an endless loop of shocking and heart breaking news. Not everything was bad though, especially when it came to electronic dance music – and Resolution was a huge bright spot!
From a national perspective, EDM shined bright in the mainstream thanks to the likes of The Chainsmokers, Calvin Harris, Justin Bieber and DJ Snake, to name a few. Even some of the more popular, long running music festivals across the country, like Lollapalooza and Coachella, served up lineups with heavy doses of electronic artists. Locally, the scene continued its rapid growth as new festivals, massives and re-imaged club nights sprouted throughout the Pacific Northwest. Featuring a monster of a lineup, Resolution 2017 was poised to be the crème de la crème; one of the best events of the year, on the last day of the year. Like 2016, USC’s New Years spectacular was filled with plenty of hits…and a few misses.
Frustrations set in early upon arriving at downtown Seattle’s WaMu Theater. Doors were scheduled to open at 6:30 PM PST. Instead? Things got underway around 6:50, which meant having to wait longer in the cold, heavy rain. The general admission line, by 6:30, snaked from the main entrance of the venue, around the back of the building, all the way to the second level of the adjoining parking garage. Confusion was in the faces of many as the GA Line blended into the VIP line, which was on the second level as well. “Is this the end of the line?” “Why aren’t they opening the doors?” “Is this the VIP line?” Those were popular questions that yielded feelings of defeat more often then not.
Did You Know There Was A Second Entrance, With A Shorter Line, By The Enchanted Forest? (Photo: USC Events)
We salute the ushers who tried to direct foot traffic in the parking garage, but they were vastly outnumbered by the crowd. Later on in the evening, we discovered the second GA entrance, with a much shorter line, that lead to the Enchanted Forest bass stage. While it took us about five minutes to get through the VIP line, it took our general admission friends, who were waiting in the longer line, an hour to get through the doors. Maybe more could’ve been done to promote the second line, in order to get people in quicker, and out of the cold. Yes, the second entrance was illustrated on the event map, released on social media days prior, but it was clear that wasn’t enough. And if you thought the long lines into WaMu were bad, the general admission coat check line was even more intense.
Important things happen in Pacific Northwest nightlife, and DMNW will send you alerts!
