Walter White Pushes Above & Beyond's Button at EDC Las Vegas, While One Death Reported

After a triumphant opening salvo that exceeded expectations despite oppressively high temperatures, EDC Las Vegas rolled into day two with strong momentum. 135,000 ravers, sunburned but still rage-ready, wasted no time getting in the mood as performances from Laidback Luke, Victor Calderone, and a back-to-back set from UK indie drum and bass label Critical Music set the scene as the sun set.

A new feature at EDC Las Vegas in 2015 is the WasteLAND stage, a dystopian wreckage with totaled cars flanking a felled Statue of Liberty that nears life size. Scene legends TNT performed nothing but relentless, pounding hardstyle In a replica of the statue's famous torch. Even Carnage got in on the action with a rare hardstyle performance, during which the colossal EDC fireworks show lit up the horizon with a lengthy barrage of lights and explosions (as if there weren't enough on the ground).

Disclosure, as usual, stole the show – even while performing a DJ set and not their live show. Everything the brothers Lawrence do, be it DJing, producing, or performing live, is magic. The NeonGARDEN was sweltering and packed, the most it has been all weekend, as the duo roved between groovy low-end house with flourishes of soul and tech with meandering vocal samples atop deep, visceral basslines.

The brothers provided a brief relief from the dark atmospheres of the techno-heavy Garden by opening, as they often do, with the now-classic "When a Fire Starts to Burn." They worked in their newly released "Bang That" at the tail of a set that was the stage's most house-centric of the weekend thus far. For many ravers, it was their first visit to the NeonGARDEN all week. Let it not be their last!

Another new stage addition this year was the FunkHOUSE, an intimate space in-the-round made out of 100% recycled materials. Z-Trip performed the second of three open format sets for the weekend that roved from rowdy remixes of Snoop Dogg to Toto to Nirvana. Whatever scene you're into, Trip's free-wheeling, fast-moving collection of bassed-up pop classics was undeniably fun and unpretentious. It seemed like a rager in a Cali backyard and it was a welcome break from the relentless rigidity of dance music.

Back at the CosmicMEADOW, Pretty Lights had more Coloradan flags waving in the crowd than every town hall in the Centennial State combined. Coloradans were bested only by Golden State Warriors fans as the most visible contingent at the festival. Pretty Lights' fervent and loyal fanbase was in full effect for the enigmatic producer, and he is the sole proponent of that funky, heady glitch hop at the whole festival. The man carries a whole genre on his back.

The rides and installations this year are more surreal and creative than ever. A whole team of Jellyfish rove around the festival all night, lighting up audiences in a glow of white and good vibes. A twenty-foot, spinning globe made of interwoven iron bars serves as a jungle gym and vantage point for many, and even those inhabitable teapots-on-stilts from Burning Man and Lightning in a Bottle made an appearance.

Eric Prydz was the highlight of the night at the gargantuan CircuitGROUNDS. The venue is one of the most overwhelming blitz of lights and Lazers ever constructed – And with a nearly one month build time, it looks like Coachella's Sahara Tent on acid and growth hormone at the same time. Prydz's penchant for pairing uplifting progressive houses with ominously-tinged electro filled the stage's grandiose setting under a canopy of lazers and strobes and the crowd spilled far beyond the stage's expanse.

Back at the KineticFIELD main stage, the honor of pushing Above & Beyond's fabled button this year went to one of the less honorable characters in television history–– Walter White AKA The Heisenberg AKA Bryan Cranston of Breaking Bad. Watch it go down:

Seeing Justin Martin on the massive stage of the CosmicMEADOW was a rare treat for weirdo house aficionados. Often playing second to his Dirtybird cohort Claude VonStroke, Martin seized the opportunity with a rousing set of bossy basslines and creative flourishes.

Unfortunately, the night ended with news of a death "related to the festival," as reported by Fox 5 Las Vegas. No further information has been released.