It's not often in your life that you hear a heckler cry out, "hoo-ah!" or even "Attica!!!" But at Al Pacino's One Night Only event at Hard Rock Live, this happened more than once. In fact, it happened many times.

You can call it a show -- there's storytelling and laughter -- or you can liken it to Inside the Actors Studio, but really, there's not much else out there exactly like One Night Only. My mother actually said it restored her faith in humanity. And that's something you can't say about James Lipton's Proustian question-asking.

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Via statigr.am/jasonmallia

How quickly some stars have ascended in the EDM boom. Just a few years ago, in 2009, Toronto-based producer Deadmau5 could be found at Ultra Music Festival on the live stage, essentially opening up for Simian Mobile Disco. Last night, though, trying to get the main stage to witness his fest-closing set was an exercise in carefully ignoring claustrophobia.

Tens of thousands of revelers squished body to body in the surrounding field, sharing sweat and vibes as they cheered, recorded, and Instagram-ed Joel Zimmerman's every move. Seriously, Deadmau5 could have showed up and played a polka and kids would have still gone insane, by their level of rapt, devout attentiveness.

See also
- Ultra 2013: Kaskade and Tiesto Kick Off UMF's Weekend Two, Reach Epic Pop Peaks
- Ultra 2013: Avicii Does Country Music and Eric Prydz Proclaims "Love You" UMF!
- Ultra 2013: Slash Does Surprise Guitar Solo, Crashes Chuckie's Set, "Pretty Awesome Gig"
- Ultra 2013: Yeasayer Insulted the Ravers While Matt & Kim Charmed Them

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Photo by Ian Witlen

We knew we were in for something special after speaking with Swedish progressive house DJ-producer Eric Prydz about Ultra Music Festival 2013.

Shit, just having the aerophobic house master on this side of the pond is enough an occasion to plant your ass at UMF's main stage at 7:50 p.m. sharp on a Friday night.

See also
- Ultra 2013: Kaskade and Tiesto Kick Off UMF's Weekend Two, Reach Epic Pop Peaks
- Ultra 2013: Deadmau5 Proves He's a Real Person, Rejects the Easy Headliner Gimmicks
- Ultra 2013: Yeasayer Insulted the Ravers While Matt & Kim Charmed Them

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Photo by Ian Witlen

Ultra 2013's main stage with Tiësto (and not Kaskade).

Kaskade and Tiësto, two undeniable titans of the current electronic dance music landscape, took to the decks on two different stages toward the end of Ultra Music Festival 2013 last night. They could have easily shared time on the same stage, though. Kaskade has certainly grown in stature enough for a bump up to the festival's main event -- but more interestingly, their sets could have easily blended together.

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Photo by George Martinez

Boys Noize rocking and ripping Ultra 2013's live stage. From inside a giant evil skull with LED eyes.

We're going to be honest with you.

When Ultra Music Festival announced its entire 2013 live stage lineup, we were underwhelmed. The scope of the roster was perfect, but it seemed to lack the kind of anchor act that sets the standard for everyone else. Last year, Ultra had Kraftwerk, Miike Snow, DJ Shadow, M83, Bassnectar -- it was a good mix of old and new.

Of course, you cannot deny the talent level of the artists who performed on the live stage last night. But how are you going to put Nicolas Jaar's set against Swedish House Mafia's ego-stroking farewell party?

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Photo by George Martinez

What's the most epic come-on in the history of Scandinavian EDM?

Duh. "We're gonna fuck this party in the pussy!," as uttered by Swedish House Mafia, when Sebastian Ingrosso, Steve Angello, and Axwell were still young, up-and-coming electronic dance music studs.

Today, though, the SHM dudes are superfamous. A little more mature. And they're preparing to hump out to pasture. So they've toned down the explicitness of their advance. Especially when trying to get into our pants in public. Like, say, at Ultra Music Festival 2013 in front of a 100,000 people.

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Sayre Berman

The duality of the Beach Boys' legacy is a hard pill to swallow for some fans, especially in recent times. Ask a well-studied fan's opinion on megalomaniac Mike Love and you're certain to get an earful regarding "Kokomo" or that time in 1988 when Love decided the best route to take with his Hall of Fame induction acceptance speech was to go on a combative tirade that included a jab at the Beatles' lack of performances in 1987 relative to the Beach Boys (for those just tuning in, John Lennon had been dead for seven years).
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Hatebreed currently has one of the top 20 records on the Billboard 200 list, and the Connecticut-based hardcore titans' most recent release, The Divinity of Purpose, holds the sixth position on the rock charts. And while we could argue about the lacking relevance of the Billboard charts in 2013, we cannot stress how remarkable it is for a meat-and-potatoes, real-deal, born-in-the-basement hardcore band to have an album clipping at Rihanna's miserable heels. 
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Photo by Sayre Berman

Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard
Hard Rock Live, Hollywood
Thursday, February 7, 2013

Better Than: A cold beer, a shot of whiskey, and a good cry.

All the old outlaws are only getting older.

Last night, though, the Red-Headed Stranger and the Okie From Muskogee proved that they might be wizened gentlemanly grandaddies who sing about love, heartbreak, drinkin', tokin', towin' the line, and lovin' the lord. But they're "still alive." And they're still hard as fuckin' railroad spikes.

Two of the lone remaining country badasses still standing (and singing), Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard charmed men in Stetsons, women in pearls, and children in "I Love Willie" onesies at Hard Rock Live in Hollywood, Florida.

But hell yeah ... They also joked about death while demanding that the whole world just "Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die."

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