Dystopia

10000m², 40 DJs, 2 stages, over 2 days. That's Dystopia, a little Alsatian madness.

Very easy to get to!

Curious to find out what it's all about, and enticed by the line-up, we headed off to the venue.

The event was held at the Parc Expo in Mulhouse, and access was very easy. No problem to find a place by car. For those coming by public transport, the organizers promised a 10-minute journey to the station, and 20 minutes to the airport. Perfect!

A search, validation of our ticket, handover of our cashless wristband, and we're inside.

A cashless bracelet?

Simply put, it's a way for organizers to avoid having to handle cash physically on site.

It's all done via a bracelet that you can load before you even get there, or that you can load on site at any time, by scanning the QRcode with your phone. In my case, I loaded the bracelet at the time of booking. As a result, when I received the bracelet, my mind was free and the money was... on my wrist.

One thing you should know is that you can check your balance or retrieve your money at any time by creating an account from this page. Keep in mind that 1€ will be charged 2 times. In other words, if you charge 50€, in reality you only credit 49€, because 1€ is used to finance the delivery of the bracelet. And when you want the money back, you'll be charged 1€.

Catering

To help you get your bearings, there are 3 large rooms, side by side. The two stages are at either end. And the central room is the place to get your fill. Here you'll find lockers, food and water, benches to rest on... and even a tattoo stand.

As far as beverages are concerned, the offer is not very varied: 4 brands of beer, Pepsi, Ice Tea and energy drinks. What surprised me, however, and what's really nice, is that you can buy 1L jugs at a time. Not a bad way to pay for your round!

As for prices, they're expensive. For example, you can expect to pay €8 for 50cl of red Grimbergen, €6 for 25cl of Brooklyn IPA, or €4 for 50cl of Pepsi. Add to this price a €2 deposit for the cup, and €3 for the pitcher.

It wasn't a good experience for us at the bar. We could feel the volunteers struggling to keep up. One employee tapped a beer twice instead of once, for example (at 6€ a beer, the mistake hurts), and my friend was charged for the wrong beer (an IPA at 6€ instead of a Grim at 4.5€).

A word of advice: check twice what you're being asked to pay.

As for the food scene, it's very nice.

There are a few food trucks selling burgers, pasta, Japanese food and raclette sandwiches. Honestly, when you see the price of the frozen half pizzas you find at Apex, it's not too bad. Expect to pay €10 for a raclette sandwich, €15 for a bowl with potatoes, charcuterie and raclette, or around €15 for burgers with fries.

Note that these are real food trucks. And even if it's a bit pricey, it's quality, served quickly and with a smile.

You can't beat that!

The stages

Well, let's get this out of the way: the Hardtechno stage wasn't meant to be a visual slap in the face. A metal structure with a DJ playing directly on a table, with no decoration whatsoever. No frills, just the bare minimum. A few lights, lasers and, above all, great sound. Basically, it didn't take much to get your toes tapping all night long.

As an added bonus, I learned afterwards that on Saturday we had flamethrowers, which were installed during the day, and which the Friday festival-goers didn't have.

Pretty cool!

On the hardcore side, there was already more effort put into the set design and effects. The stage was much more elaborate. Lights, flamethrowers, CO2, strobes - it was a sight to behold. What's more, on several occasions we were surprised to see rockets flying across the room from one end to the other. A real treat!

And when you add to the mix a boiling hot Sefa who launches into a Marseillaise or a Connemara while singing along with the audience, it's enough to win you over.

So, shall we go back?

The conclusion is that it was very enjoyable... but there's still room for improvement. If I had to say anything negative, I'd say two: the fluidity of service at the bars, and the toilets. They were clearly undersized for the amount of traffic.

Beyond that, it was a really interesting experience. There are a lot of positive points, especially for such a young festival. And what's particularly cool is that the organizers listen to feedback! What a great effort to add flamethrowers and say “we've listened to you”. Well done!

Will I go again? There's a good chance!