The bass pounding out of the speakers caused the turf to vibrate under the crowd’s feet as it danced wildly along to the music. Those who secured a spot at the front of the stage could feel the vibrations through the metal gates they were pressed against.
Fog poured off the stage into the crowd as pink and white lights spun over their heads in time to the music.
As the sun began to set, Memorial Stadium looked drastically different than it did during the spring football game earlier Friday.
Flosstradamus, an electronic dance music DJ duo, took over the south end zone Friday as the headliner for the annual Little 500 concert.
A caution symbol — Flosstradamus’ logo — lit up the entirety of the scoreboard’s screen as the DJs riled up the crowd.
“We’re turning Hoosier Nation into HDYNATION,” yelled DJ J2K, half of the Flosstradamus duo, as he jumped down from the table where DJ Autobot was playing.
Both DJs sported IU basketball jerseys. They invited the audience to join their fan base HDYNATION.
J2K continued to switch from his place on top of the table to running across the stage and teaching the audience songs and dances.
“It’s good vibes everywhere,” Mercedes Tamayl, 21, said. “I just love them. I love their music. I love their vibes.”
Autobot remixed popular modern songs like Drake’s “Hotline Bling” and the White Stripes’ “Seven Nation Army.” He also threw it back with songs such as Bobby McFerrin’s “Don’t Worry, Be Happy,” which the crowd sung their own renditions of.
Some fans of Flosstradamus weren’t so happy, however. Sophomores Madison Gavin and Alex Stone said the duo didn’t stick to their true EDM genre and instead played remixed radio hits to please the crowd.
The atmosphere felt like being at a fraternity or house party — Gavin said she expected more of a rave environment.
She said she wanted to feel like she was at a concert, especially because she paid for VIP tickets. Stone and Gavin left the show early.
VIPs were closest to the stage and received pizza and a Little 500 Flosstradamus T-shirt as they walked through the gates.
Other audience members were unfamiliar with Flosstradamus and the opener, Gent & Jawns, but came for the tradition.
“I had never heard of them before, but it’s Little Five,” sophomore Mandan Langley said.
The concert should be at the stadium every year, she said.
Even those who didn’t want to pay could go this year. After the spring football game ended, fans were invited to the field to meet the players and could stay for the concert and avoid the $40-$70 concert ticket fee.
Not just the football fans, either. Soon, the football team rushed into the audience, the players still dressed in red and white uniforms, pads and some in helmets. They jumped and fist-pumped along to Gent & Jawns before they headed back to the locker room.
As Gent & Jawns continued their set, more students streamed down the bleachers and onto the field. The VIPs formed a dense crowd against the stage, while other ticket holders pressed against the black chainlink fence.
Some remained sitting in the stadium, while others sprawled out on turf at the back of the field. It was a warm, clear night over the stadium as the 2016 Little 500 concert was underway.
“IU did everything perfect, but the act could have been better,” Stone said.
