I recently had the opportunity to see Zedd in concert. I attended his show at the WaMu Theatre in Seattle, and I wasn’t sure what to expect from it. All I knew was that it would involve a lot of dancing, bass drops, and sick beats. I ended up experiencing all of that, and then some.

The show itself was amazing. Despite watching Zedd’s Snap stories for the past year and a half or so, I wasn’t entirely sure which songs he’d play that night. I was pleasantly surprised to see him play some of my favorites, some songs I wasn’t familiar with, and even songs by other artists that he remixed! The same could be said for his two opening acts, Lophiile and Grey, though I was familiar with none of their songs prior to the concert. All three artists had great remixes, fun animations on the screen, and amazing light shows to boot. It was a night I doubt I’ll forget.

Despite having an exciting time, there were some things I saw at the concert that I was surprised by. After all, it was my first time attending an EDM concert, and I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect while I danced the night away.

The first and probably most obvious is the outfits. I wasn’t sure what to wear, but I knew it had to be comfortable, so I opted for a crop top and shorts. This outfit is acceptable considering how much you’ll sweat while jumping and dancing around, but there were a number of people wearing less than me. Some girls wore bikinis or underwear, some people wore costumes of some kind. A lot of girls had on bright, sparkly makeup and I saw a number of people with bandanas covering their nose and mouth. Some girls were wearing heels as well (which is fine, though I recommend wearing sensible shoes as you’re going to be doing a lot of standing and moving around). I knew that was typical of raves from pictures I’d seen on Facebook, but I was admittedly a little surprised to see that kind of attire in a concert setting.

There was also a chill stance on alcohol and recreational marijuana use. Inside the venue sat three different bars where you could have a mixed drink before going back to the crowd. Of course, the drinks had to stay within the perimeter of the bar you purchased it, and if you came in with a water bottle you had to leave it behind before leaving. The staff was very responsible to keep these rules in place, which ensured a safe experience for everyone. There were a few instances during the show where I could smell pot being smoked around me, likely from a vape. I wasn’t aware before that the rules about smoking pot would be so chill, though I didn’t mind. It just caught me off guard for a brief moment.

It was a very long concert too. Almost every concert I have ever attended finished up around 10:30 at night. The first act came on at 8:30 p.m., and Zedd’s set ended a little after midnight. The night seemed to fly by in a blur of sweaty exhilaration though. I went into the crowd feeling uncomfortable about the idea of accidentally dancing on someone or being crowded, and though that happened a few times, I realized I was having too much fun to care after a while. The same could be said for the people around me, who were constantly moving in and out of the crowd as they saw fit. Bottom line, if you don’t end up accidentally grazing someone’s body or face during a concert like this, then you’re an anomaly of some kind.

Even though Zedd’s concert was full of surprises, I still had an amazing time. I would easily see him perform again. If I ever attend one of his shows again, I’ll at least know a bit more about what to expect!