Sónar, one of the world's biggest electronic music festivals, kicked off on Thursday, here in Barcelona. The festival is expected to draw about 80,000 people for three days of partying and dancing.

The Sónar festival is dedicated to showcasing the best in electronic music and has become the biggest event for fans in Europe since its creation in 1994. This year, the Beastie Boys are headlining. Other artists performing include Baseline, Dave Clarke, Digitalism, Dizzee Rascal, Dj Skream, Isis, Javier Blánquez, Jeff Mills, Les Anciens, Miss Kittin, Richie Hawtina and Timo Maas.

Personally, I think the whole raving thing is silly as hell. I have been to Ibiza a couple times and I've had my fill of over-the-top Europeans rolling their faces off on ecstasy in some ridiculous sun glasses. So when I heard "electronic music festival", I wasn't that fired up. But I got mad love for the Beastie Boys and the minute we got there, I was psyched we had come.

We started rapping with these cats from Wales on the bus out to the concert. These guys were mad cool and one of them, Craig, has a record label in the UK (www.skippingbeats.com). We shared a lot of the same taste in music. Craig and his friends come to sonar every year and he had written down a hectic schedule for which stage to be at when, and we trusted his picks. 30 minutes of waiting in line, a porro and a six Euro bottle of vodka later, we were in.

It is without a doubt, the biggest party I've ever been to. The complex is basically six full-sized airplane hangers that join in the middle. The place is insane and the sheer scale of the production is enough to impress you the minute you walk in. In each hanger there is one huge stage and multiple video screens that flash live video of the performers as well as the cutting edge of visual effects.

The Beasties rocked it pretty hard, but it was Cornelius that stole the show for me. This Japanese electro-rock band was unbelievable. Beyond the normal screen effects, Cornelius does a show where every note is exactly on time with some super-creative video montage...I don't know how they come up with this stuff, but it's pretty tight. You don't have to be on drugs to enjoy this music/video madness. Describing the show is tough because the music is so original and different and the video adds an entirely new element.

Here's the music video for their track, "fit song"...it'll give you an idea of what I'm talking about.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7AeodCMHCFk

Crazy, right? Now just imagine that song blasting on the biggest sound system you've ever heard, the video flashing all around you on six different screens and you're in there dancing with 50,000 other people. That's Sonar, Barcelona.

And although it doesn't do the performance justice, check out this video from their set at Coachella. This song was crazy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SY2ionIKiKc

I have been bumping Cornelius on my ipod ever since the show on Friday.

Although we didn't have the funds to rock Sonar on Saturday night too, it was tempting. If you go to this three day extravaganza in 2008, I would recommend just getting the full pass that gets you in for all the day and night performances. This year it was 170 Euros. The single night we went was 40 Euros.

We're headed to the beach right now because all the dj's who perform at sonar come and play all day and all night on Sunday at Barcelona's most popular beach, for free. Not sure what to expect and I may not even bring my camera because it sounds like the "free" aspect draws a lot of shady gente.

All in all though, Sonar was a lot of fun and an experience I won't soon forget. I would recommend it to anyone planning a trip to Barcelona next summer, who is a fan of music dancing. You'll be able to get all the info you need about Sonar 2008, in a couple months at www.sonar.es