If you’ve been wondering why it’s been a little quiet at The Ink Tanker as of late it’s because we’ve been up to our eyeballs gearing up for the HARD Summer Music Festival, which took place July 19 [hey, sorry, but as we get older it takes a bit longer to bounce back]. Now, that the all-night rager has come and gone, we can now catch our breath and revel in the memories of a truly epic night.

The first-ever event was held at the Shrine Expo Hall in downtown L.A. and headlined by scorching sets from N*E*R*D and MSTRKRFT. Over the course of 7 hours, Spank Rock, Steve Aoki, Jason Bentley, Mr. White, Destructo, Felli Fel, LA Riots, DJ Momjeans, Squeak E. Clean, Kill the Noise and Miles Dyson performed unbelievable sets to thousands of dancing die-hards. Italy’s The Bloody Beetroots closed out the bonanza with a full-throttle set that never let up from the first amped-up BPM until the clock struck 4 a.m. Meanwhile, Terry Kennedy and crew tore it up on the skate park throughout the night. We were blinded by the amount of bling in TK’s mouth and had to wear sunglasses just to watch him rail slide…

A special thanks to Eric, Meghan, Reba, Bill and all the others at Bill Silva productions, everyone at the Shrine and all those who helped in any way to make this a huge success. We could not have done it without you.

Stay tuned for details about the HARD Haunted Mansion, coming Halloween night 2008.

[A scene from the indoor stage]

[If you love Pharrell, say I!]

[The Bloody Beetroots killed it! Way into the night...Or morning? Is 4 a.m. night or morn?]

[Who are those masked men? HINT: 4 a.m.]

["Hey look, it's a bigger me!" MSTRKRFT - we heart you]

[MSTRKRFT: Sponsored by Crown Royal]

[Nice cardigan Pharrell]

[What on earth is going on here with Spank Rock?]

[Jam Master Jamal - our favorite DJ and friend, with a sleepy and apparently snarky Juliana]

[Jason Bentley rocking the decks]

[Squeak E. Clean opened the festivities]

***ALL PHOTOS BY TIMOTHY NORRIS***