Last Sunday, the nationally touring Mad Decent Block Party came through Boston for the very first time. Presented in association with the Brain Trust, the festival offered a lot of promise to fans of electronic music in the city, marking the first EDM-geared one day fest since Identity Festival’s untimely demise. Though a bit marred by the unfortunate choice of venue, MDBP offered a well-curated cadre of artists and was overall a good time.

To get the negative out of the way first, Blue Hills Pavillion was simply the wrong choice for this sort of event. A seated venue, guests had little room to move around and dance, which really inhibited any sense of community in the festival. Despite ample open space up front, LiveNation’s security made a point not to let anyone past a specific line, even to rejoin friends after leaving to get water or food. In addition, it took far longer to get in than planned. Due to ID scanning at the gates (with four stations total for the 4000-some attendees) it took me about an hour and a half to get through, which sadly caused me to miss both Wave Racer and Lunice.

That said, there were some benefits to the choice of venue. The Blue Hills’ soundsystem handled the day’s heavy bass like a champ, and almost anywhere you were in the arena you’d get a quality sound. In addition, as much of a pain as security was, there were no deaths and a very minimal rate of hospitalization. While that may not sound like something to celebrate, given the trouble that both MDBP has had on other stops this year and Boston events have had in general, this was a definite win.

The music was very good overall. GTA put on a crowd-pleasing mix of recent trap and some older big room house hits. A groovy remix of Nelly’s “Hot In Herre” was the highlight of their set, getting the audience on their feet in the first real singalong of the day. DJ Snake was up next, and, given his recent success with trap, played a surprisingly house-heavy set. This did, however, give him the chance to show off his world-class DJing skills, expertly cutting and tweaking tracks for some seriously interesting results. He didn’t shy away from the hits though- his drops of “Turn Down For What” and “Get Low” drew a rapturous reception.

Vic Mensa followed in the unenviable role of replacement for Chance the Rapper (who dropped out weeks ago due to exhaustion). The Chicago rapper had excellent energy and flow, and showed a good deal of audience control throughout his 20 minute set. Mensa went through a few of his original songs before surprising the audience with a nifty cover of the White Stripes’ “Seven Nation Army.” At the end of the day though, the whole thing just sort of felt like a palate cleanser between the DJ acts that people were truly excited for. While a Chance performance would have been a centerpoint of the day, this set, while definitely quality, never really felt any more than transitional.

Flosstradamus followed, proving that if you’ve seen these guys once you already know their game. Taking their role as Turn Up icons seriously, the pair played a set of predictable but consistently entertaining hip hop and trap. From Chief Kief’s “Don’t Like” to Ace Hood’s “Bugatti” to their own remix of Major Lazer’s “Original Don,” none of it was particularly artful, but it was mixed was such gusto and pomp that you’d be hard pressed not to find something you liked in there. While good chunks of the set would be eye rolling to all but the most dedicated of broravers, Floss threw down an unbelievably energetic and “turnt” performance, something the day definitely benefitted from.

Diplo’s set was, unsurprisingly, the best of the day. The Mad Decent boss aimed to please, dropping his own big tracks such as “Express Yourself” and “Earthquake” alongside remixes of other contemporary bangers like Iggy Azalea’s “Fancy” and Kanye West’s “Power.” Showing yet again his excellent skill behind the decks, Diplo kept a consistent energy going throughout his hour, finding a balance between mixing and hyping that made for a perfect closer. The heart of the set came from his drops of other Mad Decent signees. From perhaps the most exciting recent addition Yellow Claw to the ever-entertaining Riff Raff, Diplo highlighted his label-mates’ best material and name-checked them. This went a long way in bringing the day from feeling like just an assembly of artists to a celebration of a now-iconic music label.

MDBP was not perfect, but offered more than enough to warrant a second year in Boston. While the choice of venue did put a bit of a damper on things, at the end of the day the quality of the music and production were more than enough to have patrons leaving with a smile. Diplo and Co. proved handily that they know how to throw a party, and I hope to see them back again.