Great report - thanks for taking the time to write it all down -
sounds like you managed to fit a lot (maybe too much??) in? Hard not
to I suppose if you're only in town for a couple of days.
Great to hear all your stories though!
cheers
Jason
On 4 June 2010 16:40, darnistle <darnis...@cafe-ebola.com> wrote:
> We arrived in Detroit late Friday morning and made our way to Submerge
> before checking into the hotel. For such a small store, it felt like there
> was a lot to delve into. I only made my way through half the stacks before I
> had to leave, but I found lots and lots of treats nonetheless. We also
> checked out the Detroit techno exhibit upstairs. I'm glad Cliff (I think
> that was his name) brought it to our attention.
>
> I also made a trip to Ya Digg records. I was truly surprised when I pulled
> up to the address and saw the building it is in. I thought I'd written down
> the wrong information. That was completely NOT was I was expecting. The
> store itself was a bit hard to find, which was a good thing because I had an
> opportunity to see the variety of other businesses within the building. I
> guess that is a perfect example of adaptive reuse. I wonder how many other
> factories have been similarly reutilized? Gotta luv Detroit!
>
> Ya Digg itself is a small store and still needs to settle into the space. It
> apparently opened just recently. I didn't have enough energy to dig through
> the stacks, so I limited myself to two small sections and managed to spot a
> number of interesting items in no time. Cha-ching.... Local heads may want
> to check it out, though you may want to come ready to rummage.
>
> Friday evening I went to the film fest at Detroit Music Hall, primarily to
> see Metropolis. I've had Jeff Mills' soundtrack for years and I've seen the
> original movie, but never in conjunction. I thought his music worked for
> the most part, though the ambient sections seemed to work better and more
> often than the beat-driven sections. Seeing the film while in Detroit
> seemed gave a whole new relevance to the storyline...
>
> The 'Timeless Suite for Ma Dukes' was curious. I don't know J Dilla's music
> at all, so I had no point of reference. The orchestrations did
> sound interesting. However, I noticed that at least two Erik Satie pieces
> were performed in their original and then orchestrated forms yet Satie
> wasn't mentioned, only the song titles. If I didn't know any better, I
> might assume those were J Dilla songs. I had to leave the theatre to put
> more $$$ in the parking meter, so I missed the final credits. Hopefully,
> Satie was given due credit. I still don't understand why Satie pieces were
> being performed during that concert and what connection Satie and J Dilla
> have. If anyone can explain, I'd appreciate it...
>
> "The Drive Home" was fun to watch. The audience reactions were very funny.
>
> I had to leave early, so I couldn't stay to hear Timeline perform,
> unfortunately.
>
> After resting a while at the hotel, I decided to check out the Dub Science
> party. Never found it. I guess it would have helped if I'd been in the
> right part of town... :) Eventually, I gave up and went to the Black Nation
> party at The Works. Did Jay Denham and/or Scan7 play at all? If so, when?
> Granted, I got there pretty late, but by 4am I gave up and went back to the
> hotel.
>
> I will say up front that Paxahau should be commended for having improved the
> sound quality in the underground stage. After trying different
> configurations, they actually found a setup that alleviated some of the
> aural problems that have plagued that space. Standing on the sidelines, the
> increased clarity was obvious but it became even more obvious once I went
> into the pit for the full aural experience. Deep, chest-rattling bass and
> sufficient representation in the mids and highs to make it somewhat easier
> to discern what was actually going on in the tracks.
>
> Of all the stages, the music at the underground stage was most often in tune
> with what I wanted to hear at the festival so I gravitated towards it.
>
> Patrice Scott's set was nice warm-up music. Since I'd managed to tire
> myself out before the festival even began, I just sat and listened. It was
> a good way to ease into the weekend.
>
> I really enjoyed Nico Marks' set too. I'd never heard of him before, so it
> was pleasant treat. I liked what I heard so much I picked up one of his CDs
> (he obviously has quite a number) at Record Time and have been enjoying it.
> Wouldn't mind hearing more of his work.
>
> Mark Ernestus and Scion's sets were good, but it was much too quiet. Not
> that I was expecting the sound system to be cranked up all the way, but it
> really wasn't loud enough to fill the space sufficiently. What I did hear
> was good but I was more interested in staying out of the sun/heat so I never
> lingered at the main stage for very long.
>
> Onur Ozer's set was kinda interesting and was the only thing I heard at the
> Beatport stage all weekend that I could tolerate for more than a few tracks.
>
> Martyn's set was simply excellent and was my favorite set on Saturday!! I
> love how easily he moves between different musical styles while making it
> all cohere. I danced the entire time and it made me hopeful for the rest of
> the festival.
>
> After Martyn's set, Excision played some aggressive dubstep. The transition
> from Martyn to Excision was extreme. I like dubstep, but I'm quite tired of
> only hearing the super hard styles that seem to have more in common with
> heavy metal and hard rock than with dub or 2-step. Excision's set may have
> headed down some other stylistic avenues, but I didn't stay long enough to
> find out. Instead, I opted to go back to the hotel to rest before the
> night's parties.
>
> I had very mixed luck with the after-parties on Saturday. The Back Together
> Again party with Orlando Voorn and Anthony Shakir didn't appear to be
> happening at all. I showed up at the location and they didn't know anything
> about it. Was the party moved to a different spot at the last minute?
>
> The Hotwax Heaven party appeared to not be happening either. I was turned
> away at the door and directed around the corner, which would have been the
> drum-n-bass party I was also going to check out. That party apparently was
> shut down too, so instead I headed over to the Theo Parrish/Larry Heard
> party. I missed Larry's set, which I hear was quite good. The place was
> very crowded and hot and too dark for me to see very much. I assume the
> person spinning while I was there was Theo, who I'm not that fond of. The
> only reason I went was because I was hoping to hear some groovy house, which
> I did hear in the beginning until it seemed to devolve into some obscure 70s
> funk shtick. YAWN. The best thing about that party was the delicious
> "Techno Magic" beverage I bought at the front counter. That really helped
> me get through the rest of the night and the next afternoon.
>
> I swung by the Detroit Techno Militia party, which was fun. I wonder why
> there wasn't a sign on the front door directing people to enter at the back
> of the building? Anyway, the music was great and I was glad to see some
> kick queens there camping it up. That was a very fun way to end a late
> night.
>
> I was slow to get out of bed on Sunday. I knew I had a long day and night
> ahead of me and tried to conserve as much energy as possible. I completely
> missed DJ Pierre's set. I had to squeeze in more record shopping at some
> point, so unfortunately Pierre had to be sacrificed.
>
> I caught the tail end of Larry Heard's set, which I enjoyed. Too bad I
> missed his set the night before.
>
> Orlando Voorn's set: GOLLY!!! That was rockin'! WHEW!! I loved how
> energetic they were! Very infectious. The Model 500 cover was surprising
> too.
>
> K Hand's set was good, clean fun as well. She seemed to really enjoy the
> crowd.
>
> Unfortunately, I didn't catch much of Anthony Shakir's set. The tracks
> seemed interesting but the set sounded a bit unfocused. I could be wrong
> though, because I was very distracted at the time.
>
> I heard part of Cassy's set. I liked her Panorama Bar mix CD and hoped that
> she'd bring something interesting to Beatport mnml-fest. To be honest, I
> found watching her demeanor more interesting that the music she played. She
> seemed to have a calm, masterful gaze when she looked at the audience. My
> more cynical side tends to believe that she could tell how little it would
> take to please that crowd, as long as the bass was dropped out for several
> bars then brought back in booming fashion...
>
> The high point on Sunday, and my favorite DJ set of the entire festival, was
> DJ Rolando's set at the underground stage!!! WOW OH WOW!!!!!! Now **THAT**
> was the kind of music I drove 13 hours to hear!! Rolando really served
> it!!! Just thinking about his set makes me wiggle :)
>
> I did sneak away a few times to check out Derrick Carter. His set was good,
> but Rolando had me hooked so I couldn't stay away for long.
>
> On the other hand, Robert Hood's set was the BIGGEST disappointment for me
> on so many levels!! I had such high hopes, but what I heard was so
> uninteresting and so unlike Robert Hood that I was really shocked. I
> wanted to like it, but in the end I was completely underwhelmed. Bring me
> polyrhythms, dammit, not some simple beats, simple effects and trite
> atmospherics. Considering how the crowd lapped it up, I must have been in
> the minority. I guess the bass was booming enough to keep them satisfied.
> If he had performed at the Beatport stage he would have fit in perfectly.
> I left after a while and came back, hoping that the music would have
> progressed, but alas no....oh well....
>
> On the other hand, Derrick May's set at the Movement stage was fantabulous,
> but that goes without saying!! I've never been given any reason to expect
> any less from him. It is nice to listen to someone who has mastered the art
> of DJing and can play a fluid set that covers a range of
> styles/moods/textures. I love being taken on an aural journey with some
> surprises along the way.
>
> Inner City was truly FUN and I'm very glad I got to see them perform!!
>
> After the festival, I went to the hotel to nap before going to the Metroplex
> party. I got to the party around 4am. Apparently, I'd already missed Buzz
> Goree, Robert Hood, DJ Stingray and Kevin Saunderson, which truly bummed me
> out because they were the ones I wanted to hear most. Juan's set was good
> and Derrick's set was even better than the one he played at the festival.
> The DJ who was playing on the first floor when I first got there played a
> lot of high speed ghetto tech and electro. I didn't have the mental energy
> to listen to anything that fast at that hour, let alone dance to it.
> However, the DJ who came on after him played some similar styles, but at a
> more reasonable pace so I stuck around for a while. Not sure who it was,
> but I liked what he played. If anyone could tell me who was spinning on the
> first floor around 5am, I'd appreciate it.
>
> My wife and I left the Metroplex party sometime after 7am. I took her back
> to the hotel then left to check out some of the morning parties.
>
> The party at Old Miami was so much fun!! I haven't been to a morning party
> since the Goa trance days and it reminded me how nice it is to start (or
> end) the day like that. Some of the attendees looked very fresh and awake,
> as if they were starting the day at the party, which adds a fresh energy to
> the proceedings, as opposed to people like me who were ending their night
> and running on sunlight, orange juice and pure vibe at that point. The music
> was tolerable enough, but when the atmosphere is that perky it can make up
> for lackluster DJs and an utter lack of sleep.
>
> I also swung by the morning party at the Atlas Bldg on Gratiot, which looked
> like it would have been interesting. At that point I think it after 9am. I
> knew that if I stopped I would have to stay for a while to get a sense of
> the party. Sleep was more important, so instead I drove by, listened from
> the street then went to the hotel to get some sleep. I do wish I'd had more
> energy at that point or I would have lingered. The crowd looked very fun
> and the music I could hear from the street sounded very interesting.
>
> As it happens every year, by Monday the lack of sleep and fatigue from
> running around town all day and night had majorly caught up with me. I
> slept as late as I could then stayed in bed just resting. I was determined
> to hear Mauritz von Oswald, rain or shine, but my body would not cooperate.
> By time I got to the festival, I'd missed their set. :((((
>
> Since I wasn't engaged by the other acts playing at the time, I decided to
> go to Forans for a drink. I haven't been there in years so it was nice to
> be back. Too bad the DJ played such a monotonous set. Oh well. Forans
> itself is nice to just hang out in, so I decided to indulge and drank myself
> silly before heading back to the festival to hear Pullen and Minx.
>
> DJ Minx sent me into orbit!!! I had high hopes for her set and she
> definitely delivered the goods. I danced more than I thought I would have
> been able to considering just how utterly exhausted I was at that point.
> Thus is the power of a good DJ set!
>
> Every now and then I tore myself away from Minx to hear Stacey. His set was
> good, from the bits and pieces I heard.
>
> Kenny Larkin's live set was inspired and deliciously groovy. It sounded
> particularly tight and well executed.
>
> Model 500 was very good and invigoratingly loud. The Battlestar Galactica
> outfits added to the ghetto-Kraftwerk mystique, which was great. Too bad
> they didn't play 'Neptune'.
>
> Half-dead or not, I was still determined to go to at least one after-party
> Monday night. I decided to skip the DJ Assault party at Oslo and take a
> chance on someone I'd never heard of before so I went to the Dwayne Jensen
> party on Porter St. The first DJ played some truly monotonous,
> amateurish-sounding techno. Dreadful! I was afraid that I'd made a bad
> choice on my last night in town. I was tempted to leave after 30 minutes,
> but decided to see wait to see what the next DJ would do.
>
> I'm glad I did wait. Dwayne's DJ set was much more interesting techno with
> some housey stylings thrown in. It sorta reminded me of Mark Williams,
> though less driving. The tracks seemed to go on a little too long, but they
> still had potential. After a while, one of the guys in the club, who was
> decked out in a pimp suit with sensible shoes to match, grabbed the
> microphone and started singing!! I was pleasantly surprised to be treated
> to house music with live male vocals!! I made sure to grab one of the free
> CDs.
>
> Had to leave after a while so I could be sufficiently conscious for the
> 13-hour drive home. I listened to the CD in the car and it has potential.
> The tracks could definitely use some tightening, but at least there's
> something of interest there. I'm glad I took the chance and found a new
> artist who'll hopefully continue improving his production skills.
>
>
> OK TIME TO HATE!
>
> The Beatport stage seemed to be nothing but minimal eurotechno every time I
> went over there. Not that I dislike minimal techno, but the Beatport stage
> seemed so musically singular that it was distressing. The area was
> perpetually full of people who appeared to be enjoying the music, but why
> couldn't that music have been moved to different stages over the course of
> the weekend? Scion and Mark Ernestus would have been perfect on the
> Beatport stage, especially considering the time of day. I'm sure Minx would
> have been an excellent change of pace for that area as well.
>
> Then the Red Bull stage by the water started to feel like some spring break
> beach party as the days progressed. Thankfully, the music changed up quite
> a bit and was generally interesting, but I started to wonder about the crowd
> after a while. If nothing else, the crowd was energetic..
>
> The quality of the DJs at the Movement stage seemed to be very grab bag and
> the music on Saturday was particularly abysmal. For how long do DJs think
> it OK to play the same damn beat and track structure? On Saturday, the
> consensus obviously was that it was OK to do so for an entire set. Over and
> over and over and over and over. Even when the DJs changed it was same
> crap. Were they all in cahoots? When the woman in stripper garb got up on
> the speaker to wiggle about to the music the whole affair went from lame to
> tawdry. I assume she was connected with the DJ somehow. Was the T&A ruse
> supposed to distract me from the fact that I was hearing a third-rate DJ
> set? Sorry, but it didn't work!!
>
> Though I did enjoy the aural improvements to the underground stage, I
> couldn't help but wonder about the preponderance of black performers whose
> styles are very "Detroit" seemingly relegated to the Made In Detroit stage
> while the surfeit of mostly white minimal DJs were so strongly represented
> on the Movement and Beatport stages. In a way, it did feel like whiteface
> upstairs and blackface downstairs. Yeah, I know that not every DJ who
> played down there was black, and I know that popular white DJs like Hawtin
> and Magda have played down there, but I couldn't shake the idea of racial
> bias all weekend. Perhaps Tom Cox's sh1t-st1rr1ng on this issue had sunk
> in...
>
> Also, the underground stage still has a lot of issues. The improved sound
> helps, but it is still hot and muggy down there (why no fans?); the lines to
> the bathrooms are too long, and the dancefloor seems like it would be a
> nightmare if something happened and the crowd needed to exit the area
> quickly. Cincinnati stampede anyone? With all those factors, I could see a
> lot of people still avoiding the area, just like I use to, which is
> unfortunate when so many quality Detroit artists are performing down there.
>
> OK, I'm done complaining.
>
> I had fun this weekend and got to hear some artists I hadn't known about
> before, which is a good thing. I've managed to have fun with enough of the
> performances to make the festival still worthwhile overall.
>
> Already looking forward to going back next year!
>
> Lastly, I have to say that it was a PLEASURE to be back in Detroit!!!! I've
> only been to a few cities where I am happy just being there, regardless of
> what I'm doing at any particular moment.
>
> --
> {}0+>|
>
