I know this is long overdue, but I felt an obligation (misplaced, no doubt) to post something about the festival.
First of all, I think Paxahau should be commended for having improved the sound quality at the Underground Stage. The area had already begun sounding less and less murky each year, but this year I was quite surprised by the degree of aural clarity. I did not go down into "the pit" this year, but the quality of the sound near the walkways (behind the soundboard and near the bathroom) was very impressive. Second kudos to Paxahau for altering the orientation for the Electric Forest stage speakers, which worked very well. Though I wasn't keen on any of the music I heard from that stage all weekend, the sound was very full and rich, much more than previous years when the speakers were facing the water and the revelers had to stand on the grass. Dubstep bass sounded very large and powerful, which was quite nice. Too bad the dubstep itself wasn't in the style that I wanted to listen to. It'll be nice when perkier 2-step syncopation makes it way back into dubstep... Also, I'd like to thank Andrew Duke for some fabulous mixes that helped me make it through the interminable drive through Pennsylvania... Noteworthy sets from the festival itself: Alton Miller - surprisingly fun and thankfully not too jazzy Terrence Parker - He really kept the vibe going. His track selection was energizing and got my hopes up for a fun weekend Moby - I was running between stages during his set, but I really liked what I heard. I do hope he played "Next is the E" Daniel Bell - a very good, groovy set. Not as starkly minimal as I've come to expect from him, but very good nonetheless Cajmere - Loved the vibe! Where are the kick queens when you need them? Derrick May & Kevin Saunderson - Excellent, as always! Who else could have inspired me to dance in the rain and cold for so long? As is true every year, the after-parties are overwhelming in their number and variety. There weren't any mega-events for me year, where so many people I want to hear will be playing at a single party that I don't really make plans to be anywhere else. That made deciding on which parties to go to harder, but it also meant I got to explore more of the after-party scene. Plus, there's always something to be said for a night of quality party-hopping. Friday night, I went to the House Headquarters party @ L!V Resto. I'm not sure who was playing when I got there, but I did hear Gary Chandler (fun, but very disjointed) and DJ Assault (Lordy be!!). As always, I missed DJ Godfather. I think it must be written in the stars. Saturday night, I went to TV Lounge for the first time. Every year, I mean to go there but end up somewhere else. The music was pretty good, for the most part. Not sure who I was listening to in the separate rooms, but it was all enjoyable enough. To tell the truth, I don't remember much about the music, but I liked the club itself quite a bit. I'll have to make an effort to go there again the next time I'm in town. After TV Lounge, I went to Club Waterfalls to hear DJ Minx et al. Unfortunately, I didn't realize until the night was over that there was more music happening on the second floor. DUH!!! Sadly, no Minx for me. The music I did hear on the main floor wasn't bad at all, though the sound system was painfully shrill. I almost left several times because the treble was so sharp and loud that it hurt my ears (not even listening to old Whitehouse is so harsh). However, I persisted and eventually got to hear a DJ whose set really caught my attention. I asked him his DJ name and he said "DJ 50 Meal" (??). What a strange name for a DJ. Sunday night, I was at Club Waterfalls again to hear DJ Bone and Shawn Rudiman. I didn't get to hear Shawn, but DJ Bone's set was truly invigorating and I danced the entire time I was there. Unfortunately, I had plans to be at the Echospace/Terrence Dixon party that night as well, so I couldn't stay as long as I would have liked. It was very difficult for me to leave, but it had to be done. Echospace's set was easily the most memorable point of the entire weekend for me!!! I went there expecting to be bathed in their evocatively meteorological techno-dub, but instead was engulfed in a throbbing kaleidoscope of sound, all still on the meteorological tip. All of this in a truly gritty, grimey warehouse setting. What more could I ask for? I danced and danced and danced and danced and danced, and even indulged my inner speaker-whore for most of Echospace's set. Their rhythms were much more energetic than on their recordings and though it retained their trademark variations-on-a-Basic-Channel-theme, there were several points where the music morphed into something surprisingly reminiscent of late-90's minimal psytrance (dense layering of aural particulate and relative independence of constituent bass lines). Ah, what I would have given to have been on acid for their set!!. I get all wet and gushy just thinking about how aurally sumptuous that was!!!! To top it all off, they were giving away copies of "Soundtrack for Silent World". I'm not sure who played after them. The music was good, but Echospace had sent me so far out into orbit that I spent most of the next set I spent trying to return to earth and regain my senses. Then there was Terrence Dixon.... I'm not sure what that set was all about. I was really very confused by the whole affair. Who were the two guys with him and why did the one cover his face with a bandana? What were they contributing to the music? And what was going on with the music, which seemed very out of whack and disjointed? I'm not sure what they were trying to achieve but it didn't quite gel, at least not in my opinion. Funny, because Terrence was one of the main reasons I went to that party and I was left feeling very perplexed by I'd heard. I'll cut Terrence some slack, though, since his new album is fantabulous. Afterwards, I stopped by The Works around 6:00am and heard Silent Servant. I was surprised that their set was as good as it was, since their album had left me unimpressed. It was engaging enough to give me enough energy to make it to the party at Old Miami. The Monday morning party at Old Miami is always very refreshing, though by that point in the night/morning I'm fading fast. Regardless, I do love a morning party even though it was much too cold outside for me to be willing to stay very long. Cassy showed up shortly before I left, which was a nice surprise. She's very cute in person. I lasted until about 10:00am then headed back to the hotel to sleep. Needless to say, I got to the festival very late on Monday (alas, no Ellen Allien). The cold and rain really started to bother me, so I left the festival for a while to go to Motor City Wine (loved the Carl Craig cremant) then Forans for my traditional first drink of the weekend. Since I had a 10 hour drive home on Tuesday, I promised myself I wouldn't stay out past 1:00am Monday night. I went to The Works to hear Ben Klock and ended up staying until 3:00am. It is always so hard to leave a club when the DJ is playing a really good set. Pity I couldn't have stayed longer... All in all, it was a very enjoyable festival this year. I think next year, I'll have to rearrange my non-festival daytime activities so that I can catch more of the artists I want to hear who are scheduled early/mid afternoon, then come back later in the evening.
