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UNBRIDLED OPINION FOLLOWS
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Well, I have to say, without a doubt, that Akufen played the best set I
heard all weekend!!! Due to a venue change and some erroneous, printed
information, I went through hell and then some just to find the
damn party, but I was determined to not miss it. I'm glad I made the
effort, 'cause his set was really quite inspiring and a welcome change
from the minimal club fare being served at the festival. His set made
his mix on Fabric17 seem quite pale in comparison.
Whoever the DJ was who followed Akufen was pretty tight too, but I had
to leave so I could catch Robert Hood's set at the Eastern Market.
Robert's set was good, but it wasn't as adventurous as when I heard him
a few months ago. Though I was totally exhausted (I'd been up for
almost 24 hours at that point), I wasn't leaving until it was over and
the lights were turned on!!! I did love how massive the warehouse was!!
It made me realize how long its been since I've been to a good ole
warehouse party! The bass was THUNDEROUS!!! WOW!!! I liked the crowd
too. Small (and made even smaller by the sheer size of the warehouse)
but appreciative.
Mathew Jonson and Luciano played really good sets at the Paxahau party.
I'd never heard either of them play before, but I'm definitely willing
to check them out again.
On the other hand Sammy Dee, who was the primary reason I went to the
Paxahau party, played a shockingly flaccid set!!! OI!!! Talk about
lackluster, clunky, pedestrian beats!!! Yeah, he was playing in the
lounge, but that's NO excuse. Nuh-uh!! I tried to be understanding,
but his set was a nap and a half!! Next!!! I couldn't believe this was
the same man who served it up so divinely at a Paxahau show a few
months back!! :(((((((((((((((((((((((((((((
Aux88 were...well....I decided to go to the food court to sample the
frozen pizza on sale in the food court. (why on earth didn't someone
get Buddy's Pizza to set up a stand in there???)
And the chicken tikka masala at the Indian food stand was vile and
overpriced. It almost gave met the runs, but through sheer willpower I
avoided the dreaded trip to the port-a-potty!!! Needless to say, I
didn't go back for more the next day.
Model 500 was better than I thought they'd be, but in a different way
than I expected. I don't know why they didn't bill themselves
as Cybotron, since that's what they played. I was hoping to hear
something like 'Neptune' and instead got "Cosmic Cars". No complaints
here, though. There were moments that were really exquisite. Its a real
pity their time got cut short. I was really getting excited to see where
their set would go.
The DJs at the Nefarious tent were fun as usual. The closing DJ
Sunday night was particularly good. I think that was the only time I'd
actually DANCED at the festival. Even if the main stage acts aren't of
interest to me, I know I can always swing by the Nefarious tent for some
scruffy entertainment.
The Paxahau/Mutek stage left a lot to be desired, as far as quality of
sound. All I heard was thudding bass and little else!! I understand
that the DJs might want to come off as "hard" and "minimal", but it
sounded to me like there was way too much bass. I couldn't hear
anything else. As usual, the crowd didn't seem to care. All the DJ had
to do was periodically fade out the bass a little then crank it again
and the crowd would cheer as if it was the most mindblowingly
spectacular thing they'd ever heard...
Hawtin's set left me unphased. I like his CDs and all, but I don't want
to hear anything that minimal at a festival unless its coming from
Robert Hood. ;)
Unfortunately, I completely missed Octave One and Kenny Larkin and they
were my main reason for going on Monday!! :(((((
Monday night, I opted to check out the Electric Avenue party as much for
the space itself as the DJs playing there. I figured Oliver Ho and
company would be able to work those acoustics too, but unfortunately the
party was cancelled! I was really hoping to end the festival weekend
with a bang! :((
As for the crowd at the festival: it was as motley and periodically
unsavory as I'd expect a crowd of that size to be. I prefer it when the
crowd is youthful and a little silly and definitely tripping wildly,
but candy ravers are good in a pinch. However, I do have issues with
people who take out their frustration on having to navigate a dense
crowd of people by brusquely barging through the crowd to get where they
want to go. I really wanted to grab few of them and beat them repeatedly.
There seemed to be fewer goth/punk/industrial types out and about this
year (the Victorian couple were great, though) and I didn't see a
mini-stage for them near the water like I've seen in previous years.
What happened? I hope this doesn't become a trend at the festivals.
Last year, I remember seeing a pretty good synthpop band play in that
area. They were sort of like an industrial Classix Nouveau.
All in all, I had a blast. Thankfully, Kraftwerk is tomorrow, so I
don't have to get out of festival mode until next week. ;) ,
Unfortunately, I didn't get as many whiffs of second hand pot smoke at
the festival this year. Are times really that hard?
