Shows

It was a warm Wednesday night when I hopped on the T in Boston, Massachusetts with a group of six energetic college students sporting low cut sleeveless T-shirts and booty shorts. As we got in line, I couldn’t help but notice the variety of people around us on this Wednesday night such as rowdy drunk college students, thrilled adults seeking something different from their usual repetitive schedule, and exhilarated Bass Heads who, if you didn’t know better, might mistake tonight for being their birthday because of their gleaming smiles.  It didn’t matter what age or what kind of person you strove to be; on Wednesday, April 18th you attended the House of Blues for one reason; Bassnectar had finally come to town.

Every component of Bassnectar’s show is well prepared and prepped.  He’s not only become an icon of the electronic dance music scene, but he also has become a ideal figure for fans to latch on too.  His music has developed into an easily recognizable and distinct sound that traverses between genres in order to keep his fans on their toes.  One simply doesn’t know what Bassnectar will produce next, whether its something within the Dubstep realm or a Glitch-Hop remix of a song from the 70’s.

Fast forward to the juicy part: “And now, I will give you music,” Bassnectar said after thanking the crowd for coming.  Suddenly, the room radiated in a red light and the audience felt the pounding bass from the floor.  Shouts and cheers for Bassnectar filled the room once again as his single “Wildstyle” blasted on the speakers and sub woofers at full volume to start off the night.

As one of Bassnectar’s most well known songs, “Wildstyle Method” showcases Bassnectar’s incredible production quality.  The combination of drums at different rhythms mixes with the easy to follow vocals.  When the synths and wobbles come in, “Wildstyle Method” becomes one of the grimiest, funkiest songs to dance to.  Bassnectar’s influences– post modern heavy metal bands such as Metallica and Nirvana– were embodied in the punchy and dirty wobbles, all kept in line with the assortment of drum patterns.  Sometimes his synths will even switch to a synthetic Electro sound, just to give the listeners some variety and catch them off guard.

Flawlessly, Bassnectar mixed from track to track, effectively pumping up the energy with each new record.  He flowed smoothly between a myriad of genres such as Hip-Hop, Dubstep, Glitch Hop, Drumstep, Drum and Bass, Electro and Breaks, and he constantly interacted with the crowd, saying: “Boston, you’re fucking awesome” and “Put your hands up at the drop!”  In turn, the crowd reacted with shouts of appraisal, screams for more music and incoherent slurs regarding the happiness his music brought to their daily lives.  Plus, he had helpers running throughout the venue, putting smiles on the faces of dehydrated teenagers by giving them free water.

The real fun began when Bassnectar dropped songs off of his new album, Vava Voom.  An eclectic collection of Bassnectar’s production skill, Vava Voom crosses numerous genres just like his mixing.  Some songs such as “Empathy” shift between melodic Dubstep and a 90’s Hip-Hop mood while others such as “Ping Pong” stick with a simple traditional Drum and Bass beat and easily followable lyrics, much like “Wildstyle Method.”  Just when you think you know his style, Bassnectar would switch to a song such as “Butterfly”, an atmospheric track at 140 beats per minute that makes you feel as if you’re floating through the air, guided by the soothing lyrics of Mimi Page.  A jack of all trades, Bassnectar also played “Laughter Crescendo” off his new album, a song that is inherently made up of happy synths, glitches and childish laughter that brings with it a free-flowing tone.

Nevertheless, it wasn’t until Bassnectar played “Vava Voom”, his collaboration with Lupe Fiasco, that I realized that this man had risen to superstar status.  ”Vava Voom” takes Bassnectar’s traditional sound, mixes it with the clever lyrics of Lupe Fiasco and halfway through drops you into one of the nastiest Dubstep measures you could imagine.  The wobbling synth compliments the drum beat to a point of perfection as Bassnectar switches up the rhythm, chopping up the synth and adding more drums into the pattern simultaneously.  Immediately, when the crowd heard the familiar crescendo of the beginning of “Vava Voom”, shouts rang from everywhere.  Behind him on the towering LED screens played the music video, with the occasional psychedelic image.

OMG! EDM is taking over Coachella (and the World)!!

This was the whine of the New York Times Music Critic in his recent Coachella 2012 articles. Poor baby, maybe he was pissed because The Black Keys got bumped to an earlier spot, and Swedish House Mafia closed Friday night. My opinion? To quote the Great Philosopher Tim Lincecum, “Fuck Yeah!” You couldn’t pay me enough (plus you’d have to lash me to a pole) to make me listen to 100 mostly mediocre indie rock bands.

I’m not sure what his complaint was, since only one of the five stages was dedicated to EDM. Ah, wait – I do know. LA Riots started blasting at noon on Friday, for goodness sake, and there was a mad stampede to the EDM stage. They kept coming and coming, until half of the early Coachella population was jumping around. So yes, run-of- the-mill indie rock has big problems keeping an audience.

As the weekend progressed, DJs did multiply like bunnies, especially Sunday night. I tweeted that four out of the five stages had different variants of EDM going on, but I was wrong – some guys I never heard of, Modeselektor, were on the fifth stage. Plus a sixth, unofficial stage with low-rent DJs and water cannons which many times was more fun than most of the other five. To be fair, there were some interesting bands, especially the ones with a World Beat flavor and brass, accordion, Middle Eastern sound, etc. As well as some mediocre EDM – sorry, Mt. Eden, and the French dude with the screechy high notes over the bass. Maybe his ears are blown out and he doesn’t realize how bad it sounds. FYI, there is a dedicated Coachella YouTube channel, so roam around and see what you can find.

Play Age Card here: I’ve heard and seen Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, The Stones, ZZ Top, Bryan Ferry & Roxy Music (one of my personal faves), plus lots of great Bay Area groups you’ve never heard of, who were miles ahead of the current crop of bands. For instance The Tubes, the greatest visual rock band of all time. Pre MTV, every song was fully costumed, fully choreographed, absolute craziness – check ‘em out on the History Channel (that’s YouTube, gang).

In Ye Olde Days, festivals/concerts/happenings/be-ins were supposed to be spontaneous – the 60’s, remember? which usually was a synonym for disorganized and haphazard (unless Bill Graham was screaming at you). Security was the Hells Angels guarding the front rows, food and drinks were BYOB, just getting there was an adventure, concerts were supposed to be free or minimal cost. I went to Altamont for instance, listened to a lot of folk-rock, the precursor to CSN&Y and the Eagles, as well as The Stones and others, and lived to tell the tale. Lived up the street from the Jefferson Airplane and got to hear Grateful Dead rehearse (really, truly bad). Plus worked at the Avalon, the competitor to The Fillmore. Peace, love and weed, baby.

Going to Coachella is mighty different. There are huge sums of money involved now, $45-$50 million just in admissions. There’s security. More security. More security. Which is a good thing. While the audience is mostly SoCal, there were a lot of Aussies and folks from all over. The costs involved in attending self-select an audience that can afford the hundreds of bucks for the admit, plus travel, plus camping or hotels, plus shuttles, plus food, plus lots and lots of water at $2 a pop. All that creates a predominantly college-age audience who (or their parents) have money. And behave well. I think my Lincecum t-shirt was such a hit because the 20-somethings weren’t about to wear something so rude themselves. There was a bit of faux Burning Man flavor too, with huge, temporary sculptures and cautious costumes on some folks.

I hear most of my dance music on satellite radio (they recently added a second dance channel), so getting out to see a whole bunch of acts was great. I really liked Justice, an electronic rock band – if Hendrix were alive today, that’s what he’d be doing. There are some dudes who really are into visual arts, with a soundtrack, such as DJ Shadow and Flylng Lotus (who is part of a jazz royalty family, the Coltranes). There are innovative, cross-genre sounds such as Justice and Flying Lotus. Killer stage shows, such as Avicii DJing from the top of a giant skull. The really successful formula seems to be: sample or remix a lot of top 25 EDM hits with singers, play a line then cut the sound and let the audience sing the next line, then blast that pure bass. I liked Porter Robinson as well, purveyor of my all-time favorite dance song line, “You dropped me on Facebook, now you’re going to die.” And, of course, there are people I’d love to see here next year, such as Josh Wink and Metrojolt’s #1, Above & Beyond.

Finally, Phil has done a really thoughtful and perceptive piece for Metrojolt on the technological highlight of Coachella, the Tupac hologram. Read it– far more insightful than anything I’ve seen in the mainstream press.

I loved:

1. All those bikinis
2. Timmy t-shirt was way more popular than buffed-out dudes, tattoos, etc.

I hated:

1. Chubby guys with coconut shell bras. Really. Bad. Look.
2. Women with full-length dresses in 100+ degree heat. Ladies, if your body image is that poor, stay home and work out.

I’d kill for:

1. A chair – is that too much to ask? After 8-10 hours either milling around or sitting on the hard ground, a chair would be wonderful.
2. Two out of the five stages for EDM next year, all three days.

I personally did not make it to Coachella 2012 (and from all of us stuck at home to those who just returned or to those who will pack and head out to the sunny desert of Indio next weekend, we hate you). This is not a review of the festival, that comes after next week, but instead a hats off to the producers of the show and an article of shock and amazement and what was most likely the most surprising surprise guest of all time.

We had all heard the rumors of a Tupac hologram at Coachella 2012 weeks before the show began. I simply don’t think that anyone was quite prepared for the reality of the performance. For those of you that don’t use the internet except to check AOL with dial-up or for those of you who are still in shock and haven’t processed the situation, this is what happened: an incredibly realistic hologram of Tupac Shakur performed ’2 of Amerikaz Most Wanted’ and ‘Gangsta Party’ with Snoop Dogg on stage at Coachella 2012. Yes, all the other guests were cool and the entire set was incredible, but this, above anything else, has pushed the boundaries of music technology in a way unprecedented by any show ever. All jokes aside, this is some goddamn Star Wars shit. This is the future of music technology, but where is it leading us?

Truth is, nobody can really tell. Will big artists start phoning it in and using this technology to avoid the stress of performing live on tour? I certainly hope not, especially because I believe this technology is heading to much more interesting and progressive applications. Tupac’s performance was incredible for a few reasons. First, this man was one of the most influential rappers of the ’90s and perhaps of all time. He practically invented the west coast hip-hop sound. His death was unexpected, tragic, and senseless, and even if you weren’t alive, Tupac’s death has affected you in some way if you’ve ever listened to hip-hop. At Coachella 2012, if only for two songs, we were able to catch a glimpse into the legacy and influence that both Tupac and Snoop had and continue to have on rap, as well as pay tribute in the most proper of ways. The sentimental value of this performance may be lost on some, but those who attended Coachella this year and those who truly appreciate hip-hop saw the hologram for what it actually was – not some sort of gimmick to attract more attendees, but a true, honest, and well executed tribute to the man that has changed the face of west coast music. Obviously, it would be a crime to overuse this technology. But the possibilities of hyper realistic hologram technology offer a ton of exciting opportunities to the producers of large shows like Coachella, even moving outside the realm of hip-hop. A Kurt Cobain hologram would have a similar effect on a rock audience, and a Daft Punk appearance would be an incredible way to honor the two most influential Frenchmen on electronic music (once they’ve stopped for good, of course).

The possibilities of this technology are endless. Look forward to our continuing coverage of Coachella 2012 once weekend 2 has finished!

Some say they saw a tear on Snoop’s face as the hologram faded away into the warm Indio night. R.I.P. Tupac. You really are gone but not forgotten.

Last Thursday, I had the pleasure of seeing Feed Me perform with his epic Teeth at the Royale in Boston. Let me begin my tale from the start: with the venue. The Royale is a very well placed and intimate club. In addition to being located in the heart of Boston, a mere two blocks from Emerson University, the Royale attracts many world-reowned DJs, producers, and bands. I’ve only attended Feed Me’s show last Thursday, but some past EDM headliners have included: Armin van Buuren, Above & Beyond, Axwell, Ferry Corsten, Gareth Emery, Laidback Luke, Paul Van Dyk, Tiësto, etc. In fact, Alesso played the day before Feed Me! Talk about having great concerts all week at a very accessible club.

When I arrived, the line was pretty long and full of excited college kids. You could say it was as long as any other club, but interestingly, the line advanced fairly quickly (lightspeeds faster than Ruby Skye or EPR in San Francisco). The bouncers did not really seem like bouncers, first off because none of them wore anything that was obviously bouncer-like clothing, and second because they weren’t harassing anyone. Hip hip hooray for nice bouncers. Inside, the club looked fantastic. The Royale is a sweet club filled with couches and carpets. The dance floor is very big, the balconies are nice and the ever-crowded bar had plenty of drinks for everyone. The speakers were nice and loud, and I could hear every aspect of Feed Me’s music while still being able to feel the bass.

First up was Kill The Noise, with a tiny stage and not that great lights, but most openers have to deal with this. KTN was a great opener for Feed Me. He was a funny guy, interacted with crowd a lot, and got the audience pumped for what was coming. I know him as filthy Dubstep and Drumstep producer with a little Electro mixed in there as well, so I was expecting him to play mostly heavy Dubstep. Even as a humongeous lover of heavy dubstep, there were some times when the moshing just became too much and people were pushed around. Sure, I guess it comes with the territory, but I was also relieved and pleasantly surprised as KTN mixed flawlessly from Dubstep to Hip Hop to Electro and back to Dubstep. Some highlights of his set include his remix of Must Be The Feeling by Nero, his collab with Dillon Francis Dill The Noise, Doctor P’s remix of Reasons, and Unison by Porter Robinson.

After a couple interlude songs, the curtains were raised and Feed Me’s Teeth were visible under the dark lighting. They were 21 giant LED triangles shaped into the classic Feed Me wicked smile with a pair of leering eyes included. They completely covered up the entire stage of the Royale, so they were huge! Upon viewing the Teeth, the crowd started screaming and the floor was lit up with cell phones recording the first few minutes of Feed Me’s show. Feed Me started with an intro edit of some new track he’s been working on (or perhaps it’s just a track he uses as his intro to his set). It was a creepy intro with plenty of eerie organ sounds and some of his signature Feed Me “solo guitar” sounds. The first part of the Teeth to turn on were the eyes, contributing to the very spooky atmosphere that Feed Me was creating. After what felt like 10 minutes of just buildup, a drop finally arrived, and the crowd went nuts (as did I).

For the rest of the show, my brain was blown several times, my eyes melted out of their sockets, and I could not seem to keep my mouth from gaping open. Feed Me’s entire show was awesome, from the fantastic visuals to the incredibly smooth transitions. A word about his transitions: Feed Me played his songs in their entirety. It usually peeves me when artists do this, but with Feed Me I had a completely different opinion. I was very happy that he played out his entire songs because it meant that I got to enjoy every single part of them. This is because Feed Me’s tracks are nearly perfect, so he doesn’t have to do much with his tracks to make them extremely enjoyable for the crowd. For example, if you’ve heard his originals Embers and Muscle Rollers, you know what I’m talking about. Both of these amazing tracks either consist of new material throughout the song or of little subtleties that keep the song interesting throughout. In fact, I would have been extremely disappointed had he not played the entirety of those tracks (he did play them both, and the crowd went wild for both of them).

The visuals on the Teeth were something out of this world in my opinion. Not only were they synced perfectly with the music, they displayed sick images appropriate to the song that was playing. For example, for Blood Red, they exhibited a great combination of blood stains and red visuals. I don’t think I’d be able to explain how awesome they were, you’d have to see them yourself. Fortunately, we have some pictures to show you!

Feed Me’s show is one that shouldn’t be missed. If you have a chance, go to Feed Me’s website and check out his remaining tour dates! If you couldn’t make it out to any of the shows, you can still enjoy Feed Me’s great music on Beatport or iTunes and you can keep up to date with the scary and playful creature on Facebook, Twitter, and Soundcloud.