Well, that's at least what they should have called HARD Weekend. It seems like Gary Richards (I refuse to use his DJ name), has heard the call from Boys Noize loud and clear for all DJs far and wide to get into the Techno. And that was most certainly the theme of the night, as EVERY DJ dropped a serious amount Techno / Tech House. That said, when they DID drop housier stuff, the crowd responded better as a whole, including myself. While the Techno is awesome, it didn't translate as well to this smaller venue, whereas House has a quality that you can't help but move to.
-M
Ok, now begin.
Club Nokia
First a few words on the venue. The bar looks straight out of Tron, and I like that. The one word that would really describe this place is clean. Ultra clean. It's a much smaller venue too, which is why it sold out rather quickly, stranding some poor souls on the balcony. And while the smaller crowd at times was nice, it really did make the even much more show and far less rave. While there are OBVIOUS downsides to massives, there's something about an ocean of bodies in an outdoor tent or football stadium with the most giant sound system you've ever laid eyes on. HARD is becoming the "safe" rave that kids can go to. Not safer in terms of drugs of course, just in terms of crowd.
Mumbai Science
I arrived at the time I did because I wanted to make sure to see these guys. Awesome Tech House producers from Belgium, these guys didn't disappoint. They had the disadvantage of an opening slot, so the lights weren't going as crazy and thus the crowd was mellower, but they seemed to be having a great time, which I always like to see. They also went computer-less, which means that they're ballers. I expect big things from these guys. Definite highlights of their set were hearing their own tracks.
Gary Richards
Rockin the Ableton set. While I definitely enjoyed his song selection (Tech / Dutch / Electro), he just tries to hard as a DJ. He failed when he tried to mix into Mumbai Science, which was funny. He cracked a few jokes that were awkward and called out to the crowd way too much. Yes, I'm excited for the next DJ. No, you don't need to remind us 5 times that he's coming up. I think he just wants everyone to know that he's throwing the events. He opened with what I have now confirmed is the unreleased Boys Noize Remix of Daft Punk's End Of The Line, so that was pretty awesome. He also played one of my favorite Umek tracks. But let's move on.
Daft Punk - End of line ( Boys Noize remix ) by daftworld
Back In The Race - Umek, Beltek
Daft Punk - End of line ( Boys Noize remix ) by daftworld
Back In The Race - Umek, Beltek
Fake Blood
My boy Gojira said that Fake Blood is a DJ that plays tracks that you wonder if they exist. I have to agree with this statement. Being the serious EDM obsessed nerd that I am, I'm used to recognizing a serious chunk of the music that I hear. I could only identify about 3 of the tracks he played in the first hour, and all of them were his own. The last halfhour saw some more variation in tracks, including some Afrojack. Is it possible that he's just got a shit ton of unreleased bombs? I hope so, but we'll see. He also showed off his turntablist chops, doing manual delays, scratching, and creating his own buildups. Like a boss.
Simian Mobile Disco
Ignore what I said earlier about Techno vs. House. Being the 3rd time I've seen their live show, I knew what to expect, and it was rad. First things first, they always have such a sick light show that it doesn't matter how you happened to "prepared" for their show, you will have an awesome experience. Their music is just so original that it blows my mind, especially when you're making Techno, as it's such a hard genre to create a unique/identifiable sound with. This is a live show that EVERY dance music fan should see at least once. They blended material from all 3 of their albums exquisitely, so their was a brilliant mix of their pop sounds with bangin instrumental Techno. They also had I Believe as their encore. I had forgotten how good that song is.
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