Tag: review

MSTRKRFT at the El Rey

Posted on by mygoodgomez

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This post is a celebration of electronic music and the city of Los Angeles, or maybe just of music in general. Regardless, MSTRKRFT’s show last night at the El Rey Theatre was insane. Being the second sold-out show of MSTRKRFT’s two night stand in LA, it was obvious that the packed (and tiny) venue was full of people who share a love of hard-hitting electronic music.

Speaking quickly on the El Rey, this was my first time see a show there. I was supposed to see Hot Chip there about three weeks ago, but a sick band member postponed the show until April 28th (the day after Coachella). After looking at pictures online, it was obvious that the El Rey was pretty small, but catered perfectly to the pit people as well as the I-wanna-sit-down-and-just-listen people. Comparing, I’d say it’s a bit more than half of the size of SOMA in San Diego. So there’s my bit about the El Rey, and I will definitely be back soon.

So after my most sketch bus ride yet and arriving a half an hour before door time, we were finally let into the venue with LA Riots already spinning. I find it pretty interesting how venues ramp up the volume as the night goes on. Is it for the benefit of our ears, or because they want the headliners to hit that much harder? Anyways, I didn’t really dig LA Riots’ set. I love their online mixtapes, but this set wasn’t anything like that. I consisted of a lot of tech-house, and only in the last 10-15 minutes did they throw in one or two of their original remixes or any contemporary stuff. Also, why did only one half of the duo do any spinning? Eh.

After LA Riots was finished (around 9), Z-Trip immediately stepped up to the tables on the opposite side of the stage (a definite perk of electronic music is the lack of downtime). Opening with Justice’s Genesis probably isn’t the best way for a hip-hop DJ to introduce himself to house crowd, but it at least got us excited. Unfortunately, his set didn’t continue is that direction. Z-Trip is known as a pioneer of mashups, and it showed. He is a talented DJ/turntablist, and does far more than mix individual tracks together. While I wasn’t completely into his entire set, credit must be given for his deft ability to blend Johnny Cash, Guns ‘n Roses, Rage Against the Machine, Justice, the Beastie Boys, and Pink Floyd into one set.

So about half way through is 90 minute set, Z-Trip told us that he was trying out some stuff with drums included in the show, and a drummer came out and began to play along with Z-Trip spinning on the decks. It took a bit of getting in to, but eventually the mix got into the crowd. The sound of live drums layered against a DJ’s scratching was fairly inventive, but it got really interesting when Z-Trip stepped away from the deck to play along with the drummer. It was just a crazy show of two guys banging on a single drum set and simultaneously switching positions (standing/sitting) while playing nonstop. After this, Z-Trip stepped back up and spun for about 15 more minutes before putting together a nice short speech about how hip-hop DJs and electro/house DJs touring together is a good thing for music. It was more a little announcement about appreciation of music in all of its forms. Thumbs up.

Onto the show we were all waiting for: MSTRKRFT. If you look down to the bottom of this post, you will see a few images, check out the one of the crowd. That’s the Coachella 2007 crowd for MSTRKRFT’s set, and I was in that crowd for about 10 minutes until I (foolishly) got bored of the end of DJ Heather’s set mistaking it for MSTRKRFT. While I was walking away, Easy Love started, and I felt my stomach drop. I was already a ways away, so I kept walking. I vowed not to make that mistake again.

After the massive hockey mask was unveiled against the back wall, the music started. The great “thump” that MSTRKRFT is known for played throughout the entire set, save for the buildups and breakdowns of course. Getting off to a solid start, they threw in VUVUVU right off the bat, and while the song kills, I don’t get why it would be a huge MIDI problem (as AL-P has said), unless the tempo was difficult to keep steady. Continuing on, the set was solid, and it was apparent that they can control a crowd almost as well as Daft Punk can; mixing the big hits with some newer (read: nonpopular) material is something they do well.

After throwing down a great set consisting of the Bloody Beatroots, Daft Punk, the Chemical Brothers, Stardust, and some original material,  the part of the show that I had been praying for finally arrived. This section of the set consisted of D.A.N.C.E (MSTRKRFT Remix), Wow (MSTRKRFT Remix), and I believe that Paris was played here as well. Justice’s D.A.N.C.E. was 2007’s club hit that went mainstream, and MSTRKRFT’s remix of it is by far my favorite remix (out of the 27193 remixes that are floating around the blogs). So that knocked it out of the park. Then Wow was played, which is yet again, another MSTRKRFT remix fav. Kylie Minogue’s original song is alright, but I don’t think it’s anything special. This remix is a perfect example of what Kylie+MSTRKRFT equals. This part of the set is what put the show over the top for me.

After announceing that they would be heading over to LAX after the show because they were getting kicked out of the El Rey, they ended with Daft Punk’s One More Time as followed by Justice’s Phantom Pt. II (Soulwax Remix). It was a great finale, and I left satisfied. If you need an example of what this duo does to a crowd (and you haven’t followed my directions from above), click on the Coachella 2007 crowd, it’s one of my favorite Coachella pictures.

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Cochella 2008: Justice

Posted on by mygoodgomez

justicethumb.jpgSo here we are again with Justice. In case you’ve forgotten, I wrote a post about Justice for last year’s Coachella, but way too much has happened in the past year for me to ignore these “third-liners” (they were “bottom-liners” last year).

So what did I say last year about Justice?

Anyone up for a French house DJ duo? No, I’m not talking about Daft Punk; I’m talking about Justice. Of the entire artist lineup being pushed by Ed Banger Records right now, Justice is getting the best and most press attention (guess I’m feeding the flame.) Gaspard Augé and Xavier de Rosnay are the current heroes of French house music.

Back to now: all of the above is still true (and more). These two are still the kings of electro, but they are anything but alone in the genre. This past year we have seen DJs like Boys Noize, Para One (and the rest of the Institubes crew), SebastiAn & Kavinsky (and the Ed Banger crew) all tour nonstop and put out some great remixes. Justice is no longer the unique sounding duo that they were last year, but the release of their debut LP Cross has kept them on top.

Instead of relying on the distorted electro sound that brought them up, Justice has become a genre-crossing mix of disco, electro, pop, and rock. The worldwide phenomenon of electro has contributors popping up all over the globe, and the backlash has been just as great as the support.

This year at Coachella, look forward to a brand new live show (remember last year? they played Cross in its entirety)… Busy P sounds pretty pumped for these guys, and I will not be missing them this year (unless they are pitted against Roger Waters).

Justice Music Videos / Live Stuff

A Night with Kid Sister & A-Trak

Posted on by mygoodgomez

A-Trak & Kid SisterEveryone loves tons of taxidermies surrounding them when they go to shows, right? No? Oh well. Last night at the LA County Natural History Museum, Kid Sister & A-Trak put on a great show surrounded by deers, seals, and buffalo.

Because it was one of the museum’s First Fridays events, the night started with a presentation on the topic of elephant communication. Apparently, elephants have huge brains and are considered extremely intelligent mammals. They communicate not only through vocalizations, but also through vibrations transfered from the ground through their feet similar to how some insects do.

It was sometime during this presentation that I realized that this is how the government should fix the declining education levels in the US: have cheap concerts with up-and-coming indie artists at museums, and require kids to come to the museum an hour early to attend a session like this to get tickets. I really think that most people have a genuine interest in learning, but that school is so boring that learning is associated with a unidirectional lecture (and resultant sleep). But back to the music…

A-Trak came out around 8 and spun some hip hop while flaunting his amazing mixing skills here and there. For those who don’t know, A-Trak is Kanye West’s DJ, he won the DMC World DJ Championship in 1997 at the age of 15 (youngest ever & first Canadian), and he owns Fool’s Gold Records. While his first set was great, it was coming out of some crap speakers, which put a damper on things at first. After standing in front of those speakers (in the front row), my ears were kinda shot, so it didn’t really matter.

At around 8:40, Kid Sister came out and put on a great set. She did every song of hers that I know and more. Her songs are so perfect to sing along with because of the simplicity of the hook. After about a half hour set that consisted of Control, Damn Girl, Pro Nail, Beeper, Telephone and others, she finished with Switch Board. It’s neither here nor there, but during Control, she came off the stage, and I happened to hold her hand for a few seconds… That’s how you get fans.

After Kid Sis finished up, A-Trak kept the energy up with some great electro that included stuff by Simian Mobile Disco, The Prodigy, Justice, SebastiAn, Spank Rock, and some of his own remixes of Digitalism and Kanye West. He progressed back down into more hip hop, and ended on a solid note. I think of the DJ sets I’ve been to, I’d most liken A-Trak to Flosstradamous. Both spin electro and hip hop superbly.

It was a great night. While I paid a whopping $6.50 for my tickets, it turned out that USC students get into the museums for free, so a friend here paid nothing (I ordered mine early). It was a bargain either way.

Steve Aoki is Pillowface

Posted on by mygoodgomez

aokipillowfacethumb.jpgSo just in case you happened to miss my comments on the 2007 Neighborhood Festival that took place last September, in short, Steve Aoki blew me away. Taking into account that this man is the king of the L.A. electro scene right now and that he is the mastermind behind the Neighborhood Fest, let’s see how his new mix-album titled “Pillowface and His Airplane Chronicles” weighs in.

Beginning, please find me another electro album that opens with a punk song better than this. You can’t. I say that because track #1, Refused’s “New Noise”, is and has been for quite some time my favorite punk song ever, and because I’ve never heard electro records open with anything but electro. That being said, this is an “indie/electro” album Aoki quickly on to Erol Alkan’s “Durrr Durr Durrrrrr” edit of Justice’s “Waters of Nazareth”.

About half way through track #2 comes the portion of the album that sets it apart from other mixtapes: the guest drops. While other mixes might throw in some creative fading or original remixes by the DJ at hand, Aoki has been able to get some of the biggest up-and-comers (as well as established individuals) to rhyme on top of the songs in the mix. The artists with guest drops on 14 of the 17 tracks include Spank Rock, Amanda Blank, Santogold, Kid Sister, Har Mar Superstar, Uffie, Pase Rock, Mickey Avalon, Todd Fink of The Faint, and Steve Bays of Hot Hot Heat. As Steve has put it, “so when you listen to it, it’s like a party with all these different people.”

As for the progression of the album, the mixing of the tracks isn’t anything special. That being said, the song selection is spot on. One point that Aoki made in an interview was that while there are various talents that DJs can bring to the table, “at the end of the day, it’s the songs you want to hear… the most important part of DJing is selecting records.” Well said sir. The mood or tone of the mix fluctuates throughout, making for a solid hour of indie/electro that flows very well. Of the various remixes to be found in the mix, MSTRKRFT shows face a couple times just as Erol Alkan does. Weird Science, the production team made up of Aoki and partner-in-crime Blake Miller also pops up nicely remixing Peaches’ “Boys Wanna Be Her” and Bloc Party’s “Helicopter”.

All in all, Steve Aoki and friends have made a mix album that certainly rises above the ranks of bootleg live sets. Through the many guest drop contributions and Aoki’s unearthly ability to gauge when to drop the heavy hitters and when to pull back for a bit so that fatigue doesn’t set in, “Pillowface and His Airplane Chronicles” is a solid effort that succeeds as a standalone album to be played both in the clubs and in the privacy of your home.

Extra stuff on Steve Aoki:

Tracklist:

  1. Refused: “New Noise”
  2. Justice: “Waters of Nazareth (Erol Alkan Remix)” [ft. Pase Rock]
  3. Does It Offend You, Yeah?: “We Are Rockstars” [ft. Naeem (MC Spank Rock)]
  4. Services: “Element of Danger (MSTRKRFT Remix)” [ft. Har Mar Superstar]
  5. Goose: “Bring It On” [ft. Todd from the Faint]
  6. Larry Tee & Princess Superstar: “Licky (Herve Goes Low Remix) [ft. Santogold]
  7. Green Velvet: “Shake and Pop” [ft. Kid Sister]
  8. Klaxons: “Gravity’s Rainbow (Soulwax Remix)
  9. The Mystery Jets: “The Boy Who Ran Away (Riton Re-Dub)
  10. Peaches: “Boys Wanna Be Her (Weird Science Remix) [ft. Thunderheist]
  11. Datarock: “Fa-Fa-Fa” [ft. Steve from Hot Hot Heat]
  12. Yelle: “Je Veux Te Voir”
  13. Franz Ferdinand: “Do You Want To (Erol Alkan’s Glam Racket Remix)” [ft. Amanda Blank]
  14. Kim (from the Presets): “Wet N Wild” [ft. Mickey Avalon]
  15. Bloc Party: “Helicopter (Weird Science Remix)”
  16. Justice: “D.A.N.C.E. (MSTRKRFT Remix)”
  17. Scanners: “Low Life (Teenagers Remix)” [ft. Uffie]

Daft Punk – Alive 2007

Posted on by mygoodgomez

daftpunkalive2007-thumb.jpgRemember that post I did a while ago about Daft Punk’s incredible concert at the L.A. Sports Arena? This is the review of the live album for that tour, not the actual experience of the concert. If you are a dedicated Daft Punk fan, I’ll try to have some info in here that interests you, but with this review I’m looking more to those who don’t “get” Daft Punk or what it (as a movement) has come to encompass. Let’s get the obvious points out of the way. 1) Anything Daft Punk does right now blows my mind. 2) This album is the epitome of an electronic live album. Here’s why:

  1. Robot Rock / Oh Yeah: We begin with the chopped words “Human Robot” being spoken very slowly. The pace picks up, high hats are forging on, and bit by bit the beat comes in to play. After 2:20 of intro, Robot Rock comes in full force. This track off of Human After All, which has had its fair share of plays, starts the record off nice and hard. It’s repetitious, but rough enough so that we know that Alive 2007 definitely isn’t Discovery 2. As Robot Rock gets split and mangled, Oh Yeah, one of the straightforward Homework tracks, replaces the beat. We continue a bit to establish that bass will not be lacking here, and move on.
  2. Touch It / Technologic: In comes the sample of Technologic used by Busta Rhymes mixed with a modified Robot Rock beat. Please, try not to get overwhelmed by the variety of beats layered behind the vocals here. After a bit of straight Touch It is finished playing and our two robots kill every sample used, the true Technologic vocal comes in to speak every line of the intro. Some guitar sample is played with it, and after a whole minute without bass, Technologic’s trudging beat blasts out to keep the heads bobbing. Again, more shredding of sounds is done with Ableton Live and the other hardware located in the most elusive of pyramids.
  3. Television Rules the Nation / Crescendolls: The first empty second shows its face, but the vocoded line of “Televisionnn… Rules the Nationnn…” quickly covers that up and continues the Human After All laden first tracks. But then we are so rudely tempted with the lines of “Around the World,” and my favorite synth line ever gets its play time. This song really is better at a fast tempo. The song cuts straight into Crescendolls, which plays for a bit. Crescendolls is a party-ready song to begin with, but when they bring back Television, wow. The high-energy of Crescendolls and the industrial trudge of Television is insane to say the least.
  4. Too Long / Steam Machine: Time to come down. Television/Crescendolls was fun, but that energy can’t last too long. This song is an excellent example of how Daft Punk isn’t out to keep the energy at 10 all night; they recognize that by bringing it in waves, those highs are so much better when they hit. Regardless, this is a nice revamp of Steam Machine, which was one of the songs on Human After All that got too repetitive. Not so here. This song serves its function: to bring the energy down & give everyone a breather.
  5. Around the World / Harder Better Faster Stronger: Your breather is over, brace yourself. As you can hear, when the bass-line of Around the World comes in, it’s obvious that you’re in for a treat. As Daft Punk’s most singable song plays, another all-time classic works itself in. If you want to chant along, please feel free. These two songs are fan favorites for a reason, and when they are pumping at the same time, the energy is back up at 10. Throughout the song, never do these two monsters seem to be at each other’s throats. It’s as if they were meant to be torn apart and squashed together from their creation.
  6. Burnin’ / Too Long: Coming back down, the raw originality of Burnin’ shines. Straight from Homework, this 10 year-old song hasn’t aged a day. A fair amount of effects are thrown into the mix so as not to get repetitive. For the second and final time, Too Long surfaces for its showcase. It got 10 minutes on Discovery, why not another 5 here? As the song comes to a close, it is clear that Part I is finished.
  7. Face To Face / Short Circuit: The interlude between acts begins. Don’t worry, the energy doesn’t get too high here. To me, this song shows off Daft Punk’s ability to perfectly re-create their songs to form new entities that stand on their own. As if the original beat on Face to Face wasn’t sweat enough, Harder Better Faster Stronger is no longer a vocal section, it replaces the hodgepodge first beat. Ending this middle-ground, Short Circuit and then silence.
  8. One More Time / Aerodynamic: Hear those bells? Know what they mean? If not, just grab a hold of your seat, there isn’t much of a break until the end. As the One More Time synth plays sans bass, you can hear the crowd wanting to sing along before the vocals come in. 1/2 of a bass, and then it’s in full force. A classic indeed. Just sing with the thousands of fans with Daft Punk’s most famous song. A third of the way through comes Aerodynamic’s guitar solo and the following beat. Just as was done with Television/Crescendolls, two songs become one. This is an energy = 11 moment, revel in it. This song is the entire album wrapped into one: classics, rises, falls, loud crowds, etc…
  9. Aerodynamic Beats / Forget About the World: Slowing down a bit, but not too much, Daft Punk kinda flaunts an old mix here. It has a great synth that sweeps in and out that meshes with Brainwasher’s vocals near the end.
  10. Prime Time of Your Life / Brainwasher / Rollin’ and Scratchin’ / Alive: 4 in 1, that’s what you get here. Prime Time’s vocals are nice, but are pumped up a notch when Rollin’ and Scratchin’s single drum hit accompanies it. Both old and new are played here. One observation of this track is how well Human After All combines with Homework. For as much slack as Human has received, when played with Homework, they really do work well.
  11. Da Funk / Daftendirekt: Part III (of III). Da Funk has my second favorite synth in it. It bounces and stays consistent with its bitter sting throughout. As Daftendirekt follows and mixes with Da Funk the effects that can be applied live are shows off here. Stutters, EQs, and the like are all used here, making for a song that differs greatly from the original two from Homework. They don’t carry the same 90s French Touch sound that their originals do, they are brought into the 21st century with style and class.
  12. Superheroes / Human After All / Rock’n Roll: To be blunt, this song is all rise. But what else could you ask for from a finale? It begins with Superheroes’ simple bass and the looped vocal comes in gradually as the original does. And then, what’s that? Oh, that’s the best beat of Human After All. That beat hits SO hard. How a house track is made into a fist-pumper escapes me. This song was always meant to be a finale song. With lyrics that say, “We are human, after all. Thanks for comin’, after all,” it could be nothing else. Pitches are raised, volume is maxed out, and in the end, the beat is dropped for the final “After All.” Fitting. The crowd roars, and for good reason. They know that an encore is coming up.
  13. Encore: Human After All / Together / One More Time / Music Sounds Better With You: So if you were lucky enough (like myself) to get the limited edition version of Alive 2007, you know what this track is. If you were cheap or couldn’t find the limited edition, go and download this song. It’s worth it. Going back to basics, “Human” is repeated many times until the “Time” sample from Para One’s remix of Prime Time After All at 2:15 brings the song into swing. The beat continues and eventually “Together” is brought in. The song falls down repeatedly as the second part begins. And we come to the rise. You can hear it; the hi-hats are increasing. Now it’s all or nothing, and the crowd roars. Why? Because the red suits just lit up, and it’s the most amazing thing that they’ve ever seen. But the song continues with One More Time accompanying this mix of old/new hits and old side-projects. I can’t really say enough about this song, it completely blows me away. 10 minutes for a single-song encore is amazing. The show is over, your mind has been blown.

I hope you have enjoyed my explanation/review of each track. If you agree or disagree with any of my points, feel free to comment!

I Am Legend, or at least a movie

Posted on by mygoodgomez

I Am Legend ThumbNow, I don’t want to knock Will Smith, being the sole actor (for the majority of the time) in any movie has to be incredibly difficult, but the movie didn’t rise to the occasion. I Am Legend builds on the premise set forth by Richard Matheson’s short story that in our efforts to cure cancer, a virus has hijacked our bodies killing 95% of the population with around 1% of us being immune. The other 4% turns into a kind of modified vampire that burns from UV exposure and lives in “hives”.

Will Smith aka Dr. Robert Neville is the only man left and for the past 3 years, he has been working to find a cure to the infection by testing the infected animals and humans. Along with his dog Sammy(?), which is immune to the airborne virus, but not to the physical transference of it, we see Neville in his attempts to fix all of this. While the movie provides plenty individual conflicts in the form of Neville tricking the infected, the infected tricking Neville, and the madness involved with that, the end really doesn’t add up.

If you have heard anyone say that this movie was scary, don’t doubt them. It’s not the Hannibal/realistic/keep-you-up-at-night scary, it’s just the jumpiest movie I’ve seen. One thing that could have been done to make it worse? Have the infected be real. The CG looks amazing, but it falls into the Uncanny Valley where it is almost real, but some tiny discrepancies add up and make the models look horrible.

My last complaint: what was up with the end? I haven’t read the short story, but I’ve heard that the end of the movie isn’t anything like the story. Just as it all comes to a point in the final action scene, it’s over. One final scene of pretty Vermont in the fall and we’re done. Unless they are planning a sequel, which they aren’t, so much more could have happened. I feel that more development or closure is necessary. It ended like 28 Days Later, and as anyone who knows me can attest, I hold that to be the worst possible ending to an amazing zombie film not unlike I Am Legend.

On a positive note, I really enjoyed how the movie was put together with the information of how the infection came about being woven into Neville’s dreams. It doesn’t come across as being cliche at all. It’s a nice change to the chronological order of events that is usually used.

I Am Legend is interesting going in, but nothing comes out of it. This movie has broken many sales records for December, proof that the great trailers paid off. I just don’t feel that any momentum will (or should) be kept.

Sunshine is my Apollo 13

Posted on by mygoodgomez

Sunshine Poster ThumbnailSunshine is a science fiction film that takes on a plot similar in theme, only far into the future (I hope), to Apolo 13. The premise of the movie is that the world is in an extended winter resulting from the gradual death of the sun. We (humans) sent a team of scientists to the sun to restart it, but it failed. Sunshine follows the second team sent up with the same mission as the first. Maybe it isn’t that similar to Apollo 13, but I figure that the two are some of the best space movies that I’ve ever seen, so they fall into the same categories for better or worse.

All of the basics are covered here. You have your scientists clandestine to save the world, but their predecessors already screwed up. You have group conflicts due to personality problems, decisions that are made, and the necessary sacrifice of people to save oxygen. On top of that, there’s a whole spiritual/insanity/abstraction aspect thrown in for size.

This really is one of the best movies that I have seen this year. It’s captivating from the get go and there are twists in the plot the entire way through. Unlike most movies, it doesn’t really have a decidedly positive or negative ending; your interpretation of the ending completely depends on how you felt towards certain characters and other events in the movie.

For those who care, this movie has the label of being an indie film (Fox Searchlight). That being said, the CG in Sunshine is far too complex for the movie to have had a small budget. It has its fair share of famous actors (Cillian Murphy, anyone?), but the budget for this movie couldn’t have been that small. Either way, it was amazing. It had the abstractions that fit in an indie film, but the major studio production value. Quite amazing.

The World Without Us – Alan Weisman

Posted on by mygoodgomez

The World Without Us Book ThumbnailJust a quick review here. This book takes on a very intriguing premise: What happens if the entire human race ups and disappears?

Really, its interesting… the premise, that is. After reading it, I have discovered that it was originally an academic paper, and it shows. Of course, the authors have probably dumbed down some of the technical aspects and made some of the content more accessible. The main problem that I (and the other people who I have talked to) have with the way that the book plays out is that it answers the question and then way more than the question.

The book definitely makes some points on the topics of global warming and the effects that we have on the environment. The bibliography at the end of the book gives the book a level of credibility that I feel other works of this nature need to have (I’m speaking to you, Inconvenient Truth).

If you want to read a book that is highly scientific in nature, this is probably a great bet for you. I just couldn’t keep up with the overload of small anecdotes that the book stems off of.

Neighborhood Festival 2007

Posted on by mygoodgomez

kid sister
Melisa Young aka Kid Sister

I have never been to a concert/festival like the Neighborhood Festival, but I can assuredly say that I will go again next year. Here’s the premise: Steve Aoki puts together this indie festival of artists on his label and his friends who just put on amazing shows. I’ll just give a rundown of the artists I saw and listened/danced/rocked/jumped to.

Starting off the day (around 3:30) was Funeral Party. I’ve never heard of them before, but they are the epitome of an indie scene punk band, complete with synths and a great bassist. They have great style and put on a great show. For opener, they started things off on the right foot.

Next up were Andre Legacy and Dirt Nasty. Two rappers who couldn’t write a serious verse if their lives depended on it. Then again, no one was in the mood to listen to some hardcore deep rap, so they fit in perfectly. Hilarious and off-color.

I believe that Squeak E Clean followed. Again, an artist (actually a DJ) who I’ve never heard of. Simply stated, starting off with MIA is a sure way to my heart. Following with some Justice, Daft Punk, Klaxons, Hot Chip, and other great electro kept me all ears throughout his entire set. First real DJ set I’ve watched and paid attention to, it was a great mix.

It got confusing here because I thought that Guns ‘n Bombs was up next, but only Johnny Love came out and started to spin some heavy noise glitch stuff when something went wrong with the needles. They weren’t playing something right and when he’d fade to one of the tables, it’d cut out. Odd, annoying.

Har Mar Superstar. What a show. I’m not saying I liked it, I’m still not sure. It was outlandish to say the least. I’ll leave it at that.

Here’s where the good stuff comes in (read: the DJs/rappers/artists who I’m familiar with). Flosstradamus came out and the crowds gathered (it was around 5/6ish). How they mix electro with hip hop and mainstream tech house is beyond me, but it works perfectly and the crowd loves it. I forget what the mix was, but they just went straight into Big Pimpin’ from an electro song. WHO DOES THAT? Pure genius.

So J2K stayed on the decks and Autobot went out onstage to meet Kid Sister who put on an amazing performance. Kid Sister is an amazing rapper and she puts on an incredible show wherever she goes (at least thats what I’ve read and seen). Following in the footsteps of MIA (as many female rappers are right now), the energy in her shows is so high and she’s all over the whole stage the entire time.

Moving away from hip hop/rap, we go to Crystal Castles. I don’t know who did the lineup, but I guess they had to throw them in somewhere. This 8-bit massacre tore the crowd to shreds. Probably the most hardcore artist here, even though their genre/classification falls somewhere in-between electropop and 8-bit industrial.

Back to the DJs. Steve Aoki (the creator of all of this) was up next. Again, mixing the electro with mainstream tech and some Yo Majesty! (I’m pretty sure it was Aoki who threw them in there). Somewhere amid Daft Punk’s Television Rules the Nation and Steam Machine, Aoki become possesed by some DJ gods and decided to stage dive into the crowd, something I’ve never seen a DJ do. It was amazing, he got passed over me, and like a good crowd, we got him back up onstage just in time for the next song to come in. Incredible. And as a side note, it was pretty cool seeing all of the artists playing at the festival come onstage for Aoki just to show their support for him.

Wrapping up the DJ set was DJ AM who kept the electro going for his 40 minutes. Good mix, not too eventful though.

And the heavy hitters are now ready to perform. Chromeo was next to take the stage openning with the intro to their latest album, it was obvious that this would be the funkiest performance of the night. They kept the crowd dancing for their entire set and it was sweet when we all started chanting “2 step, 2 step, 2 step” for the best song: Fancy Footwork. It took a couple more songs to get there, but they finally closed with it, and every just went insane. I’ve never really been in a crowd where the intention is dancing, not moshing. It’s a nice change of pace.

Wrapping up my night (I left a bit early) was a knockout lineup of Spank Rock, Amanda Blank, and Santogold. Amanda Blank and Santogold are two girls who are also following in the path the MIA has laid down for indie female rappers. Spank Rock got big at the same time as MIA, so I figure that they are equals in terms of innovative sounds. Yet another great set that kept the crowd going until their 40 minutes were up.

Mickey Avalon took the stage next, but I had had enough. My feet were killing me, and Avalon isn’t really up my alley of musical tastes. I decided to call it a night, it was time.

Continue reading “Neighborhood Festival 2007” →

M.I.A. – Kala

Posted on by mygoodgomez
M.I.A. - Kala
cover art for what could be the year's best album: Kala

So now that you have all had access to get M.I.A.’s latest offering legally (although it seemed like the people at her concerts chose differently), here’s my take on it. After just one listen, anyone could recognize that it is very different from Arular. It’s not so much of an experimental electronic/hip-hop album as a more developed hip-hop album with electronic synths mixed with various beats. Where Arular was glitchy and pounding throughout, Kala is more calculated with its hits coming at more opportune times. The beats on Kala remain a mixture of drum machines and found objects being banged together, unique to say the least.

The songs that stand out the most to me are Bird Flu, Boyz, Jimmy, and Paper Planes. I understand that many people find Bird Flu to be annoying, but I firmly disagree. I don’t see how this song could stand out as annoying when compared to her other work. Boyz is just a great song with an infectious beat. Jimmy is a slower love song that doesn’t leave the M.I.A. style behind. And Paper Planes is both politically and stylistically powerful; definitely a step forward in my opinion. So that’s about it, I really do like Kala, just in a different way than I love Arular.