By David Ballou
Moogfest 2012
“It’s all just four on the floor bullshit”
I said those words to two of my friends one summer day in 2010, as they spent the better part of the afternoon trying to explain to me the differences between techno, house, trance and any other disparate subgenre of electronic dance music (henceforth EDM). Two and a half years later I walked out of Carl Craig’s Orange Peel show, the final set of Moogfest 2012, still bobbing my head along to the memory of the Detroit techno guru’s closing song. The music I listen to has changed drastically from that summer day, and so has EDM. Dubstep’s explosion into the mainstream consciousness here in the United States, as well as the increased presence of producers like David Guetta and deadmau5 on the pop charts, has resulted in a change in what people consider EDM. I didn’t read this NPR Blog post until after I was home from Moogfest this year, but I feel like I got a small glimpse of the world of electronic music that does not necessarily fit into this new definition of EDM.
For starters, the only dubstep I heard all weekend was the thirty seconds I saw of Wick-It the Instigator’s set. Also, Primus was the closest thing this year’s lineup had to a “jam band” (Note: I do not consider Primus a jam band at all). Given that scene’s popularity in this region, it’s connections with the recent rise of EDM (Bassnectar and Skrillex routinely appear on festival lineups alongside STS9, Disco Biscuits, Widespread Panic etc.), and the precedent established by the lineups of the last two years, Moogfest was clearly making a concerted effort to provide festival goers with something new and different. Another big difference from previous years, the switch from three days to two, was a stroke of genius. Coupled with the more eclectic lineup, this was a much smaller festival and as a result I got into every show I wanted to save for GZA (more on that later). I admittedly went into this year’s festival with some serious reservations. I left KNOWING that it was by far my favorite of the three years I have attended.
FRIDAY
Nas — My festival began with the hip hop legend, and Nas had full command of the pretty sparse crowd in attendance. While his new album is, deservedly, getting a lot of love, everyone there wanted Illmatic and Nas didn’t disappoint. “NY State of Mind”, “It Ain’t Hard to Tell” and “Represent” all in a row, and I was satisfied enough to walk upstairs to catch some of Miike Snow.
Miike Snow — This is a band who I feel fame is thoroughly justified. Having already conquered the pop game for others (did you know they wrote and won a Grammy for Toxic by Britney Spears?), now they seem to be enjoying writing music for themselves. Playing to a packed Thomas Wolfe Auditorium, their set was full of energy and with a pretty impressive light rig to complement it made for a compelling show. The amount of equipment they had on stage was also impressive.
El-P — El-P was one of the very first “alternative” artists I was ever a fan of, but it took until Moog 2012 for me to see him in concert. His flavor of hyper-intelligent, storyteller hip hop, with all kinds of strange electronic sounds underneath, probably doesn’t make for the best live performance, but the Orange Peel forgives all sonic sins. His energy alone made the show enjoyable, and a guest appearance from Killer Mike was a nice moment.
Squarepusher – One of the more hyped shows going into the weekend, I enjoyed Squarepusher’s attempts to bend dance music every which way. It reminded of the much (over I would say) hyped Amon Tobin ISAM tour, in the sense that the visual presentation was just as important as the sounds being created on stage. Squarepusher even had the sense to make it kind of dancey! (I’ll stop ragging on Amon Tobin now). However, a few die hard Squarepusher fans I spoke to left feeling disappointed. Make of that what you will.
At this point in the night one of the magical things that can only happen at a music festival took place. Me and my group of festival goers made our way to the Orange Peel for GZA, only to find that the line to get in was over two blocks long. With minimal interest in Explosions in the Sky, we were left with one option: Richie Hawtin.
Richie Hawtin — Before I begin let me say that I had no idea who Richie Hawtin was before the festival. I had heard a few songs, and upon hearing them was reminded of my afternoon a few summers ago (“four on the floor…”). I left that show completely blown away. This was true Detroit Techno; there might have been two different bass lines for the entire show, and I don’t think I stopped moving for an hour and a half. You could feel the twenty minute builds, and the by comparison much faster 10 minute releases, before settling back to the initial groove. Hawtin stood behind his table of electronics and probably had a great time watching the crowd react to the minimal changes he was making. Pull the bass out, now bring it back. Add a high hat, now take it away. I have never been to a show before that was so mentally and physically engaging.
And to think I would have just stayed and seen GZA.
SATURDAY
“And now for something completely different”
Two sets literally (Magnetic Fields) and vividly (Death Grips) fit that bill for Saturday.
Magnetic Fields — I walked into this towards the end of the set and at a festival full of synthesizers, drum machines and MPC’s, I found an upright piano, a group of stringed instruments and band-leader Stephen Merritt sitting behind a table covered in all kinds of stuff. Obviously the acoustic instruments stuck out in a big way from everything else I saw this weekend, and their set provided a nice change of pace from the night before and what would follow.
Santigold — The word “pageantry” comes to mind when thinking about this show. Synchronized dancing, costume changes, and a wide range of colors were everywhere as Santigold made her case for pop-star status. I think all she’s missing is a pop single breakthrough, along the lines of M.I.A.’s “Paper Planes”. The parallels between the two, or perhaps the influence of one on the other, are apparent. Santigold would be wise to employ Diplo more often, the way M.I.A. has, as all of the dancehall-esque songs stuck out for me.
Death Grips — Easily the loudest show of the weekend, the pure aggression that Death Grips bring is unlike any performance I’ve ever witnessed. For those unfamiliar with Death Grips, they make a West Coast, Gangster-Rap, Americanized version of UK Grime (hooray genres!). Essentially: bass heavy, aggressive as hell sort-of-I-guess-we’ll-call-it-hip-hop and throw some Hardcore in there to be safe. Emphasis on the bass heavy. I only stayed for fifteen minutes, A. to make sure I got into Disclosure and B. I was honestly concerned about my ears. YouTube video’s do a laughable impersonation of seeing this band play live (as I learned after watching their CMJ stream online), and it took about thirty seconds for the mosh pit to start. So go see them live…if you have the balls.
Keep in mind, these guys are 20 and 17, respectively. HE COULDN’T EVEN BUY CIGARETTES IN ASHEVILLE!
Disclosure — There’s a pretty good chance that if you live outside of the UK that you’ve never heard of Disclosure. If you’re Facebook friends with me, then you have absolutely had the opportunity to hear almost every song Disclosure has written, because I’ve posted them. I’m kind of obsessed. And this show still exceeded even my wildest expectations. Scheduled up against top-billed Orbital, this was a show for the die hards. When it ended, there was literally a 6 man, group hug, BROMENT, and maybe the happiest concert moment for me, ever. Let’s just move on.
Prefuse73 — This was supposed to be the new collaboration between Prefuse73 and Teebs, a Brainfeeder/Flying Lotus alum, but the show began with Prefuse taking the stage alone and announcing that Teebs would be absent. What followed was a performance I found similar to Squarepusher’s: attempts at twisting dance beats in interesting ways. And at times it was great, and other times not so much. The “What Could Have Been?” of the weekend.
Full article about disclosures show forthcoming.
Carl Craig — “Welcome to my church…the Church of Latter Day Techno”, Carl Craig shouted to the crowd towards the end of his festival closing set. Another god of the Detroit Techno scene, Craig’s set, while similar to Hawtin’s, was less mental experience for me and more just good clean fun. More of that “four on the floor bullshit” I used to deride. A wonderful and fitting end to the best Moogfest ever.
