On Tue, 28 May 2002, Hackett, Kelley M. wrote:
quoted 2 lines So how was it?> So how was it?
>
The Festival itself was not as 'vibey' as it was last year. Part of the
problem was things like endlessly running the same commercials in a loop
on giant screens by all the stages -- a Vibe Killer if ever there was one.
The other problem was a function of the lineup. I don't have any real
complaints about the people who played, who are all worthy DJs and producers.
Rather, the line-up was top-heavy with banging techno. It seemed like
you had to search not to be pummeled by hard techno.
Highlights for me:
Mad Professor -- basically he was DJing with effects, with a couple of
singers. This was my first set at the festival, and my eyes filled with
tears at points.
T Linder -- he played some techno, but about 2/3 of his set was really nice
Electro.
Deep Chord -- in a lot of respects the most extreme, challenging set of the
festival. If you know their records, you know they're pretty loopy and
dubby. For DEMF they appeared with a bass player and drummer. The drummer
was a frickin human 909. There was a sense that it was TOO loopy, but if
you surrendered to it it was beautiful, as was their video projection.
Stewart Walker -- Stewart's a friend of mine, so I'm biased but: Stewart
played the best set I've seen him play, to the largest, most appreciative
audience he's probably ever had in the US.
Radioboy/Herbert -- Brilliantly done. The way he performs -- sampling
live the sounds of him destroying consumer products -- is unique. And
his manic stage presence really shows you can be entertaining and play
challenging electronic music at the same time.
AUXMEN -- in a move that took tremendous balls, the Aux-Men performed
a set of the old-school classics that marked the genesis of Detroit Techno:
Kraftwerk, George Clinton, Afrika Bambaata, and Shari Vari. The playing
was all live except for rhythm tracks. All of us headz in the back were
in heaven, but the majority of the crowd acted baffled. AUXMEN could have
gotten a huge reaction if they'd done more of their own banging electro, but
I think they really were trying to educate people about the roots of techno,
and have a funky party at the same time.
The only other sets I was really front and center for was DJ T1000 on the
main stage, who is so good with hard banging techno that it made the other
75 DJs banging it at the festival look weak. The last minute fill-in job
that the Sonic Groove crew did on the main stage was great too -- Frankie
Bones, Adam X and Heather Heart tag teaming. They were chuffed to be
on the main stage, and their enthusiasm was contagious. I shook hands
with Frankie at the end of his set on the Miller stage and he was obviously
ecstatic to be playing at DEMF, in any capacity, and during the main stage
set you could tell he was about to burst. It's a little incongruous to see
a dark banging techno guy busting melon grins at the decks, but in this
case the fun they were having translated to the crowd.
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