Rave rave, techno techno! I mean, studios are fun and all, but for me the real point of all this stuff is the dancefloor. Something deep inside keeps making me want to unhook all the gear, pack it up, drag hundreds of pounds of flightcases (ok, more like 250lbs total) into a car, and into a club or party, hook it up, play the techno, then do the whole thing in reverse. There is nothing finer than seeing a dancefloor moving to beats you've made, and the feeling you get guiding the techno up and up and up into a huge whirling vortex of sound, then DROPPING it... can't be adequately explained, but the rush is the most addictive thing ever. :)
"Fuck You" is a clubnight throw by Soundproofer Trevor "SonOfJacob" Jacobson, at "Lick", a nightclub upstairs of the Lotus Sound Lounge in downtown Vancouver. I was asked to throw it down, and I did.
The weird part of this show was the intense heat!!! I had my usual chocolate on stage (I rarely eat chocolate, except when I need extra energy and focus, so just before [or sometimes during!] a show...), but the bright stage lights turned my Aero bar into a baggie of brown goo. It was so bad that I was worried about my equipment, which was getting hot to the touch - I had them move two of the lights. I pitied DJ Sappho, who had to spin up in the DJ booth, which was probably 10-20 degrees hotter than the stage - so hot that it caused the Tascam CD recorder I had rented to drop frames, rendering the recording useless. :(
"Trancemission 7" was, as the name suggests, the seventh year of Soundproof's amazing free outdoor summer party - these guys throw a wicked party roughly once every three months all year, and as a "give back to the scene" they throw one big end-of-the-fiscal-year outdoor party - I was asked by SonOfJacob to perform, and of course I accepted! Probably 500 people showed up to this one, and it went off all night long - this party had by FAR the best setup I've ever seen for a free party; it must have cost them a bundle. It was made all the sweeter by the sharing of the stage with my good friends Thomas and Rich, the dynamic duo known as MAX POWER.
The party was at the legendary "Mile36" camping ground, thirty-six miles outside of Squamish, BC. My set was from 4:00-5:00 am - when I started, it was pitch black out, and when I finished it was dawn. Hearing my techno LOUD as the glaciers on the mountaintop across the river slowly faded into view is an experience I will never forget.
Trancemission 7 would rank in my top three parties ever attended, not to mention played at!!
The set at Sparky went *awesome*... lots of people came out, even though it was a Wednesday night. The place went off, my music was well received, and Lace is probably the nicest promoter I've ever had the opportunity to work with. Nice big dancefloor, excellent lighting, and a *wicked* soundsystem made for a hugely fun set.
DJ Lace (notorious live-pa pioneer of VUTAG fame) started throwing a clubnight featuring live-pa performers, and I was chosen to perform at his night. Lots of folks came out and danced - it was held at the Caprice nightclub on Granville street, pretty nice digs for live-pa techno. :D
Got to play a show called "Iterative Sessions" in Richmond, Virginia for our friend Chris Thomas, aka 'x5rings'. Wow, what a wild weekend - those Virginians can party! I went with the idea that US beers were all Budwieser and Coors, but had those preconceptions promptly smashed flat by Chris and his crew. I don't remember a good chunk of the weekend. :)
The event was great, though I think MUX techno was a little too hard for the audience... I had a few dancers, but it seemed like the crowd was mostly used to house music. Oh well.
