Lovefest 07
So, went to Lovefest yesterday. I wish they still had the Love Parade name, but then again, everyone seems to still just call it "Love Parade" anyway. I had some strongly positive feelings, and yet, at the same time, there were some low points for me as well.
On the plus side, the event enabled me to see DJs that I would never go see in clubs in this city. I haven't seen DJ Dan since he played The Mark in May 2005 when he, I, Jacky, and a few other people downed Flaming Lamborghinis before his set because none of my LA friends wanted to see Dan play. I haven't seen Donald Glaude since I was in Vegas for my first CES. Of course, that's partly because I lost his cell number, and he always put me on the list. When Dan or Donald play here, it's either Ruby Skye (shark tank) or 1015 (retirement home for e-tards), neither of which are savory options.
Also, after years of growing tired of drum n' bass, I forgot how revitalizing it can be. I've got friends in Atlanta who produce (one of which is friended on this LJ) amazing tracks that have made their way onto comps and into video games, but the sound can sometimes get a little dark for my taste. SF loves dubstep a lot, among other things, and the energy of the crowd pretty much outstripped any other float in the Civic Center besides maybe the Spundae float, which boasted the biggest names. I danced my ass off to DnB for the first time in a long time, and it felt great. Also, my friend Ben, who I've known for nearly ten years, is now one of the biggest DnB MCs in San Francisco. I was super proud of him when he was rockin' the crowd onstage.
Wandered around for a bit after 90 minutes of drum n' bass madness and kind of stumbled onto, oh, Infected Mushroom. Say what you might, Israeli psychedelic trance is really good to have on when you're playing racing games. Made me miss ivydevice and tehchoyce a lot.
San Francisco is a city where people really don't like to wait for Halloween. Any excuse to rock a costume is always taken. Not too many guys dressed up, but girls had all kinds of outfits on here. Also, it was a nice mix of young people (I thought that the rave died with the transition from warehouse to clubs this decade) with older vets. During a time when EDM all but has a fork stuck in it by most people, and has for a while, there were weird pangs of nostalgia. Who'd have thought I'd want to pose for a picture with some old school candy kids? Also, I had a very sentimental moment yesterday as I saw a boy maybe no older than nine years old dancing to drum n' bass. It was just cool to realize that this boy was a baby when I was out getting my rave on and listening to Roni Size and Adam F.
Ran into an old friend from Lunar days who was out here with her boyfriend. I sense that among people who don't read my LJ, there's going to be some shock about my marriage. There sure was yesterday. Good to see them, though; I didn't realize that her bf wrote for the weekend section of the AJC, and that I met him six years ago when I interviewed P(a)ete Tong.
On the negative side, the main booth I expected to hang out at was a disappointment. Sure, Mark Farina was spinning in the SF House booth on Market St., but by the time I got to the festival part of the parade, he was already outtie. I'm assuming that Migs picked up the other stretch of Market. Also, their sound lacked the amps to keep up with the massive breaks float going off right next to them.
Also, there wasn't much originality among many booths. Sure, aesthetically, they were cool, but after a while, it became evident that besides the Bay Area DnB float, the Kontrol (minimal techno) float, the psytrance float, and the SF House float, everyone was largely playing the same tired sounding Guido-fied electro/acid house shit that largely turns me off to going out a lot of the time. There's something about the energy that Dan brings (or the white labels) that supersedes my apathy toward that sound. Really, it made me wish that someone had a classics float. For some odd reason, I think that overly chipper British shit like Phatts & Small - "Turn Around" would have gone over big with this audience in the same way that early 90s classics are always winners at the deeper house nights in the city.
Just as cool as it was to see one kid dancing to DnB, Elisa was trying to get video of a kid b-boying to house with an older relative (looked like cousin or uncle, not father) in a break circle to some quirky West Coast house in an awesome float where two guys were throwing up a graffiti piece on the spot. It was great, except that two obnoxiously drunk chicks (who had no business walking around in their bras), then invaded the circle, spilled their screwdriver all over the concrete where guys were breakin', then ran up to tell the kid how awesome he was and spilled OJ/vodka on him. He and family member left. Everyone else leered at drunk, ugly girls until they left. Said vibe was still pretty damaged.
All in all, it was a Saturday afternoon that I really needed. In a city that was an epicenter of EDM culture both gay and straight pre-dot com, but now has an article in the Guardian discussing how gay men in the city either love the local dance station or (many) revile at it the way I cringe at BET, and none of my gamer friends have the least bit of interest in going out, it's nice to find some respite somewhere.
On the plus side, the event enabled me to see DJs that I would never go see in clubs in this city. I haven't seen DJ Dan since he played The Mark in May 2005 when he, I, Jacky, and a few other people downed Flaming Lamborghinis before his set because none of my LA friends wanted to see Dan play. I haven't seen Donald Glaude since I was in Vegas for my first CES. Of course, that's partly because I lost his cell number, and he always put me on the list. When Dan or Donald play here, it's either Ruby Skye (shark tank) or 1015 (retirement home for e-tards), neither of which are savory options.
Also, after years of growing tired of drum n' bass, I forgot how revitalizing it can be. I've got friends in Atlanta who produce (one of which is friended on this LJ) amazing tracks that have made their way onto comps and into video games, but the sound can sometimes get a little dark for my taste. SF loves dubstep a lot, among other things, and the energy of the crowd pretty much outstripped any other float in the Civic Center besides maybe the Spundae float, which boasted the biggest names. I danced my ass off to DnB for the first time in a long time, and it felt great. Also, my friend Ben, who I've known for nearly ten years, is now one of the biggest DnB MCs in San Francisco. I was super proud of him when he was rockin' the crowd onstage.
Wandered around for a bit after 90 minutes of drum n' bass madness and kind of stumbled onto, oh, Infected Mushroom. Say what you might, Israeli psychedelic trance is really good to have on when you're playing racing games. Made me miss ivydevice and tehchoyce a lot.
San Francisco is a city where people really don't like to wait for Halloween. Any excuse to rock a costume is always taken. Not too many guys dressed up, but girls had all kinds of outfits on here. Also, it was a nice mix of young people (I thought that the rave died with the transition from warehouse to clubs this decade) with older vets. During a time when EDM all but has a fork stuck in it by most people, and has for a while, there were weird pangs of nostalgia. Who'd have thought I'd want to pose for a picture with some old school candy kids? Also, I had a very sentimental moment yesterday as I saw a boy maybe no older than nine years old dancing to drum n' bass. It was just cool to realize that this boy was a baby when I was out getting my rave on and listening to Roni Size and Adam F.
Ran into an old friend from Lunar days who was out here with her boyfriend. I sense that among people who don't read my LJ, there's going to be some shock about my marriage. There sure was yesterday. Good to see them, though; I didn't realize that her bf wrote for the weekend section of the AJC, and that I met him six years ago when I interviewed P(a)ete Tong.
On the negative side, the main booth I expected to hang out at was a disappointment. Sure, Mark Farina was spinning in the SF House booth on Market St., but by the time I got to the festival part of the parade, he was already outtie. I'm assuming that Migs picked up the other stretch of Market. Also, their sound lacked the amps to keep up with the massive breaks float going off right next to them.
Also, there wasn't much originality among many booths. Sure, aesthetically, they were cool, but after a while, it became evident that besides the Bay Area DnB float, the Kontrol (minimal techno) float, the psytrance float, and the SF House float, everyone was largely playing the same tired sounding Guido-fied electro/acid house shit that largely turns me off to going out a lot of the time. There's something about the energy that Dan brings (or the white labels) that supersedes my apathy toward that sound. Really, it made me wish that someone had a classics float. For some odd reason, I think that overly chipper British shit like Phatts & Small - "Turn Around" would have gone over big with this audience in the same way that early 90s classics are always winners at the deeper house nights in the city.
Just as cool as it was to see one kid dancing to DnB, Elisa was trying to get video of a kid b-boying to house with an older relative (looked like cousin or uncle, not father) in a break circle to some quirky West Coast house in an awesome float where two guys were throwing up a graffiti piece on the spot. It was great, except that two obnoxiously drunk chicks (who had no business walking around in their bras), then invaded the circle, spilled their screwdriver all over the concrete where guys were breakin', then ran up to tell the kid how awesome he was and spilled OJ/vodka on him. He and family member left. Everyone else leered at drunk, ugly girls until they left. Said vibe was still pretty damaged.
All in all, it was a Saturday afternoon that I really needed. In a city that was an epicenter of EDM culture both gay and straight pre-dot com, but now has an article in the Guardian discussing how gay men in the city either love the local dance station or (many) revile at it the way I cringe at BET, and none of my gamer friends have the least bit of interest in going out, it's nice to find some respite somewhere.