11.04
Major Lazer @ HHM 2009, credit goes to Caesar Sebastian
I’ve been to a lot of raves/festivals/club nights/etc over the past few years. Enough to be able to figure out which ones are bad, which ones are good, and which ones are great. HARD Haunted Mansion on Saturday night was truly great, maybe one of the best events of its kind in recent years. The music, the people, the atmosphere…everything clicked. It was Cloud 9. My only regret? Not bringing a camera to document this immaculate rave specimen. Those who kept the faith after the summer festival were in for something special.
After a relatively painless experience in line (to those of you morally righteous souls who don’t cut like everybody else: save yourself the grief and conform!), my friends and I made our way to the main stage for Buraka Som Sistema. The Portuguese kuduro outfit was already whipping the crowd into a frenzy, setting the tone for the night with their relentlessly positive tribal beats. It was great to see everybody smiling and dancing like maniacs for their entire set. They rocked it with a multicultural, world music vibe and constantly engaged with the crowd. Twas pure, joyous fun!
Intro -> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57zenAo39PI&feature=related
A little Satisfaction -> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yv_2CNJawoA
Major Lazer kept the party vibe going with their reggae/dubstep/house/hip-hop fusion. Despite going a bit overboard on the horn sound effects, Diplo and Switch put on a great show. The transition between Buraka and Major Lazer was seamless, as their sounds have a lot in common. Some of the words that come to mind to describe the way the night was going thus far: fun, bouncy, funky, sexy, psychedelic, infectious. Get the picture?
Intro -> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LflnJv8N1l4
Pon de Floor! -> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZY999VxPNJc
Now I’ve never been to a Southern Baptist church procession before, but I imagine it has a lot common with a Basement Jaxx performance. Is that racist/ignorant of me to say? I don’t think so. Felix and Simon brought the house down and lifted our souls up. Everything they played was pure gold, from their “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” intro, to the out-of-left-field remix of Bohemian Rhapsody, to their classic hits like Red Alert, Jump n Shout, and, of course, Where’s Your Head At. The programming was impeccable, rivaling the way the Chemical Brothers arranged their set at Coachella. My personal favorite moment from the set (and perhaps the night) was when they dropped “Do Your Thing”. The way the boys dragged out the breakdown and their vocalist (who was AMAZING) belted out the lyrics really captured the spirit of their music, and ultimately, the night. A youtube vid of this moment will surface eventually if we’re lucky, you’ll be able to tell me if I’m full of shit about my Gospel comparison! The candy ravers and LA hipsters may not know it, but they got smacked with a world class display of house music. From this point forward, consider yours truly a devout fan of the Jaxx.
Jump n Shout Intro -> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-e_X8OEEpg
Bohemian Rhapsody remix -> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hh6az5xTpyo
Primal chaos -> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqca-2SlCdc
Justice was up next. For the record, I’ve never been Justice’s #1 fan. ‘Cross’ is a fantastic album, but they’ve been resting on its laurels for the past 2 1/2 years, apparently unwilling to take their sound to another level. That being said, their set was a lot of fun. Still the same Stress+Phantom Pt.II+We Are Your Friends-centric stuff that we’re used to, but highly enjoyable regardless. It seems like they’ve taken a legitimate turn for the disco, and it’ll be interesting to see if any of their upcoming tracks reflect that. I gotta admit, closing with a mix of ‘We Are Your Friends’ with ‘Why Can’t We Be Friends?’ was a stroke of genius. Kudos, Frenchies.
Intro -> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hh6az5xTpyo
We Are Your Friends + Why Can’t We Be Friends? -> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AaqKkDBSB5k&feature=related
The surprise guests of the evening (Deadmau5 and 2ManyDJs) weren’t exactly surprises, as they headlined the night before, but nobody was complaining. People had to choose between the two as they were playing in the same timeslot. I’m a Soulwax man through and through so it was a no-brainer for me. The Dewaeles boasted a new DVDJ setup with animated album covers of every track they played. Some of them were fucking hilarious, as the Youtube vids will attest, but I especially appreciated the classiness of a stage setup that drew attention to the music itself and not the humble middlemen who spread it to the masses. Not to take away from the skills and stage presence of 2ManyDJs, they tore shit up as usual, playing everything imaginable (including a clever mix of Slayer into Dolly Parton). I just think humility can be a little lacking at this level of DJ culture. Props to Radio Soulwax.
2ManyDJs medley 1 -> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-pAV8z4dlk
2ManyDJs medley 2 -> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFPP9f-_Rtw
The end of the night entertainment was provided by Modeselektor. I gotta say, I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a proper closer at a rave. Everybody was groovin like there was no tomorrow to their chuggy, techno beats, and by the time they worked things up to a faster dubstep/techno-friendly BPM, people were losing it. Did I mention that an alien autopsy was performed onstage? No? Well, it was awesome. Get on the Modeselektor bandwagon while there’s still room.
Intro -> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWHkkLMippc&feature=related
Alien Autopsy! -> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNCRXoSWBLc
Perfectly planned lineup, quality music, beautiful people, good company, endless positive energy in the air: the ideal party. I hope I never forget this night, I don’t think I will. But hey, if I do…there’s always Youtube!
-Rob
© 2009, Rob. All rights reserved.
