quote:

Originally posted by PivotTechno Lol @ immediate defensiveness from the Beatport Brigade - hit a sore spot, did I?

No. If you read my review below, you'll see that I didn't really like a lot of the music at the Beatport stage. What hit a sore spot is your continued elitist douchebaggery.

quote:

Please tell me, what if anything do a bunch of fist-pumping booth bunnies have to do with what you perceive to be "the more popular flavours of Techno" (<---speaking of elitist preferences)?

This is the same question I asked you. What does the people partying behind the booth have to do with anything but a reason for you to come to the booth with your girlfriend and laugh at how better you are then everyone else, and then leave?

quote:

Does crowding the booth with people who clearly just want a piece of the onstage action somehow make the music sound better?

No. Some people just like to party behind the DJ booth. Why do you care so much?

quote:

And double lol @ the "Techno purist" comment - I'd say that moniker is considerably more reflective of the "oh that track was so five seconds ago" Berlimnml contingent that worships the Beatport Top 10 like its the second coming than it is of my personal tastes, which span some 30+ years of electronic music.

There is no one else on this board whose posts reek of the elitism of a text-book, staunch techno-purist like you. Have you noticed that nobody cares yet?

This was my third time at DEMF, and I had a great time.

I arrived on Saturday after a full night of sleep in Windsor the night before, allowing me to party on Saturday without being fatigued from having been in a car for several hours (thanks Lisa!).

I tried to get to the festival ASAP so that I could catch Onur Ozer. I had been wanting to see this guy for a long time. Considering he was supposed to play at DEMF last year and cancelled, my excitement was running high to see this guy, and he was one of the DJs I was most looking forward to seeing. The first half of his set was good, but the last half of his set was meh. I was expecting a lot more from this guy, but I think he got the short end of the stick with the early Saturday time slot.

After Onur came Ida, and after hearing a few predictable techno/tech house tracks, I decided to check out the Red Bull stage, even though most of my friends were at the Beatport stage. This ended up being a very good idea. Martyn played the 2nd best set of the entire festival. He spanned across all genres by playing drum & bass, dubstep, techno, old school house jams, and even some circuit house. He somehow did this all seamlessly in a 90 minute set. I was very, very impressed.

Next came Excision (a dubstep DJ). I had never seen a proper dubstep set live before, so it was one of my goals during the festival to see what all the fuss was about. WOW was that ever the experience. Excision is a monster on the decks, weaving in and out of dubstep and the occasional D&B track. The crowd was going absolutely apeshit for this DJ, with everyone from the front to the back with their hands in the air, screaming for more. By far the craziest vibe of the whole festival was during this set. I didn't know how much I'd like the music because I've downloaded some dubstep sets on my computer and only liked a couple of sets, but I really enjoyed the music. I will definitely be checking out some more dubstep in future DEMFs, and maybe even some dubstep parties in Toronto.

After that, I went to check out Paco who was playing quite well, but I had seen him at The Gallery only a few weeks earlier so his set was pretty similar. I then went to check out Marco who wasn't doing much for me, then Josh Wink who played an underwhelming set with the sound turned down way too low. I decided to stick it out on the main dance floor anyway because I knew it would be impossible to get a good spot for Plastikman's set once it started.

Plastikman's set ranged from good to quite entertaining. There were some boring parts, but I was entertained for most of the set. The visuals were ok at the beginning but got really crazy as the set went on, especially the last song before his performance on his drum machine at the very end with the green visuals. I also liked the revolving door visual as well. The drum machine thing at the end was pretty cheesy though. Also, it was really nice to be front and center of the main stage for the visuals. It wasn't actually that bad down there either!

There was a lot of hype around this performance, and although I'm not sure he lived up to it, it was still entertaining, interesting, and something different.

I had originally planned to go to the I Love You but I've Chosen Techno party, but bought tickets for the Onur Ozer, Ben Klock, Levon Vincent and Daniel Bell party at the last second. Boy, am I ever glad I did that. Onur was kind of disappointing again with an average set. The venue was also not the greatest (it was pretty much a banquet hall), and the crowd was kind of sparse, but Ben Klock delivered one of the darkest, meanest, dirtiest techno beat downs I've ever heard. I still can't get over what I heard. Just pounding, no nonsense, relentless German techno for the entire time he played. He certainly represented the Berghain sound very well. He wasted no time in getting into it, and although the crowd was a bit too much of the chin-stroking type, he had the crowd moving in a hurry.

About half-way through the set, with the party in full swing and the crowd eating out of the palm of his hand, the music was cut off abruptly. We waited around for 30 full minutes (absolute torture considering how crazy the party was before the music stopped) before we were told that the party would be shut down. To call it a buzz-kill is an understatement. I can't even imagine the level this party would have gotten to if it hadn't been shut down. Ben Klock easily played one of the best techno sets I have ever heard. It is also worth mentioning that this was the first time I had fun at a DEMF afterparty after having been to DEMF 2 times before this year.

I went back to the hotel room, and then went to The Works for about 6am or so. It was pretty disappointing. Seth Troxler apparently played a good set, but it was really deep and airy. It's kind of hard to make the transition from ripping techno to a set like that. Then came the next DJ who was just playing way too slow, and the place pretty much cleared out once they announced that they wouldn't start serving booze at 7am, even though they said they would. The Works is super small, to the point where it's astonishing that this is the main afterparty venue for DEMF. The main room is smaller than footwork, the side room is the size of a small bar, and the patio is a narrow, dirty hallway surrounded by a dilapidated fence. The promoters said that they had spent a lot of time decorating the club, but one of my friends put it best when he said that it felt like he was partying on the inside of a garbage bag (in the main room). The walls literally looked like they had been covered with garbage bags. I don't think I'll be going back to this club again.

On Sunday, I got to the festival at around 6pm for Larry Heard who played a really good, but short house set. The middle of the dance floor of the main stage had a bunch of really good old school house steppers which provided quite a bit of entertainment during the set.

Next, I made my way to the Beatport stage to check out Cassy who really impressed me. It's hard to explain but she has some of the most unique programming I've ever heard. She structured her set in a way that I haven't really heard before. She played lots of really great, unique sounding tracks, and played harder than I'm used to hearing from her in the sets that I've downloaded. Also, she has a great personality behind the decks and is fun to watch. She had great crowd interaction (turned the sound down for the DE-TROIT chants), and genuinely looked like she was having a good time.

Next came Richie who I was hoping would play a ripper of a set to make up for everyone's disappointment about Ricardo, but instead he played an underwhelming, generic sounding tech-house set. Sure he had a few mild "Richie moments", but all in all I would say that was one of the worst Richie sets I've heard in quite a while.

I was supposed to go on the boat, but refunded my ticket because of the Ricardo no-show. I'm glad I did because I heard the sound was crap, and I had lots of energy for Old Miami.

I arrived at Old Miami the next morning at around 9:30. I'm glad I didn't go at 7 like my original plan because it wasn't that busy by the time I got there. It started getting pretty packed around 11:30, and by the time Matt Tolfrey had played a few tracks, the party really started to pick up. The place was pretty packed around the time Matt Dear vs. Ryan Elliot came on, and the party was in full swing. The first couple of tracks they played sounded really good, but then they shut the music off. Considering the music wasn't that great up until about 1pm or so, it was disappointing that they shut the music down at around 4. If they hadn't done this, I'm sure this could have taken the top spot for the best afterparty of the festival. I found out after I got back to the festival that they turned it back on, but by the time I found out, it wouldn't have made much sense for me to go back, and I heard that there were only 1/4 of the people left when they turned the music back on. All in all, I had a great time at Old Miami, but I really wish the music had been better earlier (Masomenos played WAY too long considering how minimal and downtempo they were playing). Oh well, I had a fun time getting wasted and ridiculous with everyone that was there. Damn was it ever hot as hell though!

I immediately went back to the festival after Old Miami because I knew if I went back to my hotel I would just crash and go to bed. Because of the rain, the only stage that was open when we got there was the Made in Detroit stage. Whoever was playing there at 3pm was playing some really good techno. I then went to go check out the Italoboyz who were playing well, but I just wasn't feeling that all-too-familiar tech house sound. Afterward, I caught the Moritz von Oswald Trio at the Red Bull stage which were a bit too weird and down tempo for my state of mind. DJ Koze had his moments, but was his set was kind of average. The end of his set and the beginning of Michael Mayer's set was pretty much one big train wreck for about 20 minutes, so I decided to check out the Beatport stage for Joel Mull. I liked what I was hearing, but I wanted to check out Barem at the Torino stage who really impressed me. The sound in there was really, really good too, and likely the best sound system of the entire festival. It was fun watching people dance in the large puddles in the middle of the dancefloor, not giving a fuck that their shoes and clothes were getting soaked with dirty water. Afterward was Mauro Picotto who I was extremely skeptical about considering how shit he was the last few times I heard him, but he actually really impressed me. I decided to leave and check out Magda in the Made in Detroit Stage though, because although I usually don't like her, I knew there was a slight possibility that she would kill it in that dark, underground stage for the closing slot of the festival... and I hit the nail right on the head with that one. WOW did she ever kill it. In fact, she played the best set of the festival. Bear in mind that I've seen Magda tons of times, and have never really liked her except for once when she played at a Circo Loco party outdoors during the day. That time she played pretty light and groovy, but this time she brought it hard. I still can't get over what I heard. Groovy and funky, but also hard, dark, evil, druggy and tripped the fuck out. I was shaking my head in disbelief at what I was hearing. Magda brought her unique sound and executed it perfectly for that time of the festival. Everyone left but Cribby and I, but we experienced quite a treat on Monday night.

Afterward, I went to the Beatport stage to check out Chris Liebing, but he was playing way too hard for my tastes, especially on Day 3 of the festival and after almost 14 hours of straight partying. I had had enough, and went back to the hotel.

Other thoughts:

- I had a lot of fun this year. I can't compare it to other years, because each year has been completely different. Suffice to say, DEMF rocks, and I will definitely come back for round 4, and maybe even next year.
- The DEMF crowd rocks. Lots of awesome/funny costumes (especially on the Saturday. Skimpy raver outfits FTW!), the crowd is really up for it, good looking, friendly, and just generally good times.
- The amount of people from Toronto that went to DEMF this year was awesome. I had such a good time with you all!
- I found many people complained about the music this year. If you aren't liking the music, go to another stage (and don't hang around the Beatport stage for the whole festival)! Even if you don't know who is playing the other stages, check out anyway. You'd be surprised at what you might hear. Also, do a bit of research before to see who other people are looking forward to on other message boards besides TA for other genres of music besides Beatport tech house.
- I think my tastes in music are changing. The old guard of techno bored me (Richie, Marco, etc), and I had the most fun at the festival with genres of music I haven't really ever listened to before. So many tech-house DJs are sounding tired these days and struggle to differentiate themselves. There were so many times I went to the Beatport stage during the weekend and it pretty much sounded like I was hearing the exact same set!
- The Doubletree hotel is the best hotel I've stayed at in my 3 years of going to DEMF. Friendly staff, excellent service, large, clean hotel rooms, and decent distance from the festival. I've stayed at the Ren Cen, and Holiday Inn before, and I think I'll be staying at the Doubletree from now on

Best sets

1. Ben Klock
2. Magda
3. Martyn
4. Cassy

Best afterparties:

1. Centre Street w/ Ben Klock
2. Old Miami

Best Stage: Red Bull Stage

I wanted to add some of my videos and pictures to my review, but I think I may have lost my camera.

Until next year!

Last edited by The Highroller on Jun-03-2010 at 02:17

..........WHERE TO BEGIN?!?!..............

No seriously, there's so many memories and thoughts running through my head that I should probably jot them all down first before making my review, but what the fuck, I'm still riding on my DEMF high and want to spill it all out...

SATURDAY

Onur Ozer
Got to Hart Plaza around 4pm and was in the last hr of Ozer's set. I was looking forward to seeing him for quite a while but was kind of disappointed...not sure if it was his early time slot or just trying something different but he was too mellow and playing some jazzy down tempo techno that I just wasn't digging

Ida Engberg
Damn she's hot!!! You just can't beat getting a techno-beat down by a stunning Swedish blondie She was impressive, however I think she played too much generic sounding tech. Either way, she definately dropped some heavy funky tunes that made me pitch a tent...

Paco Osuna
Booooring tech house, still dunno what the hype around him is

Marco Carola
UN FUCKING REAL!! One of the best sets of the weekend for me. This guy has amazing technical skills and can really build up tracks that make you go nuts He really knows how to control the crowd and, really made us eat out of his palms
Really enjoyed hearing Danilo Vigorito - Walk Around

Plastikman
Not gonna really get into this one much...main stage was just a fucking mess, sooooooo many people pushing and shoving to get to see him I just couldn't deal...he was boring IMO, too much experimental and dubstepp-y style with sprinkles of techno bombs just didn't do it for me...left 20 min into his set to go back to the hotel and drink some bevvies

SUNDAY

Martinez Brothers
These two are simply amazing, I cannot stress enough. I dunno how these two youngin's do it but they bring it, and they bring it downright fucking dirty. Deep house, tribal, soulful techno with banging percussion...these guys did it all!! It was a real treat getting to hear them again and their consistency is what makes them even more enjoyable. If any of you saw them at the docks you will know what I'm talking about - I'm so checking them out this summer in TO and this is probably one of the most looked forward to parties for me right now. Favourite track by them was Darius Syrossian and Nyra - Luis Conte (Original Remix) - UGHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!! I literally threw my backpack off, got down and let that DEEEEEEEEEEEEEP bass move me in ways that I never knew possible...not to mention the fact I was peaking (heh!) and the lyrics are trippy as fuck lol

Cassy
Ida who?!?! Cassy is absolutely gorgeous...I dunno but there's something about her that I think makes her stand out more than Ida - she's just plain cute! She was smiling so much, loving the crowd, always looking up and around at everyone, as if it was her first gig ever or something - THIS is what made her so appealing to me. Her mesmorizing, groovy, upbeat techno was to die for - very different from her main stage set in 2008. Unreal set. Wow...Some tracks she dropped had these sudden upswinging, percussiony melodies that had me lost in the atmosphere that I was surrounded in...no one has done this to me at DEMF before! I can go on and on about Cassy but I'll just stop here hehehe

Richie Hawtin
Thank god Villalobos got his visa denied because I think we can all say that Richie's performance was bar none on of the best sets at DEMF 2010. He knew it, we knew it, just outright amazing techno that had everyone going mental. His last hour was the BEST, he dropped some HARD acid techno/acid house and oldschool too...fuck that is the type of music you just don't hear anymore............ Was a pleasure and a treat to get to experience this set, once again confirms why Richie is one of the techno pioneers/kings. 10/10 and contender for set of DEMF 2010.

MONDAY

O L D M I A M I
DOOOOOOOOOOOH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I cannot believe I've missed this party the past 2 years I've been at DEMF...I either got too messed up afterpartying on the Sunday night or just didn't feel like it - hugest mistake ever and will NEVER miss another old miami party.

Got there around 10am, no line, no searches, free twizlers/lollipops/candy at the door (fuck ya, this is where I knew it was gonna be good LOL). Afterparty of the year. The people, the music, the backyard, the gargoyle, the costumes, the weather (except for when it started to rain later), partying with big name DJs (finally got to talk to Cassy **SWOOOOOOON** ), rusty torpedo at the back, oranges and watermellons and on and on and on....drugged out afterhours music at its finest, funky techno beats makin ppl do silly things - love it. Long live Old Miami...

Barem
Really impressive, only caught the last 30 min of him but he was on fire at the Torino stage.

Magda
She was OK....was expecting more...especially since the Made in Detroit stage was actually tweaked well this year (accoustically). Last year was horrible down there. She didn't take enough advantage of that and so I went back to Mauro Picotto....................

Mauro Picotto
HOLY SHIT!! He was banging back in the day, then went to boring ass minimal - but I've always wanted to see him and was hoping he would impress me....well he didn't....he BLEW ME AWAY. Techno Picotto is back, and I threw myself into overdrive even though it was Monday night, I was drenched, tired, weak but I still gave 'er all I had dancing in puddles with old school ravers ... that was one of the best memories I have of DEMF. Picotto is still alive people, he was just hibernating He did play a few downtempo tracks, and a few trancey tunes but they were actually "decent" filler before he brought it back hard again

Chris Liebing
OK - not gonna go into much detail in this one but this was the hardest techno set I've heard at DEMF. How are you gonna close out DEMF 2010 on a Monday night?? With relentless, driving, pummeling techno that makes your fucking face melt THAT . IS . ALL


Everything else in between
The organization of this festival is bar none the best I've ever witnessed. I want to thank, from the bottom of my heart, everything that Paxahau has done to provide us with the best partying experience that one can imagine. I love you so much!!!!!!

I think that's about it

Last edited by PurpleHaze on Jun-03-2010 at 02:29

I had a great time for my first DEMF. I mainly came for Plastikman, although I was a bit doubtful when I heard his Timewarp set but the lights and live sound made it great. There was a lot going on which kinda felt overwhelming which caused me to jump stages too quickly. Next time, I'm sticking to one stage. I went to the Drumcode after party and had a great time. I was wondering why they suddenly shut down so soon. Since I had planned to go the week of, I couldn't find any hotels close by. I'm getting a closer hotel next time as well.















Can someone ID the track in the Richie Hawtin video?

Last edited by shaminii on Jun-03-2010 at 02:22

quote:

Originally posted by shaminii

Fuuuuuuuuck yea! This track was MENTAL. Probably the most memorable track of the entire festival.

My 1st time for this festival. Been wanting to go for years. We all totally lucked-out weather-wise. Overall, I found it much better organised than Ultra at wmc, which I checked out in '06 and '09. Minimal sketch factor and police/security seemed friendly. On both Sat and Sun, we were most often at the Beatport stage. That's where the best vibe, music and location/scenery appeared to be. I never thought I'd get to hear Hawtin on three separate performances in 30 hrs. All of them were very unique and blew me away. First as Plastikman (loved the 303riffs, classics, and trippy visuals), then as fill-in for Villalobos (I could not get myself to go to Inner City as I had planned - I was under his spell), and then finally on the boat party. Was great to meet you Geoff & Tara!

The defining track of wmc for me this yr was Greg Gow's "the bridge", and with such a stellar Detroit-ish sound to it, was not surprising that Wink dropped it as one of his last tracks at the main stage. Perfect. I was kind of bummed to have missed Greg's set (he dropped it too), but I was digging Cassy too much!

Anyone know the sweet track Hawtin dropped on Sunday night (15 min before the end of his set) at Beatport? Very proggy, with a hypnotizing riff. Heard it before, but don't know where. Sounds like something Diggers would lay down. Might be an oldie.

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www.protonradio.com

quote:

Originally posted by v-vaughn Any reviews on Paco??!! I'm just guessing amazing... Cribby I can't wait to read your review (mostly to hear about how the hard work we spent choreographing went!! )

Paco was meh..

Friend.. we got videos.. wait til you see!!!

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GWARTQZ!!!!

quote:

Originally posted by The Highroller Everyone left but Cribby and I, but we experienced quite a treat on Monday night.

I'm glad we got to experience that gem of a set! Especially up front.
Great read!

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GWARTQZ!!!!

I posted in the other thread but I'll do it again here:

My first DEMF, only went for Saturday. Great time!

Plastikman: Very different, visuals were great (although I always compare visuals to Daft Punk's Alive tour and nothing ever gets there). Really packed, wish I could of gotten closer to be immersed by the visuals.

Paco Osuna: Was really feeling him at the first part of his set, then he faded and I lost interest.

Claude Vonstroke: So versatile. One of the DJs that never ceases to amaze me with his creativity.

A-Trak: First time I saw him headlining and WOW is he skilled. Had the crowd eating out of his hand. Always changing beats, perfect for people with ADD lol.

Josh Wink: Found him to be boring.

Ida Engberg: Hot. She gives this little smirk when she looks up to the crowd that drives me nuts. Saw her later at Vain too.

Vain after party: Marco Carola was great, although it was pretty hot in there. Spent my time hogging areas on the dance floor that had air blowing from a vent. Shut down early because of a shooting

Next time I'll definitely go for the whole weekend, check out the boat and the Old Miami party.

Also, MAN is Detroit cheap! It costs a small fraction of what Miami WMC does (went the last two years). Can't wait till next year.

PS: Great forum, you guys really know your stuff. I look forward to discovering new DJs and parties. Cheers!

Somone else captured this moment... loved this track... anyone have an id?

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"House music is the soundtrack to the more deviant, exciting, rebellious side of life." -Lawler

quote:

Originally posted by The Highroller Seth Troxler apparently played a good set, but it was really deep and airy. ^^^^That is exactly what I loved about it <3 The place was pretty packed around the time Matt Dear vs. Ryan Elliot came on, and the party was in full swing. ^^^ Really wish I was around for that. Last year, the moment we walked in it was chaos! Damn was it ever hot as hell though! ^^^ Old Miami definitely needs a blow up pool!!! I think it would go over really well there. Sketch a la piscine!!! Other thoughts: - I think my tastes in music are changing. The old guard of techno bored me (Richie, Marco, etc), and I had the most fun at the festival with genres of music I haven't really ever listened to before. So many tech-house DJs are sounding tired these days and struggle to differentiate themselves. There were so many times I went to the Beatport stage during the weekend and it pretty much sounded like I was hearing the exact same set! ^^^^^I definitely agree. I was looking for more of an underground grungy/raw techno sound that I heard last year. Especially at old miami. - The Doubletree hotel is the best hotel I've stayed at in my 3 years of going to DEMF. Friendly staff, excellent service, large, clean hotel rooms, and decent distance from the festival. I've stayed at the Ren Cen, and Holiday Inn before, and I think I'll be staying at the Doubletree from now on ^^ I liked the Ren Center WAY more. It contributed to so many fun/sketchy stories from last year I wanted to add some of my videos and pictures to my review, but I think I may have lost my camera. ^^^That is really horrible friend. I thought I lost mine at Old miami too. I left it unattended for about 45 mins! YIKES!!!!

After reading my review it sounds like I had a shit time, which is actually not the case. I had a great time. Nothing compared to previous years, is the point I was trying to make. I think it's time to take a demf break and hit it up in a couple years.

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Everything happens for a reason