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My 2nd time at DEMF and overall enjoyed it more than last year.
Saturday
Checked in at the Doubletree. Love this hotel. Apart from the amazing chocolate chip-oatmeal-walnut cookie, our room was huge, the beds super comfy, the staff friendly and it's a short walk to Hart Plaza. Got to the festival itself in time to catch Ida at the Beatport tent. I liked her but not nearly as much as the drooling guys crammed at the front. Kyle Hall at the MID stage was very good, he's always fun and eclectic. Acoustics in there were so greatly improved compared to last year too. Briefly checked out Excision at the Red Bull stage but dubstep's not my thing so off to Beatport for Paco Osuna, he was very good. Then to catch the tail end of Carola at the Torino stage (very good btw, the crowd was just lovin' him). Mistake of the day was trying to squeeze into the main stage - what a nightmare. Squeezed our way back out and eventually ended up on the right rampway overlooking the bowl with a perfect view. Richie miracle #1! I've never seen him as Plastikman so I was impressed. Miracle #2 - a soap bubble landed on my glasses and stayed there for ~ 1 1/2hrs.
Went to the I Love party that night. I had really loved the Works last year so was hyped to go. Plus DJ Three (!) was performing. The lineup - this was the ticket holders one, not even the general - was super slow. The place was rammed, easily 3 times over capacity. Going from room to room was an exercise in frustration. For the most part the crowd was polite, so that made it bearable. Now, I had gone to that party specifically to see Three. No set times were posted online in advance except the vague message that headliners would be on from 12-4am. Eventually I found a single, standard letter size paper stuck to the back wall of the front room with the time slots. Three wasn't on til 5:30am. Gaaaaaaaah! Bear in mind that it's now only 2am and I didn't want to have a particularly late night. Checked out Voodeux who were great in the back room and then hightailed it back to the hotel. My only consolation is that Three will be in town soon.
Sunday
Had a great brunch at Luci & Ethel's diner in the Leland Hotel. Saw some of Martin Buttrich at Beatport and then it was Cassy! Loved her. Such great tunes and she's so cute. Then off to see Mr.Scruff who was basically amazing. That's my best sight of the entire festival - looking out at the sea of people, Mr. Scruff bouncing away, his incredible visuals behind the stage and the view of the river and Windsor in the background. Awesome.
Monday
Old Miami baby! Not as surreal as last year but that's probably cause I expected the randomness. Had no clue who was on at any point except for the "not Ricardo" guy, lol. We left as the wind started at pick up and good timing too cause the fire marshalls were just walking in. Waited out the storm back at the hotel. At the festival caught the end of Agoria and then over to the Red Bull stage. Really disliked the last 20 mins I caught of Koze. But who cares cause it was time for Michael Mayer! Hands down, the best set of the entire festival for me. I actually braved the very enthusiastic crowd to be front & centre, so worth it. Wandered around and didn't really pay much attention to anyone else til it was time for Booka Shade and they were quite good as expected. Ventured out to the Fuk the Aristocrats party at the Works and what a change, less than 1/10 of the crowd compared to Sat night. The front room (DNB) was sad, maybe 8 people if you counted the bartender. The duo on in the back room was great, someone i.d.'d them for me but it's not matching the dj listing at all. Oh well. Then Arthur Oskan came on and he was great. Kinda funny to have my highlight of a Detroit afterparty being a TO local but hey, he was really good.
Tuesday
Checked out of the hotel, bought a tin of those amazing cookies and then ate and boozed our way home on the train.
In summary,
Festival highlights - Michael Mayer, Mr. Scruff, Cassy, Marco Carola
Non festival highlight - Arthur Oskan (at the Fuk The Aristocrats party)
New ppl that made my ears perk up - Paco Osuna, Voodeux (at the I Love party)
Best sight - Mr. Scruff show at the Red Bull stage
Best stage - Red Bull, especially considering that last year I ran away from there after 5 mins! The setup and view are great. Sure the crowd's a bit young but they're enthusiastic and I found it a refreshing change from spending all my time at the Beatport stage like I did last year.
Other highlights - the Doubletree hotel, the large TO contingent!
Lowlight - the afterparties. Not sure if it's worth it. Old Miami was fun for well, being itself. And sadly enough this year the Works just didn't do it for me.
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Me too, hope I'm better for the weekend!
