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Review: Black & Blue 2009 (pg. 5)
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| Cribby |
First time checking out BnB and expectations were met. I also thought they could have improved the decor for more of a wow factor, but I was generally happy with the light bulb setup. The ratio of guys wasn't as bad as everyone made it out to be. Sound was crisp pretty much anywhere inside the gates of the main floor, but I found myself enjoying it the most at the side of the deejay booth towards the back.
Franco Fabi was horrible. It irks me how much Montreal praises this deejay. First time checking him out, and I thought his track selection was random; no flow, and his mixing was pretty flawed.. but I was here to see S&D, so it didn't leave that much of a bitter taste. Sasha and Digweed were up to par with what I was expecting. They delivered the goods.. especially Digweed who I thought destroyed the place!! Lots of new material from his new album, and he also dropped the best track I've heard all year. It sounded like this year's "grindhouse", with a really long, rolling buildup, with a thunderous drop. Couldn't believe what I was hearing for the most part. Sasha played a lot better than the last time I saw him in Toronto, keeping the epic levels the same as Diggers. Some tasty melodic gems were dropped, but overall I thought he didn't bring anything new to the table. With that in mind, I think Digweed's set had more of a wow factor. Their last 40 minutes, leading up to the back 2 back session was a bit of a borefest unfortunately.. It was just bland filler. I'm going to reinforce what others have said and speculate that it's because of how 'lost' he looked up there. His eyes were definately rolling. haha. :)
We left shortly after, pleased, and ready for round 2 at Stereo. Definately checking this festival out again next year. |
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| Spin Laden |
Franco Fabi was decent :whip: :p
He set the tone and had the dancefloor chugging along with some dark, afters-sounding tech house right when we arrived at 1130PM. The last hour was a bit disjointed I thought, as I believe he was transitioning for Sasha and Digweed. I thought I heard a few trancey-sounding prog house tracks in there during the transition.
So then my expectations were not high for Sasha and Digweed, expecting more of what Fabi was setting up.. but these guys surprised me. I heard lots of sexy, chuggy, techy beats, minimal layering and generally tons of range within their sets. There were some diva tracks, some tech, some proggy trance, a whole smorgasboard of beats that flowed well. While it wasn't a mind-bending set for me from a dancefloor point of view (due to the occasional trancey prog breakdowns) the set had a bit of everything in it.
David Seaman absolutely murdered the decks - one of the primary reasons I did not head off to Stereo for Howells. His set was tight, sinister, funky, techy, dark and it flowed very well. He really brought the party up a notch, and his set was 180 degrees different than last year's sleepy trancey prog set. Whereas last year he was arguably the weakest link, this year he was the star, in my opinion.
Kudos to the kinds of djs who can change it up, and change it up for the better.
Stephane Lippe's set was not as dark as Seaman's and there was a technical hiccup about halfway into his set (albeit a very brief one). However, his set was fun, funky and had its decent share of deep house, tech, minimal and interesting remixes from Michael Jackson, David Guetta and Lady Gaga. Cheese (sans Michael) never sounded so good at 10AM in the morning, lol.
Commercial artists? Ja. Commercial tracks? Nein
Black and Blue may not have had Bal en Blanc's epic feel to it as it was indeed a smaller scale production; however, the fact that there was mostly enough room to dance and move around, solid music from beginning to end, no long lineup to get in (20 mins from my hotel to the dancefloor), and a comparatively cheaper ticket ($75), from a personal standpoint, the party was successful and thoroughly enjoyed. There were enough people there to make it 'massive' enough.
Personally I wasn't expecting an elaborate production once I saw that Sasha and Digweed and David Seaman were on the bill. I do not know all the financials behind Black and Blue but booking these kinds of djs wouldn't leave a lot in the coffers for a mega production, I would imagine.
Again, absolutely no issues for me as I was mostly there for the dancefloor and the people (though the ceiling lights could have been utilized more, I have to agree with that).
Lastly, it was my utmost pleasure to meet the now-budding-dj-formerly-known-as-ZeKsg, 84th Ave, Trancegal and Seany (was so reassuring to see you guys while in that utterly sketched-out bathroom), and of course the other TAs Mrs Haus and DJ Lift (thanks for the Ibiza CDs, Lift ... MTL needs Cox at a massive again and that CD confirms it!)
Markus, too bad we didn't meet as I think we would have had a lot to talk about. You and Meghan can crash at my place in Ottawa anytime ....... but of course you get the couch :tongue3
PS, So Mrs Haus outed Spin Laden and at this party, some wasted gay guy tried to do the same, much to my chagrin. I choose not to discuss this traumatic experience in this review post :wtf: :p |
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| mtlrizzo |
Now the one and only thing I would kill for to see at a massive...
CREATOR 4 hour closing SET!!! 8-12pm!!!!
holy x1000 |
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| Vermz |
| quote: | Originally posted by Passskal
haha see how my information is valuable! |
pascal rocks !!!
franco = meh
sasha & digweed were great
black and blue was fun ! |
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| oldskool94 |
Sorry, no time for proper review.
Crew and I thoroughly enjoyed this year's B&B. S&D were nothing short of a musical voyage. Lots of next-level sound threads, carefully woven together by the two masters. I found the light show more upscale and sophisticated at Pepsi Forum, but sound was pretty good. Vibe was great. Decor was ok. Seaman, I agree, brought it up several notches and had a stellar performance. The locals seem to cater to the vocal/tribal house lovers. I recall "lady" by Modjo and "fired up" by Funky Green Dogs, albeit they were remixes.
I predict a marathon by Tenaglia next year for the 20th anniv with 20 hr party - let's hope ! |
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| Mrs Haus |
Ok so I'm going to post a quick review on my thoughts about this year Black and Blue. For some odd reason the whole night feels like a bit of a blur to me.
Music
Showed up with Spin and DJ Lift at about 11:30ish and Franco Fabi was spinning. At first I wasn't totally into it or even paying much attention to it I was busy looking for some friends. But once I did start listening to it I found he was playing some deep chuggy beats which I don't mind but nothing that really got me going. I later on starting feeling like crap and went to sit in the Air Canada lounge area to take a breather, which is where I randomly had mtlrizzo come and sit beside me. So from about 1-2:30ish I wasn't paying much attention to much was talking to people in the lounge and taking deep soothing breaths. But once Sasha and Digweed came on wow I couldn't hold back, even rizzo noticed I was starting to move around much more. Lots of deep, minimal, proggy, chuggy beats. Like Spin said a mix of everything. And I loved it once I got over feeling like crap I kept myself moving. I moved more into the dance floor with some friends, and got closer to the DJ booth, and realized I couldn't keep my eyes of Digweed. I think I was in some messed up DJ amazement moment. I agree with most Digweed stole the show, but don't think Sasha did that terribly he still kept me and everyone else is the room moving. Again feels like a haze (I blame the drugs) I seemed like their set flew by and the next thing I knew Dave Seaman came on, which I was feeling subpar about anyhow. He did much better than I was expecting very amazing, I didn't stick around for his entire set though by around 9am I was done for the night and left so I didn't see Lippe set at all. Heard I didn't miss much though.
Decor and Layout
When I first walked in and saw the rows of hanging lights I actually really liked it. But then as the night went on and I realized they weren't really being used and lit up the way I was hoping and expecting I kind of felt let down. Could have been used a lot more, just seem like fancy decoration. I mainly remember all the other lights reflecting off the cords and the LED lights inbetween. I'm not big on lots of lighting and keeping it a bit darker in a room. And I'm a bit glad that there wasn't many moments of bright lighting. I'm normally one of those people who keeps her sunglasses on all night (kind of like you Spin) but my sunglsses broke a couple days before and hadn't had time to replce them for BnB. So the darkness was good. But I wish there was more emphasis on the DJ booth. Myself and few others once we walked in one of the first things we said was "where is the DJ booth" honestly had to look around at first to relize it was dimly hidden off to the side of the dancefloor. Seriously for having some of the best DJ's in the world you would think you would want more people to notice. Last year at Black and Blue they had more lighting and emphasis on the DJ booth. It wasn't so lost on the dancefloor. This year left most wondering if it was even in the room. Seemed like the main stage was the entire show. Lots of lighting huge screen behind it, I mean it was nice but except for the few performances that were on the stage during the night it was just an empty stage.
I still had an amazing time, great beats, good friends, and new friends. Was a great success for me. I'm already looking forward to Black and Blue next year, lets hope this rumor about it being back at the Stade stays true.
Anyhow yes I did out Spin Laden :) I did it cause I care buddy lol ;) But it was really cool having meeting mtlrizzo and 84th Ave. I'm sure we will all be in more touch soon, rizzo us meeting really was fate, destiny even. Seriously out of how many people were at Black and Blue and you end up coming and sitting right beside me. Or was it cause you thought I was some cute blonde girl ;) |
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| mtlrizzo |
| i told fate what to do :cool: |
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| yankeeBaby |
Do you guys think this is worth coming up for in the future?
I am growing bored of Bal en Blanc and may skip it for the first time in ages....but I still want something new (and totally different, non-trance-type-event...) Opinions? |
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| trancegal |
| quote: | Originally posted by yankeeBaby
Do you guys think this is worth coming up for in the future?
I am growing bored of Bal en Blanc and may skip it for the first time in ages....but I still want something new (and totally different, non-trance-type-event...) Opinions? |
This is my second time going to black and blue and I have to say its my fav massive....bal en blanc and reso aint got on B&B:D :D |
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| Spin Laden |
| quote: | Originally posted by yankeeBaby
Do you guys think this is worth coming up for in the future?
I am growing bored of Bal en Blanc and may skip it for the first time in ages....but I still want something new (and totally different, non-trance-type-event...) Opinions? |
| quote: | Originally posted by Spin Laden
Black and Blue may not have had Bal en Blanc's epic feel to it as it was indeed a smaller scale production; however, the fact that there was mostly enough room to dance and move around, solid music from beginning to end, no long lineup to get in (20 mins from my hotel to the dancefloor), and a comparatively cheaper ticket ($75), from a personal standpoint, the party was successful and thoroughly enjoyed. There were enough people there to make it 'massive' enough.
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| Spin Laden |
that was a good read 'Haus.. though some of it reminded me of a certain movie flick :p |
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| Knox |
| quote: | Originally posted by yankeeBaby
Do you guys think this is worth coming up for in the future?
I am growing bored of Bal en Blanc and may skip it for the first time in ages....but I still want something new (and totally different, non-trance-type-event...) Opinions? |
Yes. :)
So. Where do I begin? My first Montreal Massive, My First time seeing the masters behind the decks. Right there I am already loving my life.
Get there about 12:30 and the line up is nothing. We get right in in probably 10 minutes. Ticket, security done. Already I am impressed with the event. I walk into the exhibit hall and see all the lights hanging from the ceiling and to the right the DJ booth. Nice set up. Did not like what Franco was playing. Very all over the place. To me it was good background music while I walked around the venue and got my barings. I wasn't there to see anyone else but Sasha and Digweed. The time gets closer, its now about 2:20 and we're up near the front of the room, right of the DJ booth and I see them, chatting and getting ready to step up to the decks. "There they are!!" Franco finishes and S&D are chilling, watching the show of performers up on the stage at the far end of the room. I paid no attention because seeing Sasha and Digweed, together standing up above was something I've been waiting for and didn't want to take my eyes away. And then the announcment I've been waiting for comes....
"And Now... Sasha and John Digweed."
I was smiling and grooving and smiling some more. John played first with a good steady beat and then it drops. Chugging, dark, bang... he did what he does best.... mesmorize the dance floor. On comes Sasha... Melodies, more chugging beats... "I feel love"?!?... I felt a bit of "the drums"... nice. Then Sasha drops it and I'm into another dance frenzy. More Digweed and then some back to back. I wasn't sure who stole the show for me that night, but as I reflected some more afterwards, John certainly did it for me. Maybe its because Sasha played "Please Destroy" at the end of the set,which is a song I was really hoping wouldn't be played that night, but meh...what can you do. John with his phone camera recording the crowd at the end of the set with a smile on his face was such a nice touch.
My one complaint is that the night flew by so quickly.... I was so overwhelemed with seeing the boys play I was just abosorbing everything as much as I could and letting my feet just move to the beats all night.
Successful event. Great venue. Great crowd. Lights could have been utilized more... Sasha and Digweed delivered. I was satisfied. I would certainly consider returning at BnB again in 2010...
7am..... on to Danny at Stereo.....:) |
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