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Concert Review: Escape From Wonderland

October 30, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Escape From Wonderland delighted guests with spooky haunted houses and excellent electronic music

By Aidan Meehan and Will Jernigan

Escape From Wonderland
October 27, 2012
NOS Event Center
San Bernardino, CA

 

In only its second year, Insomniac Events brought nearly 50,000 people to their Halloween-themed festival Escape From Wonderland, which has sold out both its years of occurrence. After attending, we can see why this member of the Wonderland family is by far the most popular. Electronic music enthusiasts love one thing more than dancing the night away, and that is doing so in bizarre, carefully constructed costumes. Halloween presents the ultimate opportunity for outlandish wear, and festival-goers did not disappoint at Escape, sporting the dress of historical figures, Alice and her Wonderland friends (fittingly), and cult movie icons of past and present.

Escape From Wonderland offered attendees much more than just another chance to dress up and party. State-of-the-art production, a mind-blowing line-up and revolting décor all contributed to one of the most unique and memorable Halloween experiences possible.

Upon entering through the ghastly gates of the festival, we scouted out the haunted stages, ending up at the Ghoul’s Graveyard stage, hosted by Steve Angello’s own Size Matters Records. Rising progressive house stars Third Party had just begun their set, mixing with a Dutch House style that included tracks such as Afrojack’s new anthem “Rock the House”, and even mixing in Zedd’s heavy-hitting remix of Skrillex’s “Breaking A Sweat”.  Continuing into a more progressive sound later in the set, they dropped some of their own productions, playing “Feel”, their famous remix of Red Hot Chili Pepper’s “Otherside”, and finally put the crowd into a frenzy with their new collaboration with Steve Angello “Lights” .

After Third Party finished, we found a small window of opportunity between artists to wander the festival and check out the haunted houses. The first stop was The Looking Glass 3-D Maze, where chainsaw-toting zombies and unearthly demons were hidden among twisted neon 3D landscapes. The house’s ‘victims’ held back screams of terror as the most gruesome of wonderland’s inhabitants appeared almost out of the walls to horrify the unsuspecting. Five minutes of recovery time and we launched into the pleasantly short and quick-moving line of the next house, Alice’s House of Horror. In Alice’s House lurked insane doctors, a room of hanging clowns and pitch-black hallways that created an atmosphere all more nauseating than the previous house. After escaping the clutches of the monsters inside, we left the haunted houses thoroughly impressed with their quality and presentation.

We quickly stopped at the Chopping Block Dubstep Stage to have our eardrums pounded by Crizzly’s bass-heavy set, which featured a hype man and full-sized teddy bear bouncing around on stage. We then headed to the main stage, Slaughter House, to see the Australian twin female sensations Nervo. Miriam and Olivia came out in police uniforms, with enthusiasm double that of most DJ’s and mixed a set to remember. The sisters played many of their famous songs, including “The Way We See the World”, “You’re Gonna Love Again”, and their latest release “Reason”. Our personal favorite was Nervo’s hit “We’re All No One” sung over Hook N’ Sling’s club jam “Take You Higher”. The light show at the Slaughter House added to the already memorable set, complete with seven LED backboards that went through everything from a live fan/DJ cam to a realistic thrill ride, twin lasers, ghosts and spider webs floating from the top of the tent, smoke, strobe lights, flood lights, and confetti and streamer cannons.

Back at the Size Matters stage, progressive house legend Steve Angello stole the show with an epic hour and a half-long set full of EDM classics and freshly released hits. He opened with his #1 track “KNAS” and segued into Alesso’s track “Clash”. Frequently pausing the mix to talk to the crowd, Angello spoke about the upcoming Swedish House Mafia tour while playing the supergroup’s hits “One”, “Greyhound”, and “Leave The World Behind”. Every vocal hook of the set was sung along to and every drop evoked zeal from the crowd. Closing with the latest SHM single, “Don’t You Worry Child”, Angello left Escape From Wonderland fired up for the rest of the evening.

We hung around after Angello’s set to catch German mastermind Thomas Gold.  He surprised us by entering the stage with a full 8-piece drum line of evil clowns, who stayed on stage with him throughout the first two songs, performing live percussions along with his mixing of heavy progressive house beats. He played many of his signature tracks, including “Alive”, “Eyes Wide Open”, and “Walking Alone”.  From there we briefly stopped at Calvin Harris’ set, which was engaging, but quite crowded, and finally headed back to the Chopping Block Bass Stage to close out our night with the infamous dubstep heavyweight Borgore.

Borgore surprised no one with a particularly raunchy set, full of heavy, grimy bass lines, and images of scantily clad women and junk food (comical floating ice cream cones and cakes).  He pleased the crowd with Flux Pavilion’s well-known “I Can’t Stop”, and surprised us with a bit of Knife Party’s new track “Centipede”.  He also played many of his own famous songs, including “Ice Cream”, “Love”, and ended the night with his latest major release, “Decisions”.  During the final track, hundreds of girls flooded the stage and danced along with him, with security being unable to hold back the onslaught.  Borgore’s set was a powerful and unique experience, and a great way to end the night at Escape from Wonderland.

In conclusion, the Wonderland series of events is continuously impressive. Both Nocturnal and Escape From Wonderland have offered incredible experiences in a relatively small and safe festival setting. Insomniac continues to deliver musically and logistically, setting the standard for music festivals across the country. I highly recommend trying out one of the Insomniac festivals in the near future, either this New Year’s at White Wonderland or at any of the Electric Daisy Carnival events. Escape From Wonderland’s haunting melodies and brutal drops brought out Alice’s evil side, even if just for one frightening night.

 

 

5-5:30 Schoolboy

5:30-6:30 Third Party

6:30-7 Explore and Stuff

7-7:45 Crizzly

8-9 Nervo

9-9:30 Haunted House

9:30-10:45 Steven Angello

10:45-11:15 Armin van Buuren

11:15-12:15 Thomas Gold

12:15-12:40 Laidback Luke

12:40-1 Calvin Harris

1-2 Borgore

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Concert Review: Bombay Bicycle Club

October 22, 2012 By 1 Comment

Bombay Bicycle Club's show featured songs off their newest album, A Different Kind of Fix

 

By Aidan Meehan


Bombay Bicycle Club
House of Blues San Diego
October 17

When most people hear the terms “indie pop”, or as the British call the genre “twee pop”, images of crooning melodies, melancholy lyrics and a slow gentle performance are evoked. While this may hold true for some of Bombay Bicycle Club’s studio recordings, their live performances are the perfect opposite of the indie pop image. Both times I have seen Bombay have out-classed even the most high energy shows in terms of stage presence and crowd participation. During the group’s hits “Always Like This” and “Beg” even the venue security joined in song.

Bombay Bicycle Club hails from north London and is currently on the west coast leg of their U.S. tour in support of their 2011 release A Different Kind of Fix. The main singles off Fix, ‘Beg’ and ‘How Can You Swallow So Much Sleep’, are now staples of Bombay’s current setlist. Debut album I Had The Blues, But I Shook Them Loose and sophomore acoustic release Flaws also spawned numerous singles, charting as high as 56 on the UK Singles. Bombay’s recent success in the UK indie scene led them to embark on their U.S. Tour, playing small venues and connecting with the American audience. After seeing Bombay at the Bluebird Theatre in Denver in August earlier on the tour, I knew that I had to see another show eventually, and jumped at the chance to go to House of Blues.

Walking into the venue, opener Vacationer had just begun their set of spacey indie/psych rock to a slightly unenthused crowd. Vacationer’s lead single “Trip” was accompanied by a projector displaying psychedelic visuals and oceanic scenes. The combination of the venue ambience, laid back lyrics and the visuals recalled a dreamy day on the California shore. The group did an excellent job of bringing up the energy by the end of their set, despite the crowd’s early reluctance to loosen up. I suggest listening to some of Vacationer’s tracks on YouTube if you are looking for some solid beach music.

After a quick break to change stage set up’s, Bombay entered to a roar from the audience. Opening with ‘Beg’ and ‘How Can You Swallow…’ got the audience excited enough to take a pause and introduce the band. After playing a few tracks off of I Had The Blues… the group waxed acoustic and brought out acoustic guitars and strangely enough, a banjo. Lead singer Jack Steadman then politely asked the audience “how would you like to turn this show into a hoedown” and broke out in acoustic hits ‘Ivy & Gold’ and ‘Rinse Me Down’ at a speed far beyond that of the studio recording. The audience danced in true ‘hoedown’ style as the British performers took on a Country-Western air. Other hits ‘Evening/Morning’ and Cancel On Me excited the audience even further, with the whole venue singing and shouting along to the tracks. After closing with ‘Always Like This’ the group went off stage for barely a second before the crowd demanded an encore. Bombay did not disappoint, performing ‘Shuffle’, unreleased head-banger ‘Carry On’ and the high energy punk influenced closer ‘What If’.

After the show, front man Jack Steadman, background vocalist Lucy Rose, and bassist Ed Nash came out to visit with the audience, signing tickets and answering questions. I took the time to ask them a few brief questions. Jack offered a bit of insight on the unreleased tracks, stating that the group is recording in El Paso, Texas, after the tour, and they have most of a record written and arranged, with a hopeful release in the spring. Lucy Rose spoke about her favorite stops on the tour, saying that besides San Diego, her favorite American city was New Orleans because of the vibrant music scene and unique ambience.

After my quick chat with some of the group members, I left the show feeling both energized and refreshed. I highly recommend any of Bombay’s three records to any indie music fan, their song writing is unique, emotive and fun. If you get a chance to see them in the near future, I suggest it to everyone, Bombay Bicycle Club puts on a performance unlike most other groups in the genre that is high-energy and eclectic.

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Concert Preview: Escape from Wonderland

October 18, 2012 By 14 Comments

 

By Aidan Meehan

 

Escape From Wonderland
October 27, 2012
NOS Events Center
San Bernadino, CA

 

Insomniac Events is hosting the Halloween themed festival of the Wonderland festival circuit “Escape From Wonderland” in San Bernardino on Saturday, October 27th, Escape from Wonderland. Insomniac is widely regarded as one of the premiere electronic music festival producers in the world, with other events including Electric Daisy Carnival in Las Vegas and Electric Zoo in New York City.  The festival heralds big names in many genres of electronic dance music (EDM), and production quality of the event itself is top-tier. Three artists I am particularly excited to see are Swedish house giant Steve Angello, the ever controversial and exciting Borgore, and the Australian twin sisters Nervo, the first female artists to truly cause ripples in the EDM scene.

 

  1. Steve Angello

Steve Angello is one of the most successful and controversial figures in modern house music. From his rise to fame with Swedish House Mafia to the numerous criticisms and allegations against him from both his fans and the music community, Angello is an artist that is either adored or loathed. On June 24, 2012, Swedish House Mafia announced that their next tour would be their last. Since the announcement of the break up each member of the super group has been touring extensively as individuals, and Angello is no exception, playing festivals and individual shows all over North America. He is respected among electronic dance music lovers for his international hits (both solo and with Swedish House Mafia), such as “Leave The World Behind,” “Greyhound,” and the newly released club anthem “Don’t You Worry Child,” as well as for his live mixing skill. True EDM enthusiasts, however, have recently brought to public attention some of Angello’s artistic faults. Recent criticisms include some producers attacks on the track KNAS, because it’s main melody was taken from a publically available sample pack, and thus the percussions were Angello’s only creative contribution to the track. Despite what some die-hard fans may say about Angello selling out or bringing commercialism to house music, he and Swedish House Mafia have consistently produced powerful and innovative tracks. After seeing the two other members of Swedish House Mafia, Axwell and Sebastian Ingrosso, at the last Wonderland Festival, I am excited to complete the trio this Halloween weekend with what will be a dynamic and engaging set.

 

  1. Nervo

Some of the first female producers to explode in the electronic music industry, Nervo hails from the Land Down Under.  The twin sisters from Australia began their careers songwriting, and broke through co-writing for David Guetta’s “When Love Takes Over,” winning a Grammy for their work.  After working closely with Guetta, they began producing and embarked on a two-year-long world tour, hitting major festivals including Lollapalooza in Chicago, Electric Daisy Carnival in Las Vegas, Tomorrowland in Belgium, and Ultra Music Festival in Miami. Quickly becoming the hottest female duo in electronic music, they recently hit Beatport’s Number 1 song with their Tomorrowland Anthem “The Way We See The World” which they produced with progressive house heavyweights Dmitri Vegas and Like Mike.  They are now preparing for the UK release of  “We’re All No One,” a collaboration with Top DJ’s Steve Aoki and Afrojack, which features them as not only as producers, but as singers.  The pre-released music video already has over 2.5 million views on YouTube, and has hit #8 on the Billboard Club Chart in the US.  They have also just announced their own residency in Las Vegas at the Wynn Hotel Group, and are currently touring alongside superstars Kaskade, Skrillex, Avicii, and Chuckie on the IDentity Tour, which had a stop in San Diego in August. Being such an influential group in electronic music as a whole, and especially being the first female group to break through in electronic music, Nervo is sure to put on a high-energy set at Escape from Wonderland.

 

  1. Borgore

Last but certainly not least; Asaf Borgore has recently become a household name to anyone who listens to dubstep.  Born and raised in Israel, Borgore has had a surprisingly diverse music career. He began playing piano at age 3, graduated from a highly esteemed youth music programs as a saxophone major, joined a death metal band as a drummer, created a beatboxing dubstep group with Tomba, and has now become one of the biggest names in dubstep.  He launched Buygore Records in 2010 after leaving Diplo’s label, Mad Decent, and has signed many of the biggest up-and-coming names in Dubstep.  His first release, “Borgore Ruined Dubstep,” is a fitting name for his artistic personality, which is often crude and controversial, but always entertaining. He describes his own genre as “gorestep,” a branch of electronic music that tends to be even heavier than most dubstep, and features triplet bass drum pattern, common in metal music.  His latest release, Decisions EP, was a major success and featured remixes by Cedric Gervais and Dead Audio. It was recently leaked that the back-up vocals for Decisions came from none other than teen sensation Miley Cyrus.  The news of Cyrus’ involvement created waves throughout the electronic music community, generally with widespread criticism.  Borgore has constantly made news since he first stepped into the spotlight with his very heavy and crude song “Love.”  His songs have been compared stylistically to horror movies and farm animals, but despite his quirky and sometimes offensive lyrical content he is widely regarded as a major talent in dubstep.  He is currently on the “Decisions Tour,” launched after the success of Decisions, and Escape from Wonderland is the second to last stop.  Borgore is sure to put on a show to remember at Escape from Wonderland.

 

Escape From Wonderland will be a night on par with past Insomniac events, featuring a sweet line-up, state-of-the-art production and fittingly, themed haunted mazes sure to terrify even the most dedicated of ravers.

 

Leave a comment below with who you would be most excited to see at Escape From Wonderland,
and we’ll pick a winner to receive two free passes to the show! You must include your full name and email address.

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Concerts: Imagine Dragons @ USD Homecoming

October 14, 2012 By 2 Comments

Imagine Dragons played at USD's 2012 Homecoming Concert

By Alina Calva

To the excitement of much of the campus community, Imagine Dragons was the feature band to rock the USD campus. Imagine Dragons started humbly out of Las Vegas and rocketed to fame with the release of their hit single “It’s Time.” Many fans eagerly awaited the release of Night Visions, which came out September 4, 2012. The album Night Visions proved to be a great success for the band, reaching # 2 on the Billboard Top 200 Chart. The album Night Visions was also a great success in that it was the best first week sales for a debut album from up and coming rock bands in over six years.

Vocalist Dan Reynolds, guitarist Wayne Sermon, bassist Ben McKee, and drummer Daniel Platzman from Imagine Dragons worked USD’s Homecoming Stage. I have only been around for one other homecoming concert; however, this is one of the biggest and most active crowd I have seen show up for any USD concert. Torero Program Board did great work lining up such an amazing band that the students were excited to see. Vocalist Dan Reynolds really interacted with the crowd and the response was great. When Dan Reynolds told the crowd to crowd surf, students immediately followed his instructions and crowd surfed like never before; when Dan Reynolds said get loose and crazy, the crowd swayed and grooved and moved around like jello. What made the concert especially enjoyable was the feeling brought from the beating of the drum. The percussion sounds brought into their music made it impossible for your body not to rock to the music.

The entire concert experience was great. The band has a great diversity of music from slower more acoustic songs to more upbeat and synthesized music; the order in which songs came up in the set was well chosen and kept the crowd wanting to hear more. The students were so pleased that the band got cries for encore and performed one last song before exiting the stage. I am pleased to say I have only heard rave reviews, and I hope for the continued success of Imagine Dragons in the years to come.

Check back here on Monday to see our interview with Imagine Dragons – a collaborative effort between USD Radio, USDTV and The Vista.

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Concert Review: Big Gigantic

October 8, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Big Gigantic's stop in San Diego was one of the first in a lengthy U.S. tour

By Drew Parrish

Big Gigantic with GRiZ
House of Blues, San Diego
October 4, 2012

 

I walked out of the House of Blues around midnight unable to hear properly, exhausted, dripping in sweat, and utterly refreshed. The music I had just experienced rejuvenated my relationship with electronic dance music; it reminded me why the rise of electronic dance music (EDM) makes perfect sense, and why it can be so awesome. When I walked in, the opening artist GRiZ had just dropped the song “Smash the Funk” (a personal favorite of mine off his recently released album Mad Liberation). A song that has quintessential dubstep drops, danceable hip-hop breakdowns, a jazzy live saxophone, and title that was conveniently ironic, because what this show brought to San Diego on Thursday night was the funk, in a completely reimagined way.

 

For the rest of the GRiZ set I proceeded to dance like a fool to the high energy music produced by Grant Kwiecinski (GRiZ) and revel in his ability as I recognized intricately layered samples, from artists such as The Notorious B.I.G., accompanying the sonic minefields that typify dubstep. This fusion of genres ignited the dance floor and very nicely prepared the audience for the headlining act, Big Gigantic.

 

As long as I am using ironic titles to talk about the night, let me just say that music of Dominic Lalli and Jeremy Salken pretty much lives up to the name of their musical project, Big Gigantic. The brainchild of Dominic Lalli, Big Gigantic was born in Boulder, CO in 2008 and developed when Lalli wasn’t playing saxophone for Colorado’s genre bending jam-masters The Motet. But Lalli did not leave the sax behind when he pursued Big Gigantic, rather he made it the group’s trademark as he laid soulful and melodic sax playing over a torrent of dance beats. Add Jeremy Salken on a live drum set, and dubstep just got downright groovy.

 

From the moment Big Gigantic started, they didn’t let up and neither did the audience. The energy was palpable as they expertly wove and ploughed their way in and out of songs like “Sky High,” and “Beginning of the End.” As if the audible stimulation was not enough, the boys brought to town an expansive light set up featuring two towers of screens that produced choice images and lighting effects. However, the most sensational aspect the show was being apart of the audience. It was as if we were puppets attached to strings made of music. At one point when Big Gigantic played their remix of “I Need a Dollar” by Aloe Blacc I immediately saw dollar bills being waved and thrown. We even passed around a dollar and the person to have it at the end of the song got to keep it (or so I thought when I passed the bill to the girl standing behind me). By the end of the set, the crowd was so pumped that the wait for the encore was the shortest I have ever seen. Lalli and Salken did not disappoint when they charged back out and dropped an epic remix of the popular song “I Can’t Stop” by Flux Pavilion.

 

It is obvious why electronic dance music has exploded in popularity, what person doesn’t want to dance like a hooligan sometimes? The atmosphere is infectious. Yet I have often been alienated by the EDM genre because it seems as if artists sometimes sacrifice creativity and innovation in their work for popularity. This show featured artists that garnered popularity because of their creativity and innovation, and so I was refreshed and ready for more.

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Concert Review: The Shins

October 2, 2012 By Leave a Comment

The Shins played at SDSU's Open Air Theatre this past weekend. Photo by Eden Frost

 

by Eden Frost

 

The Shins
Open Air Theatre at SDSU
September 30th 2012

 

With their electronic rhythm and hypnotizing light show of purples and blues, opening act Washed Out put the crowd in a bit of a mellow trance before The Shins on Sunday at the Open Air Theatre at SDSU. Reminiscent of a younger sounding U2, the band’s vocals meshed with the electric flow of their songs and had the crowd swaying in their seats as we waited for The Shins to take the stage. Playing a solid set, the band was a quality opener and indicator of the fun to come. After a short intermission, the lights went out and the Albuquerque, New Mexico based band took the stage.

 

As the sounds of “Rifle Spiral” started to blare out from the stage, I was eager to get up and start dancing, but was one of maybe five others standing in my section. After making my way closer to the stage, the crowd seemed to loosen up a bit and got in on the performance with “Phantom Limb,” Ooh-ing and Ahh-ing along with lead singer, James Mercer. The band hit their classics (“New Slang” “Sleeping Lessons” and “Know Your Onion”) along with many songs from their new album, Port of Morrow including hit “Simple Song”. Mercer proudly introduced their title track and the stage dawned green lights as they played away and moved effortlessly into “New Slang.” They played for about an hour and it seemed as though the show had just really started when the band was thanking us for coming out and headed back stage, waiting for the crowd to call them back out.

 

Upon returning for their encore set, the band gave their first time live performance of “Fall of ’82,” which Mercer dedicated to his sister who helped raise him. It was a sentimental dedication that gave the lyrics and performance of the song all the more meaning both for him, and the crowd. An emphasized guitar performance balanced out the soft lyrics and his gratitude for his sister really came through.

 

The band went into “No Way Down” with a much groovier and passionate take on their recorded album version that really got everyone standing up and feeling all that the band had to offer. With the excitement growing and the show coming to a close, Mercer thanked us for coming out and claimed San Diego to be the best crowd they’ve had on their tour so far.

 

Before he sent us on our way Mercer introduced his friends and fellow band mates (Joe Plummer on drums, Yuuki Mathews on bass, Jessica Dobson on guitar and backing vocals and Richard Swift on keyboard and synthesizing some of the bands signature sounds) as they went into an awesome modified version of “One By One All Day.” For their final encore, keyboardist Richard Swift turned it out with a slowed down solo that had the audience clapping along. Each of the band members took a moment to showcase their unique talent and sounds that come together as the undeniably lovable band that is The Shins. As the show really came to a close my only complaint was that I wished it would keep going! Three encores just wasn’t enough but they definitely kept the audience wanting more and I’m sure they’ll continue to do so as they head to Los Angeles to play at the Gibson Amphitheatre.

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Festival Review: Nocturnal Wonderland

September 25, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Insomniac Events' Nocturnal Wonderland took festival-goers down a rabbit hole this past weekend.

By Aiden Meehan

Nocturnal Wonderland
September 21-22
Nos Event Center – San Bernardino, CA

Insomniac Events have been steadily increasing the scale of the Alice in Wonderland-themed series of festivals to reach a larger market. From September 21-22, some of the world’s premiere DJs and electronic music producers came to the Nos Event Center in San Bernardino, California to perform at the Nocturnal Wonderland 2012. With the appearance of EDM giants such as Alesso, Axwell of Swedish House Mafia, and Pretty Lights this year, expect the small audience of this somewhat unfamiliar festival to grow very quickly.

Musically, Nocturnal Wonderland had an artist for every spectrum of electronic music. At the Labyrinth main stage, house classics, both old and new, were dropped from the Pioneer DJ decks. My personal highlights at the Labyrinth were Fedde le Grand’s mix of “Somebody That I Used To Know (dBerrie remix)”, a track that rose to public attention at Ultra 2012 and Benny Benassi’s mix of his 2010 hit “Cinema” with Skrillex’s remix of the same track. The Sunken Garden stage hosted dubstep/Drum n’ Bass performers while the stage Alice’s House focused on trance/electro artists.

Not only was the line-up of Nocturnal Wonderland surprisingly diverse and esteemed, but the production of the festival was on par with that of many larger festivals. Just a few of the festival’s attractions include: a full-size Ferris wheel, giant inflatable caterpillars and a mechanical bird that somehow spit fire. The festival planners somehow managed to avoid many of the cons of the country’s bigger festivals. Because of the small size of the festival, with a little skill, I was able to get to the front row for almost every artist that I wanted to see. Standing front and center for Alesso’s classic club anthem “Pressure” and Pretty Lights’ bass-heavy mash-ups was an incredible experience—an experience only realistically possible in a smaller festival setting where you don’t have to elbow those around you just to breathe.

Quite often, only the most hardcore fans choose to spend time in the crowded center of the pit. Luckily, Insomniac provided activities for every facet and mood of the festival experience. One could get comfortable under any number of the festival’s obscure and colorful decorations and listen from afar, willingly jump into the hot and cramped center of any of the five stages, or simply relax on the Ferris wheel and watch the sunset.

In conclusion, I feel that Insomniac Events have learned a lot from their previous planning mistakes which have greatly improved the quality of their events. Festival security was extremely tight, and the wait to get it was absolutely worth the added safety. Water was made free and available all throughout the festival grounds to prevent dehydration and over-heating of attendees, a problem that has resulted in deaths at previous Insomniac festivals. The combination of the relatively safe environment, incredible line-up and small size made for an amazing weekend. I highly suggest attending Nocturnal Wonderland in the future if you like EDM or music festivals in general. Drive up to San Bernardino, get your glow sticks and dive down the rabbit hole.

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Concert Review: Matisyahu

September 23, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Matisyahu at Humphreys by the Bay. Photo by Juan Barragan.

By Juan Barragan

Matisyahu
Humphreys by the Bay
September 19, 2012

Southern Californians are known for their love of reggae music, and many new and upcoming reggae artists have been able to become successful by garnering a huge amount of SoCal followers. Typically, these artists are born in California, but there is one artist who has proven that the East Coast can also produce high quality reggae. His name is Matisyahu, and he is currently finishing up a tour in support of his new album, Spark Seeker. Straight out of Crown Heights in Brooklyn, New York, Matisyahu immersed San Diego in reggae with an East Coast twist.

The new album, Spark Seeker, shows that Matisyahu is exploring new sounds, dabbling more into the pop and hip-hop genres. To some of his fans, this might be disappointing, but approaching this album with absolute objectivity enables the listener to truly experience Matisyahu’s message of peace, friendship, love, and positivity; the same message that is prevalent in all his previous albums. Altogether, Matisyahu unites these two genres through catchy electronic sound effects.

Matisyahu took the stage this past week at Humphreys by the Bay in Point Loma. The venue definitely has some great aesthetics, with palm trees all around and the San Diego Bay directly to the side of the stage. Although the crowd was unhappy about the seating arrangement, (it was not General Admission, but rather assigned seating) they quickly forgot as the lights dimmed and what sounded like a Middle Eastern tune began to play as Matisyahu prepared to take the stage. It turned out to be the intro to “Crossroads,” which is the first track off of the new album. At this point, there was some type of smoke emanating from the crowd as they prepared to be taken to a state of Irie, which means a state of nirvana and inner peace for the Rastafarian brothers and sisters in attendance, by one of their favorite Reggae artists.

Matisyahu’s set was similar to the other times I have seen him live. He begins singing one song and he slowly begins to connect and incorporate lyrics from a completely different song, thus maintaining absolute originality in his performance. The songs he performed from the new album did not have this artistic approach, but the well known song, “King Without a Crown”, definitely experienced a live transformation from the studio version, incorporating lyrics from “Jerusalem”. All his songs typically have some type of instrumental section in them where Matisyahu uses to display his unique dancing style. When he is not dancing during an instrumental section of a song, he walks to the side of the stage right next to the sound monitors to take in the sounds originating from the speakers; his head down as he listens to the captivating sounds by his amazingly talented band.

Part of Matisyahu’s success arises from his ability to bring both young and older fans to experience live music. To end a successful night, he finished his set with one of his most famous songs, “One Day.” It is custom during his final song for the crowd to storm the stage and sing along with Matisyahu. At first, security was hesitant to allow this, forcibly pulling a girl off the stage as she desperately tried to climb the stage, hanging onto the stage monitors for support. Shortly after, security caved in and even allowed fans to reach the stage via the stairs artists themselves use to reach the stage. It was here that the whole crowd understood what Matisyahu is all about: peace, love, friendship and positivity. By allowing his crowd on stage, the boundary between the artist and the fans was nonexistent, they were one, together singing songs of love and healing.

I personally recommend to those die-hard reggae fans to give Matisyahu a try as soon as they possibly can. And for those who already are familiar with Matisyahu’s music, the new album, although completely different from his previous works, is definitely worth a listen.

 

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Concert Review: IDentity Festival

August 23, 2012 By Leave a Comment

IDentity Festival came to San Diego this summer

By Spencer Gallardo

IDentity Festival
Cricket Wireless Amphitheatre
August 18

Identity Festival San Diego

 

On Saturday, August 18, 2012, San Diego once again hosted Identity Festival at the sold out Cricket Wireless Amphitheatre in Chula Vista. According to its Twitter bio, Identity Festival – or simply “ID Fest” – is “the first ever touring all electronic festival.” What this means is that the performers at ID Fest are exclusively artists from the up-and-coming genre of music called electronic dance music (EDM). While the DJs aren’t necessarily performing their songs “live” per se, EDM shows really aim to combine what is seen and heard to create an environment much like a party rather than a concert. And let me tell you – the only thing crazier than the sold out crowds were the outfits they wore.

 

While the debates over “button pushing” and DJ versus producer rage on there is still no denying that the most crucial element of any EDM show is the crowd. The three stages at ID Fest offered a wide variety of performance and musical styles, which produced a diverse environment and experience for each festival-goer. The two large stages definitely hosted the larger crowds (the “third” stage was nothing more than a small plaza in the walking areas between the two main stages where a live DJ was performing), however the iHome main stage – located in the amphitheater itself – had a distant and almost segregated feel to it. Event staff was forced to deny access to the pit to any non-VIP ticket holders due to the overwhelming turnout at the festival. This forced viewers to remain in the seated and grassy areas further back, separating them from the real party environment. While in many ways the venue was very accommodating as a whole, perhaps an amphitheater isn’t the best choice of venue for an EDM show.

 

For a one-day traveling festival, ID Fest did a tremendous job in gathering a variety of talent from all different sub-genres of dance music, ranging from trance and electro to dubstep and hardstyle. Here is a recap of some of my favorite shows of the day:

 

Best Show: Eric Prydz

After seeing Prydz headline ID Fest it’s clear he has come a long way since his first single “Call On Me” gained international fame in 2004. This was one of the better trance shows I have ever seen and the crowd really seemed to respond in a positive way. His light show was mesmerizing; he put use to lasers, smoke canons, and a full backdrop of LED lighting, creating fluid images that put the viewer, fittingly, into a trance-like awe.

 

Most Surprising Show: Showtek

Rather than see Porter Robinson for the third time this summer, I decided to see Showtek for the first time. I have a strong distaste for hardstyle music so I had my doubts about seeing the Dutch duo live; to my delight, Showtek not only played just one hardstyle song, but also included remixes of crowd-pleasing songs like House of Pain’s “Jump Around” and Avicii’s “Levels,” to name a few.

 

Best DJ Performance: Noisia

If there’s one thing this Dutch drum and bass (dnb) trio knows how to do it is simply throw down. As it is, dnb is a much more fast-pace sub-genre of EDM; but, to see the three DJs jump and dance just as energetically as the crowd for the entirety of their set was absolutely astonishing.

 

Loudest Show: Excision

The other ID Fest headliner, Excision, put on one of the best overall shows at the festival as well as one of the loudest most grimy dubstep shows that I have ever seen. His set was noticeably louder than Showtek’s, who directly preceded Excision at the smaller of the two main stages. To put this all in to perspective, during some of the more mellow parts of Eric Prydz’ set you could hear the kick of the bass coming from Excision’s stage – and the two stages were facing opposite directions.

 

Honorable Mention: Paul van Dyk

Had I seen the entirety of Paul van Dyk’s show, I could have easily listed his set as “Best Show,” “Most Surprising Show,” and “Best DJ performance.” His trance style was a little heavier than Prydz’ and his light show may have been equally as eye-catching had he not played his set during the day (the sun actually set as he was finishing his performance). It seems odd to call the German DJ old at the age of 40; however, in a genre as young as EDM, van Dyk is definitely one of the “legends” of trance and dance music.

 

Filed Under: USD Radio

Concert Preview: IDentity Festival

June 7, 2012 By Leave a Comment

IDentity Festival
August 18, 2012
Cricket Wireless Amphitheater

 

The newest and biggest electonic festival to come to San Diego is bringing the best DJs in the world for a second time to the Cricket Wireless Amphitheatre. On August 18, for one day only, IDentity Festival will host to thousands of fans and thirteen DJs.  The festival sprawls with three stages across the entire Cricket Wireless grounds.

Last year, ID Fest went from midday to midnight, as electonic powerhouses such as Afrojack, Steve Aoki, Kaskade, and Pretty Lights rocked three different stages: two large stages and one smaller stage.  Even under the sun, electronic artists made a statement about the growth in popularity of their music in the past few years, as thousands of fans daanced to their favorite DJs.  But the natural setting for electronic music is nighttime.  That was when the real excitement came, as glowsticks cracked and LED lights filled the crowds. At ID Fest 2011, Afrojack joined Steve Aoki on stage to play their hit song “No Beef.”  Expect to see collaborations again this year, especially between Canadian DJs Datsik and Excision, who have collaborated on several releases throughout the years, including the nostalgic “8 Bit Superhero.”

Even the picky fan can be appeased at ID Fest.  The three different stages with simultaneous performers ensures that there is always something for any electronic fan. Whether it’s the trance-feel of Paul van Dyk, the hyper-intense dubstep of Doctor P and Excision, or the easy-going bounce of Bingo Players, anyone can find their niche.

Get your free pair of tickets to this year’s IDentity Festival by heading over to our Facebook page and telling us which artist you are most excited to see at IDentity 2012!

Filed Under: Concerts, Contest, Upcoming Shows, USD Radio
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