Concert Review: Electric Daisy Carnival 2010, Los Angeles

Fireworks. Pyrotechnic shows. A flame thrower rigged arena. Confetti. State of the art lit up carnival rides. Circus midgets. Fog. and LIL JON! ...Just a few of the spectacles that filled the weekend in Los Angeles at the Electric Daisy Carnival that I had the invaluable pleasure of attending. I have been to some amazing electronic music events in my life...namely being LoveFest of San Francisco, POP of San Francisco, and Monster Massive of Los Angeles, but after going to Electric Daisy Carnival for the first time, I can undeniably concur that this is the grand daddy of them all. Considering that I can't separate myself into 5 and couldn't catch all 5 stages and every set, there is a good recap that MTV news did here. Some of the best moments? Spin did a great job of recapping that here.


Day 1 sets I was able to catch:
Chuckie
Steve Aoki
Dada Life
Swedish House Mafia
Kaskade
Deadmau5

Day 2 sets I was able to catch:
Dada Life
Afrojack
Sound of Stereo
Laidback Luke
Benny Benassi
Above & Beyond
Armin van Buuren

I really can't put into words the experience that I had with this event. But here...

Breakdown:

Crowd - The crowd was insane. Probably too insane. The energy levels were so high and people were so desperate to get on the field they even jumped the fences. With everyone so hype, the DJ's knew they had to bring it and responded well.
Production - On a scale from 1 to 10, EDC gets an 11. This production was absolutely insane. The stages were set up and let incredibly well, especially the main stage. Huge wall of LED lights the size of a building and all the pyrotechnic stuff that went down was really incredible. Rigging the entire coliseum with fire torches, state of the art light shows, confetti shooters, fireworks behind the stage, the trampoline jumpers, acrobats, marionettes, and the circus midgets! Insanity! Plus the rides were rigged with great lighting as well. Added an great sense of carnival theme to it all.
Organization - All things considered with the almost 200,000 in attendance, the event was organized rather well. The stages were separated well, the bathrooms were plentiful, and crowd control was handled decently. Props to Insomniac events for the plentiful staff. The only thing I didn't like was the expensive beer and garbage for food.
Lineup - You will never find a more exciting and big name filled line up at any other electronic music event other than Electric Daisy Carnival. Stellar. Amazing. What else can I say? Plus the celebrity appearances...holy moly.

Rating: This event really smacked me in the face big time and showed me indeed how mainstream electronic music is getting here in the United States. I couldn't believe the world class DJ's and all the surprise celebrity appearances saying that this was the greatest massive they have been to. If anything is for sure, it's that dance and electronic music is here. And it's here to stay. ***** (5 stars).

Scale:
***** - Perfect night. Legendary show
**** - Great night. Very enjoyable
*** - Decent night. Some things were hit or miss but overall fine.
** - Boring night. Not too many enjoyable things at this show.
* - Terrible night. Everything went wrong with this one. Where's the booze?

~M

Diss Songs

I was running across some new downloads and for some reason I thought about all the great diss songs that have come out from rappers to one another. Don't ask me how this came across, but I definitely have been thinking about some gold. Most likely will come up with a list sometime soon. But for now, here is some inspiration. Game completely eating up Yukmouth...



~M

#MusicMonday: Electric Daisy Carnival Hype

Hey everyone. Considering #MusicMonday is almost over, might as well make this one short and sweet. Typically I have a lot of musical thoughts going through my head and thinking of a lot of different ideas, but at this moment only one thing is on my mind: Electric Daisy Carnival. Even though Drake's album has come out recently and Eminem dropped Recovery today, EDC is my main focus. For those who have no idea about events that go on within the dance/electronic music scene, Electric Daisy Carnival is the biggest event to happen on the west coast. 2 days long, 12 hours each day, and jam packed full of the filthiest beats of house/trance/electro/drum&bass you can imagine. Also did I mention they have carnival rides? Yeah...it has carnival in the name; makes sense. My journey will take me to the heart of LA to witness the craziest spectacle that I will probably experience in the electronic scene unless I fly to Ibiza or go to one of the European festivals like Love Parade or Dance Valley in the Netherlands. Anyways, here are the DJ's that I am thoroughly stoked to see:


Steve Aoki
Deadmau5 (as usual)
Kaskade
Dirty South
Chuckie
Dada Life
Sean Tyas
Afrojack
Benny Benassi
Fedde Le Grand
Gareth Emery
Laidback Luke
Boys Noize
Above & Beyond
Sasha
ATB
Armin van Buuren (the man!)

If you weren't drooling over that then you just don't know whats going on. Did I also mention Spain plays Chile the same Friday that all this mayhem goes down? Brain overload!! Here's to me surviving the next week...

~M

Random Thoughts: Anyone can Rap...including the Situation

If you have auto-tune, a friend who makes beats, and enough fame left from your 15 minutes to garner some special guest features: you can successfully start a rap career. Peep the new track from "The Situation":



Just...dismal...However, gives me hope that I might be able to rap one day.

Happy Birthday Tupac Amaru Shakur

Today is rap legend 2pac's birthday. The man would have been 39 years old. There isn't anything I can say about 2pac's importance to music that every documentary hasn't already, however I can say that his music meant a lot to me because it represented a realness that I had never heard in rap before up to that point. I really felt a connection to the man. When I listen to a song like "Death Around the Corner," I feel the same paranoia he feels. When I listen to a song like "Dear Mama," I really understand how he feels about his mother and catch a glimpse into his family. Somehow 'Pac had the gift of being able to connect with his audience that no other rapper was able to do before him. I think this is why he was so special to many, and certainly why he was so special to me. I really don't think a rap icon up to the caliber of 2pac will ever be realized again. R.I.P. Tupac. We miss you. Rap could certainly use you right now.

~M

Random Thoughts: World Cup Noise

Who else is slight/largely annoyed by the Vuvuzelas playing in the background of the world up games? They don't necessarily bug me too much, but in a way, kind of rob the spirit of soccer from the crowds. Typically it's singing, team specific chants, and just the feeling of noise that helps carry the mood and the spirit of a world cup soccer game. These Vuvuzelas are kind of robbing the television viewers of the in stadium spirit in a way, while also distracting the players (or so they have said: Cristiano Ronaldo especially). Oh well, considering they are a huge tradition in South Africa, seems like we will all have to deal. My beloved Spain is playing tomorrow: Viva España!


Also, who has any specific favorite World Cup music? Let me know. Post your favorite song.



~M

#MusicMonday: Eminem's Recovery (Album Preview)

Hey everyone happy #MusicMonday yet again. I know I haven't really been posting much to this amazing thing we call the Music Rehab Clinic, but I've been pretty busy considering all the commotion that summer brings up. Parties and trying to be productive have halted my creative juices for columns just a tad but rest assured, the Clinic will come back with some pretty decent steam. In the meantime, I've had some thoughts on one of my favorite MC's: Eminem...


Eminem has changed the release date of his Recovery album to be released sooner (on June 21st) most likely due to leaking of the album in its entirety. Honestly, I was a little skeptical on the quality of the album considering Eminem's recent lack of hype, lack of work ethic, and lack of live appearances ever since the release of the Relapse album. I actually really enjoyed Relapse, so I was hoping that Recovery could all but change my pre-deposition on what new material would bring. However, the release of "Not Afraid" and taking a look at the featured artists really gave me a shock. Featuring pop singers like Pink and Rihanna? Only rapper featured was Lil Wayne? No skits? No D12? No Dr. Dre? Clearly this is a new Eminem and he wants us to know that right off of the get go. I think he is taking a huge risk with this album. After Relapse and its lackluster sales (at least in comparison to most Eminem albums), it's pretty safe to say that this is the "make it or break it" album for Eminem and his relevance on today's obviously changed rap game.

I think the complete 360 of Eminem's character into this serious man stripped of the Slim Shady antics that made him famous has to do with two reasons. 1) The rap game has changed greatly from the time that Eminem was dominating the charts with smash albums like The Marshall Mathers LP and The Eminem Show. 2) Rehab and the recovery process has changed him into someone who realizes the most important things in life and why he raps in the first place. Could Eminem really have put a nail in the coffin of the Slim Shady persona? It's really looking like it. He's older, wiser, and considered one of rap's most important figures in the 21st century. I'm not sure how I feel about the serious nature of his new music, but I am certainly intruiged to hear it.

Eminem has everything to prove, but he probably feels like he has nothing to prove. He's experimenting and probably just happy to be making music that he feels he should be making at this point in his career. Another evident factor of this is the change of production for an Eminem album. A typical Eminem has production from the usual suspects: Dr. Dre, Eminem, Jeff Bass, and sometimes from his D12 cohort Mr. Porter (known better as Kon Artis). It's pretty noteworthy to see all the new producers that Em has never worked make appearances on this album. Boi-1da, Just Blaze, Jim Jonsin, and DJ Khalil make their mark all over the album. Also new and un-heard of producers (at least to me): Emile, Script Shepherd, Supa Dups, and Alex da Kid. Eminem doesn't even have 1 track on this album to his own production credit. I'm not really sure what that means. Cleary, he's looking for a new sound and wants to focus on his lyrical prowess instead of his production merit. I can respect that. Could it also be that he wants to give all these new producers their big time shot into the music biz? Could be the case as well and I really respect that. As much as it's evident that Eminem is a changed man, I think quality artists like him typically know what they're doing. Even if the production is poor and the songs don't catch the ears of America like the past albums did, I'm sure Eminem will still captivate with his incredible rhymes. We still believe in you Slim!

~M