Electronic music from noon till midnight and beyond, sounds crazy right? Well not quite, though that’s not the point of this article. Out of the legions of Bands and DJs, four gave me hope that the bigger names earning the “Pop” status won’t kill the genre and electronic music will continue to push the envelope well into the future. I touch on both the music and briefly what was going on.

                I started in Tampa on the other side of the bridge. I had to pick up my assistant in Pinellas Park (just North of where the concert was) within 30 minutes; I bolted down the expressway to downtown Tampa, only to get caught in traffic. This was strange, the only thing in downtown Tampa is offices and they are closed on Saturdays, no time to question, just get to St. Pete. After being cut off by a large truck I finally got onto I-275, weaved through traffic at great speed accompanied by music (Kraftwerk – Tour de France). I scanned for open lanes and crown vics (police). I had told my assistant that I would pick him up at 10:30 I was running 20 minutes late, I could not get caught speeding, I had racked up some points on my license a few months prior in some hell hole called Garden City. I got over the bay, and off the interstate, I picked up my assistant and headed south to the venue (Jannus Live).

                We arrived during sound check for something, we waited for our passes got them and walked in, there was no one there. My assistant and I left and returned for Patysupplies, and Boombox. Party Supplies is this guy from Brooklyn that loves nothing more than to connect with the crowd, shows what he has sampled from Jefferson Airplane to Bruce Springsteen’s voice, then shows you what it sounds like all thrown together. After him it was Boombox, a two man set up that’s synths and guitar, good sound, good vibes, all it needs is live percussion.

                I remember going into the bathroom to put in my contacts. I turned and looked and there is a guy with a plastic bag open selling what I thought was molly, acid, or pot. He is discussing pricing with a patron, another person walks in, ask what he’s selling. “Oh they’re Boombox pins, my girlfriend designed them.”. I was confused, society had morphed my perception to be “okay” with witnessing the buying and selling of drugs, but to be confused by the trade of non-illicit items in bathrooms.

                Varien took the stage with a fist full of sound, bringing an end to the bands and setting the tone for the rest of the evening. I think that most dubstep tends to be repetitive and follows a formula much like any kind of pop music, but this is different. It is apparent that Nick Pittsinger (Varien) puts together these tracks as masterpieces, not just four minute “press play” songs, they have to be absorbed. If you don’t like it, you can’t say it’s not good, because all the evidence of the genius and effort is in the audio and cannot be disputed. I would like to hear a real orchestra in the tracks, the current orchestra synth tracks sound too clean, however the cost to hire an orchestra versus software (you do the math). I look forward to hearing more in the future from Varien, Pittsinger is very talented and holds lots of promise.              

                Following Varien was Blood Eagle from Orlando, after typing “Blood Eagle” into Google I found out that it is a Nordic method of torture (look it up, it’s interesting), I did enjoy the set though. They go hard and have fun. The sound is hard, forces you to move, attention is demanded. As far as sampling I think I heard a blaster from Star Wars, instantly putting a smile on my face. Another Orlando based group came out, Defep. The sound was obviously different, but just as savory as the last. Some of you may have heard Defep and didn’t even know it, that mashup of Adele’s and Afrojack Rolling it Right was fantastic, as well as the set.

                Amtrac went on around 9 pm, I had heard Amtrac previously before, but not live. Live it’s something else, almost like an explosion of the great simplicity that is Amtrac. It followed the rules of trance, but it wasn’t trance, it was far too fresh; a familiar taste with a kick unlike anything that I have heard really. Towards the end of Amtrac’s set I found myself compelled to dance, my assistant Joe and I went into the crowd and danced into Sonic C’s set. We were surrounded by people feeling it and not feeling it all. Sonic C () laid down some very impressive stuff, during one track I heard “Do you know where I can get Molly?”, I could only giggle, I had lost track how many times I was asked that prior to hearing this. While moving about the area I spotted Reuben from Ladytron, I could only think about something I read earlier in the week how ten years ago last week the album 604 was being finished. It was strange to think about. I watched Reuben for a bit after he went on, sound was so different, still enjoyable. Though by this time Joe and I were beat, we stayed for a few more tracks and left. To attempt to cover this with just one person was impossible, would have needed an army of press to do, none the less we covered the main stage. There were three other venues, but the cream of the crop was where I was, and that’s all that mattered.

Downtown Digital is something that I have been looking forward too for a bit now ever since I saw the name “Ladytron” (Ruben Wu DJ set), then following names: Amtrac, Varien (from tampa), Mustard Pimp, etc. Not too many people know what these names are, but I guarantee you these are going to be names that are going to be around, this is what you’ll be listening to in a few months. Esoteric electronic music is exploding  right now, with websites like Soundcloud, it has opened the door for everyone to be heard anywhere, both signed and unsigned. If your in Florida, especially near the St. Pete/Tampa area, drive across the bay, check out Downtown Digital at Janus Live (formerly Janus Landing) great open air venue smack in the middle of downtown St. Pete. Support the local talent and the up and comings.

For further info on visit these links

digi-fest.com

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Tickets!!!!

IS TROPICAL

This little trio from London is going to go far, I found them by pure chance while doing my endless search for more things to listen to. At first I played the Native To album, then moved on to the remix album that was just recently released P.S. We Love You (pictured above). I will say that even this little seven track remix release is impressive from beginning to end, even though its three remixes of Lies, and two of South Pacific and The Greeks. If you have Spotify, go find it, play it, and dance yourself clean.

Facebook.com/IsTropical

This has been a fantastic year for music, sadly American Cinema did not have much success, though that is besides the point. In this past year Dubstep has gained mainstream recognition, however there is still much digging America has todo to uncover good Dub. I found that English Dubstep seems to be superior to American dub, check out some of the UKF tracks. They have this other element that seems to be missing from the American scene.

HTRK is far ahead of its time, I would not be surprised that years from now they would be regarded as innovators of minimalism in audio. This album has such an emotional feel to it. The tracks Poison, Synthedik, Slo Glo, Eat Yr Heart, and Body Double are the core songs of this album. With the absence of Sean Stewart the future of HTRK is uncertain even though the band managed to put out Work (work, work) in Sept. When I heard this for the first time, my heart rate changed, my hair stood up, it was as if time had stopped. If you are going to listen, I suggest you kick back and enjoy, cause your not going to desire anything else. 

Enjoy!

Strange symbols stobes and a layer of sythedic made this show a bit more than it had to be. Every thing is just like it was at any other show. However, there seemed to be quite a few people that seemed to care about more about the past, wanting to hear Blink 182.  I could only feel sympathy for the members, imagine if you were Robert Kennedy, having to live in the shadow of your brother John, and people dont support you cause they like your policies on the issues, they just like you cause you just happened to be John F. Kennedy's brother. It's hard living in the shadow that was Blink 182. The more that I think about it, I just think there was alot pf people there wanting to see a Blink 182 concert and not an Angels & Airwaves show. It would not be aparent if it was not for a third of the crowd wearing Blink shirts. 

I thought it some how amusing how different Tom Delonge's voice really is in person. It seems more whiny live compared to how it sounds in a recording, me not being used to this found it to be slightly annoying, however this show was worth seeing if you adore A&A or Blink 182. Just keep in mind that you are not seeing Blink 182.

 The Heavy Metal world has lost a hero, Ronnie James Dio to stomach cancer at the age of 64. Dio was best known for his unique vocals and his showmanship. I must say when a friend informed me of the news my usual happy mood became sad and silent. Wendy Dio (widow of Ronnie Dio) left this statement on ronniejamesdio.com and on the Ronnie James Dio page on Facebook.

“Today my heart is broken, Ronnie passed away at 7:45am 16th May. Many, many friends and family were able to say their private good-byes before he peacefully passed away. Ronnie knew how much he was loved by all. We so appreciate the love and support that you have all given us. Please give us a few days of privacy to deal with this terrible loss. Please know he loved you all and his music will live on forever.”

 Sunday night concerts are not popular among any crowd, though for more than 500 local and out of town fans, Porcupine Tree was a hot ticket!

Their on stage presence was immediately established in a few riffs, then quickly went mellow, as they went into playing songs from their new album “The Incident”. After a few songs it became apparent that front man Steven Wilson is the conductor of this five piece Progressive Rock Symphony. Wilson's energy on stage would fit more in a several thousand seat arena, and his talent appears to be unlimited. The overall quality of Porcupine Tree's performance surpasses anything not heard in person.

Porcupine Tree sets the bar for the next generation of Progressive Rock very high, from the lyrics to the keys. Porcupine Tree gets no where near the attention from the music world that it deserves, like other talents in Prog Rock. If you ever have the opportunity to see Porcupine Tree, go see them, you will not be disappointed.

porcupinetree.com

myspace.com/porcupinetree

The duo is back and going in a different way that is still very much Indie. They are back with there second album, Congratulations. If you are looking for anything Ocular Spectacular in this album, there are a few things but not many. Congratulations has had a few issues keeping itself out of the radar until the release date, due to it being leaked and shared all across the Internet. MGMT released this statement on their website soon after, “Hey everybody, the album leaked, and we wanted you to be able to hear it from us. We wanted to offer it as a free download but that didn't make sense to anyone but us”. MGMT now has full streaming of the album on their website. Congratulations starts off at a slow pace compared to the last album, but it functions more like a book, starting off slow, then the climax near the end, and then two chapters to tie everything leaving the listener content, and immediately starting from track one. Congratulations maybe best to listen while in complete darkness. Some tracks are hypnotic, especially Siberian Breaks. Unlike Ocular Spectacular, not every song is an instant favorite. I found that three tracks on the album can be little a hard to listen to, with songs that are much longer than most are used to hearing. Though followers of MGMT should be nothing less than thrilled with Congratulations, which is due out April 13th.

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Five years ago I remember waiting in line at Borders with what would be the last CD I would ever buy, it was Demon Days. I had been anticipating the release after receiving my first gen iPod Shuffle (which was released in Jan '05) after discovering Gorillaz while searching for things on iTunes.

The new album is Plastic Beach, which doesn't sound to inviting, but alluring enough to get some one to pick it up and look at the other side of the CD case if it is to be spotted in FYE. Name aside this is a great old school, chill album featuring Mos Def, Snoop Dogg, and many more. This album, like the other Gorillaz albums, is very different.

Everything starts out slow and does not pick up until the third track and 2D is not even heard until the fourth song. Then everything flows seamlessly. This album is not for the typical listener, its very experimental and old school, though if you love some electronic beats and tolerate some rap you will love this. You can see the video for the song Stylo here.

There I was front and a little off of centre, in front of me was a stage, behind me were hockey fans and a sea of men wearing flat caps, waiting to see the famous Celtic punk band Dropkick Murphys (DKM) from Boston. lights dimmed and they all walked out some with instruments in hand, and played "Boston". The stage presence was great but not the best. Al Barr (lead vocalist) had a presence that seemed greater than the rest of DKM.

Going to a DKM concert is very different than going to any other kind of concert, in many ways it is like going to a concert for the first time. This is there 2010 St. Patty's tour, that ends on the 17th, after a week of shows in Boston, MA. Then they hit the British isles. DKM brings a unique sound inspired by life in Boston, Celtic music, drinking songs, and punk rock. They gained mainstream attention when their song "I'm Shippin Up to Boston" was featured in the Oscar Award winning movie "The Departed". Stream some songs on their Myspace and check out their website, and be on the lookout for their Live On Lansdone album coming out March 16th.

myspace.com/dropkickmurphys

While listening to VNV Nation I came across an album called Failure by Assemblage 23. A small industrial band with some wicked beats and poetic lyrics, for me it was like the first time I listened to New Order's Substance all the way through. The simplicity of the synth creates an old school sound mixed with rhythm that are unique, creating a truly original sound that reflects the Industrial genre of the early 90's. The lyrics (most if not all) are deep, though uplifting in some songs, but not upbeat in the traditional way that most popular music is. Assemblage 23(AKA: A23) is the brainchild Tom Shear, a musician that dabbled in Punk and Pop in the 80's that went into the Industrial scene after hearing some tracks from an opening act at a Depeche Mode concert. Tom Shear writes, plays, and records everything. On stage he preforms along side a few musicians. A23 will kickoff it's tour in the states in Seattle, Washington on March 29th. The full tour schedule is posted on A23's website.