archived techno event reviews.liebing.c.smith.selway.woody

Here are some archived event/dj reviews. If interested...here they are...i thought i would share.....

Chris Liebing, Christian Smith, John Selway, Josh Gabriel, Mike Parker, Tim Patrick and others.....



Wednesday, April 23, 2008

USA / Global Event Reviews
Rochester Josh Gabriel 2008

I arrived a half hour before Josh Gabriel began. Greeted by friendly security, I made my way inside. It was pretty full early. The dance floor was already in a groove.

The first 3-4 tracks were an interesting pick. All having a very minimal feel. Melodies were hushed, synth lines were hidden and minimal. Mostly drums and snares where being used. An eventual light snyth line or quick out-of-know-where melody would break it up every so often. A very serious techno influence was all over the first 2 hours of his set. I guess a couple years ago electro was seeping into everyone's set. I think the transition now is.......techno? Anyways, a techno vibe was the feel. Another aspect of the tracks was the chunky/anolog-y influence. Slow analog gurgling with a dash of old-sounding synth generators and samples. Had a snobby techy feel..which I love. Around 1.30 he started adding up flavors by getting more into the progressive vibe. The dance floor has been grovin the whole time. No one was letting up. With the crowd expecting more progressive - that's what they got. More progressive sounding tracks started to follow– we were eatin it up and havin our hands up. More build-ups and more melodies started coming through. You can see DJ experience and talent when he/she "properly" starts a set with intention of progressing to a point that makes sense. It was around 2.30 when I unfortunately had to leave. The dance floor was very hot - giving everyone a good evening workout.








EVENT REVIEW - GERMANY - LEIBING 2008

Getting dropped off in a dirt gravel lot with a industrial silo on my one side and a manufactiuring plant the other - I knew I would be in for some serious music. The location is in an industrial district giving you that classic dirty feeling. A concrete slab leads you down to the entrance below ground.

The door price was reasonalble and the door staff were friendly. We arrived around 11pm and did not wait to long.

Arriving to hear the end of A-Lexäs set we could feel the solid night ahead of us. Banging techno was the first to be heard. The entrance leads to a very short bar and a long room with the DJ one end. Drinks and bar service was adequet and not to pricey. There was some seating around the edges of the room but only for 10% of the crowd. the DJ set up was up close to the crowd and not to all high and mighty. The speakers in the front had two major set-ups flanking each side. There was a separate speaker setup for those who choose to be up front and couldn't directly hear the majority of the music pumping through the stacks towards the crowd of about 300. In the back of the room there were also speakers mounted to the celing to wrap the particpates in the audio enlightment.

After settling in on the front of the room DJ Alex was wrapping up and Jagger was starting up. From Jaggers bio-profile you would not assume - that when he ment deep - he actually means it. Techhouse and techno was straight up for about 3 hrs. playing some classic tracks and some of the newest floor burners. The crowd was pumped and our crew was dallying it up front. Crowd was positive and in a very good mood. Most of the people up front were very intelligent in thier knowledge of the music. You could tell most people up front were fans of the music and were there to listen to it. Since I'm from the states - I'm not used to seeing a crowd that lives in techno-loving- country, so it was news to me. The crowd energy never let up during Jaggers set which was solid.

Around 2.30 chris liebing started setting up his equiptment. Two Macs and Xone mixer - running Abelton and Traktor. By the time he was arriving the crowd swelled to about 500-ish or more. The front and middle of the dance floor started to become saturated with bodies waiting for Liebing. After a quick sound of silence - He arrives. Shutting off the decks and opening up the can of musical paints - Liebing begins painting his live masterpiece for the crowd. Jagger was pulling from the deepest parts but Liebing wanted to go deeper. Pulling up rolling bass and low powerfull hums to begin his audio work. The basses were amazing, thick, hard, chunky and so detailed. A specific style of his set was the cruchyness that he adds to his tracks. It has a industrial type of feel, that distortion type of effect. He uses it in a slight mild manner that doesnt over power the basic essentials of the tracks. Amazing DJ skills made the set so much more intelligent. Dropping the gains on basses before the eventual change of them is a learned DJ skill. Some live acts forget about this most important aspect. Every new bass came in with a fresh, harder - deeper than the last sound. It kept even the 40 somethings movin a little bit in the crowd. "Intense" was simply a quick one-word to describe his set. His crowd interaction was on point. Always with that HUGE smile that the ladies probaly love. He was in good spirits and the ceiling started sweating after about 30 min into his set. Simlply an amazing time. Thanks Liebing for contributing to the world! Thanks Germany for the wonderful experiance!



EVENT REVIEW - DETROIT

Rumblings of bass can be heard across town. The Detroit Electronic Music festival is in full effect.

Detroit – Tronic Treatment. With front men John Selway and Christian Smith heading up the lineup, local and Chicago producers followed.

I was greeted by friendly security – which can be a rarity in the states, and headed inside the old 3 story building. The ground floor felt like an old school pub, except with 20 ft. ceilings. Upstairs had the smell (mmmm that wood smell) of brand new home stereo speakers. This system was the biggest. The basement…had a underground/techno vibe and dampness in the air. Very clean but reminiscent of the beginning days. All floors had no fog machines or awful lighting, which set a relaxed tone. Huge walls of speakers surrounded the DJ's, all tuned perfectly for each room/crowd size.

Overfind and Dirty Bird from Chicago were warmin' up the basement and ground floor. Dirty Bird was playing classic techno. Bouncing from records to her laptop, the crowd really liked her. She had a really good stage presence, always interacting with the crowd.Overfind was going a little more intelligent downstairs for the techno snobs. Choosing tracks with highly intricate drum patterns and some hint of experimental. These tracks were for the astute techno producer and fan. His tracks allowed you to hear each sample so clearly. Each sample was handed to you individually labeled – neatly in order. A lot of double basses and super technical mixing. It was hard to notice that multiple tracks were being played. He was very professional sounding.

Mindbender was fuming mad upstairs. I really wished this guy would have gone on around 3.30 or later. Hard n' Dark is what I love and that is what I got for a full 1.5 hours. I couldn't believe the dark, deep crunchiness when I first came in. It was very early and not many people arrived yet, but he didn't let up with the set. Darkness all the way to the end with no attitude about the timeslot, which was very cool. His set was dark and very, very, deep. Rolling bass in techno is an interesting combination. I'm not sure what to even label his style – sub bass rolling dark techno? The beginning of most of his tracks had no snares or highs, so you could appreciate the bass line under the hum of the sub-bass tones. Thick sounding tracks that had full range of low tones that you never thought possible. Also using the simple is good formula – the set was amazing. I hope this was recorded.

Angel Alanis, what was he going to do? A mashed up booty tech house set? A funky mix of soulful house and electro? Nope! Straight up deep techno or deep house. I assumed the track selection would be a little funkier, but he definitely catered to the local crowd. Instead of taking some techno and some house and making a good blend – he decided to combine "harsh" house and "harsh" techno and made it work. It was interesting to hear. I was expecting a more standard blend of techno house where each track has an element of both styles, but he would play a pure techno vs. a pure house track. It sounded very technical and specific. He highlighted each side of the music without making any compromises that some tech-house does.

Cyborg K was now playing. I caught some of the set which was solid techno. At this time the ground floor was packed and I had to head upstairs.

John Selway stole most of my time during the evening. Track selection, crowd interaction, style was all on point. Dripping and clicking are annoying sounds, but when used properly…well….Selway can explain it better. A little more than minimal started out the set or was is harder? Interesting tracks selected for the first hour. It was a minimal feel, but the basses were so crisp and strong that it sounded like slow hard techno, which is different to hear. Most tracks followed the simple-is-good formula. Snotty producers in the crowd ate up the highly technical tracks. I caught the entire set because I was not able to leave, the music was too good. The crowd had this room packed. There was enough room to get your groove on, if you got a spot early. At the time, this was the room to be in. Crowd was going crazy – responding to all the drops and breaks.

Christian Smith followed. Straight up techno and more techno! It was so good to see these different DJ's play "Detroit" sets. I doubt you will hear them play like this. It was so locally specific on track selection. He began his set storming because Selway left the floor smokin'. Christian did exactly that, adding a dash of tech house to the mix. It softened up the tone and warmed everyone up for the rest of the night. By this time, the room was packed for the rest of the evening and remained the best floor of the night. The crowd's screams were all over the DJ's sets – amazing.

Tony R from NYC was cool to see. It was so interesting to see DJ's and producers who have signature local style. This guy was playin' in 303 land when I came down. He definitely sounded like he was from NYC. Classic techno all the way with no shying away from the acid tweaks. He broke it up with some breaks/electro but never fully engaged when I was present. It was nice change from most of the techno being played all evening.

Punisher's set was a mix of technical and classic techno. Some Detroit-ness was in the mix. The crowd was hyped to see her. Everyone was defiantly awake and screamin' for her at 4AM. Upstairs the DJ's were coolin' it down while Punisher was workin' it hard. I grabbed her free promo's – which are still in my car stereo.

I only saw Lee Chameleon for a bit because of Selway/Smith. It was cool to see him use the microphone for his set. He incorporated his voice into the tracks. It was really interesting to see up close. Many possibilities with this technique.

Maybe about 750 people were there during the evening. I left at 4.30 and the building was still 80% packed. Besides the positive music – there was positive culture. I didn't see many people abusing substances! (alcohol or whatever) That was very cool. Everyone had it together all night, without losin' it. Maybe it was an older crowd? A trend? It's good to see that everyone is looking healthy by 5 AM and not half dead.

An excellent evening!

Adam Weber 2007
www.myspace.com/djveber
www.blackoutaudio.co.uk
www.tronicmusic.com
www.volatl.com
www.demf.com





EVENT REVIEW - Dirwood/Brandon Chase - Buffalo, NY
Off the wall, a unique eatery in the city of Buffalo held some of the most seasoned house DJ's ever to grace our city. Host and one of the DJ's of event, Brandon Chase gave us another quality night to remember. I arrived shortly after 11 pm to see the outside patio filled with people, and the same was abound on the inside. The DJ set up was in the main room with the Elmwood strip in the background - it was a pleasant setting. Many of Buffalo's established house and techno DJ's were in attendance besides those gracing the decks. Flip - the legendary video artist was also there - played his signature live/mixed video media on a screen behind the DJ's.

Amazing how much space is available. There was still 2 other rooms that could have accommodate another 50-100 people easy. I couldn't stay the entire night to see this, but assumed it could.

Brandon Chase played house around 11-1. Afterwards, guest DJ Dirwood followed up with a solid sound reaction. People were excited to see him and couldn't wait for him to show. Also guesting was Paaj - another local and established DJ in town for a visit. Brandon's set was solid pure house. Being around since the beginning of electronica in the city - he knows how to select the tracks. The dance floor was packed with people during his set and began to grow when Dirwood came on. Dirwood, not missing a beat played his style and got the crowd pumped for more.

The venue is probably the most unique around and always ever changing. A lot of people were there throughout the evening and I was glad to have made it. There's events of this type soon to come - check out www.offthewallonline.com for details.



EVENT REVIEW - Woody McBride - Mike Parker
Buffalo, NY USA

Mike Parker warmed up the night with a little more up-tempo techno. Not that mike is unfamiliar with pounding or groovy sounds, but a little more up-beat to give the crowd a preview of what was to come.

His set involved a lot of intelligent techy sounds, with his own tracks weaving seamlessly throughout. Amazing how universal some of the music he makes. His tracks have about 4 personalities to blend well with any type of techno (minimal, housy, hard techy). A lot of the acid tones that woody is famous for, were not involved with mike's set. A couple computer blips and beeps throughout mikes stuff, but mostly was a pure techno boarding on minimal. Mikes mixing was over-taking the tracks at times. His precise knowledge of sounds and creating flowing sets, is amazing to watch in action. Mike carefully selects each part of the sounds to mix, rather mixing the track on track. Simply fun to watch!


Woody came on, and allowed the minimalism to subside to a more pounding, demanding side of techno. The crowd started to swell, and most of the people were absent from the bar. a nice little crowd gathered and grooved to the midwestern original american techno artist.

Starting out simple, the progression of his set built quite quickly. The crowd was grooving hard to the clean, solid tracks. Playing pure techno and getting harder, here and there - the crowd loved it. Not much of woody's original tweaks and tones, more of a demanding club-techno sound. The crowd love it quite nicely with some of buffalos best dj's and artists (1/2 of darma lab, dj jubei, valiant, and yours truly) in attendance on the dance floor.


Excellent sounds, excellent company.


A year ago, this could not have happened. Everyone that likes techno in the city knows that the summer months are the make-it or break-it factor for most promoters. All the college kids are gone, and a lot of people don't live in buffalo.
BUT for the first time in awhile, There WAS a crowd during the summer for a type of music (techno) that is under-appreciated (lack of techno dj's , techno events).
It was cool.