iSPY Magazine 2 YEAR



The Magazine

July 7, 2011

The Weekend That Was, Electric Forest

_DSC9850

My experience at Electric Forest
Review and Photos by Bruno Postigo

Society follows established rules and norms that the population abides to, but sometimes deviancy occurs and it’s usually in the form of music festivals; Electric Forest is one of the wildest ones. Focusing on the experience more than the music, it was obvious the organizers went through a lot to make the festival as unique as possible.

From the moment that the attendees sat down their tents and met their new neighbors a bond was formed. People looked out for each other. This was evident in the fact that throughout the weekend my neighbors fed me breakfast when they found out that I didn’t have any food. There were tons of random acts of solidarity and the hippie vibe was strong in the air.

Day 1
The first day had a slow start and the rain didn’t help at all. Kyle Hollingsworth’s set was amazing and a good introduction to what String Cheese was going to offer. Excision fed all the dubstep-hungry kids, but I wasn’t impressed at all with his set and the pouring rain made it even more unappealing. Kaskade, on the other hand, brought a crazy light show and house music into the forest. I enjoyed the way he layered tracks, but I left a little early to check out Lotus. Both stages offered opposite but equally energetic genres. While in one, electronic music was being played, the other stage offered live instruments. Lotus didn’t fail to impress me with their virtuosity and precision over their instruments. They jammed hard and got people dancing, myself included.

"After photographing his set, I just stood in awe from the backstage." – Reaction of Tiesto's set

Day 2
The storm woke me up early Friday morning, but in a turn of events, Friday had the nicest weather of the weekend after the sun came out. I caught the last song of the Hood Internet’s set, but I rushed to catch Stephen Marley. Hood Internet’s performance was similar to when they performed at the Pig. Marley definitely brought reggae into the house. In my eyes I was watching Bob Marley perform. It’s scary how similar they sound. The music and the happiness of the crowd ambushed me and I had to stay for his complete set. Chiddy Bang followed on my schedule. The electronic/rap duo started with a crowd of 20 people and ended up with over 500. Chiddy’s free-styling ability was impressive. They used beats that sample Radiohead, MGMT, Passion Pit, among others, creating a fresh atmosphere.

I expected bluegrass when I got into the photo pit of The String Cheese Incident, but that just wasn’t the case. These guys moved away from bluegrass a while ago and are prog machines. Throughout the weekend they covered King Crimson, Led Zeppelin with a dubstep break and even Rush. They jammed for endless hours driving the crowd insane. Young and old folks gathered to listen to them.

Tiesto made the audience aware of what international DJ’s can offer. The way he layers sound is so delicate, but yet he can drop the bass like a villain! After photographing his set, I just stood in awe from the backstage. He seemed to be having a blast and the audience received him with open arms. Unfortunately, Dieselboy seemed so insignificant after experiencing Tiesto, plus his set lacked drum and bass. I went to sleep believing that I just experienced the best of the festival, but I was soon proven wrong.

Day 3
Saturday was hot and humid, but I did get the opportunity to chat with Rubblebucket regarding their new album. I caught their complete set later on that day and I see a bright future for these young musicians from New York, especially after they jumped into the audience and danced among it. Lettuce followed them, but their music was too technical for my taste. They have chops, but lack soul.

The String Cheese followed with a similar set to the one of the previous day. I moved on and checked out Zedd over at the Wagon Wheel stage, and Skrillex randomly showed up during his set. The Wagon Wheel had the feeling of a small club and people enjoyed that atmosphere. I returned to the main stage to catch Bassnectar, who sadly couldn’t surpass what Tiesto brought the night before.

Finally, I went to check out Shpongle, who brought a really unique set. They had three-dimensional projections throughout the stage. It was cool, but it was a bit too “dark” in my opinion. I had high hopes on Skrillex’s set after his performance at DEMF, but once again he shines as a producer, but not as a DJ. Also it seemed as though he partied a bit too much and that didn’t help his set at all.

Day 4
Sunday finally came around and I didn’t know that the best was saved for last. Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros had the most emotional and beautiful set of the festival. The band has amazing stage presence and gave the impression that they love performing. Alex, the lead singer, jumped into the audience and began to sing among the crowd. Their performance almost drove me to tears, and to me that was the best feeling I had all weekend long. It was interesting how Alex asked the audience to sit down to enjoy one of the songs, and he managed to get the whole crowd to sit.

I checked out Beats Antique out of curiosity and I was presented with Middle Eastern sounds and a live belly dancer. The music made people dance without control and I met a guy that told me that he couldn’t stop dancing. The String Cheese final performance followed, confirming my initial thoughts that three performances were a bit excessive.

Finally, Pretty Lights put an end to a crazy weekend. His light show consisted of a small city of lights, and to my luck, he played a recent mix that consisted of Radiohead, Nirvana and NIN. His sound was refreshing and unique after experiencing too much cheap dubstep.

Overall, Electric Forest was quite a unique experience. The lineup could have been better but they had something that catered to the audience. After all, this was a festival that focuses on the experience more than the music and they didn’t let anyone down. I heard rumors that Rothbury 12 might happen. I have my fingers crossed.

*To see all the photos from Electric Forest, hop over to Snap Shot.



About the Author

mispy_admin
mispy_admin
Tim is the publisher of iSPY and co-founder of Pakmode Media + Marketing. He's a social, vegetarian geek who recently welcomed a beautiful baby girl into his family. For any questions or suggestions in regards to design, ad sales, web, content or anything at all related to iSPY, Tim's your guy.




iSPY Magazine Stage
 
 

 
cranewives

The Crane Wives

Light Up Electric Forest The Crane Wives’ story is both charming and unlikely. Grand Valley State University students and aspiring musicians Kate Pillsbury and Emilee Petersmark worked at the same Chinese restaurant where the...
by Amanda Slater
 

 
 
Foodie.AdventuresinLocalFood1

Adventures in Local Food #18

In Season It’s hard to believe that June is here! The farmer’s markets are in full swing, and summer is basically upon us. The anticipation for morels, green garlic and Michigan Asparagus has been replaced by the anticipat...
by Stefanie Stauffer
 

 

 
electric-forest-festival

The Buzz // June

The Red Hot Chili Peppers // June 1 / Joe Louis Arena by Paul Kitti The Red Hot Chili Peppers used to be the hardest partiers on the street – even by rock and roll standards. Now well into their forties, the hangovers are cer...
by iSPY Team
 

 
iSPY Magazine Stage
 
grouplove8

A Whole Bunch of Grouplove [Review]

“We aren’t by ourselves Grouplove,” said singer Christian Zucconi over some mellow, between-songs instrumentation. “We are all Grouplove,” he continued, stretching his arms out as if to initiate the entire crowd into ...
by Paul Kitti
 

 

 
DSC_0207

Andrew Bird Charms Detroit

As expected, Andrew Bird’s performance at The Fillmore Detroit on Thursday, May 10 was a can’t-miss show. Gone was the Fillmore’s typical main floor standing only format. Instead, all audience members had assi...
by Amanda Slater
 

 
 
_DSC0461

Gotye and Kimbra Please at Pease Auditorium [Review]

Photo by Bruno Postigo “Are you excited to see Gotye?” asked opening act Kimbra on Monday night, unknowingly clearing up any confusion as to how his name is pronounced (G?-tea-?). While the obvious answer from the sell-out ...
by Paul Kitti
 

 
iSPY Magazine Stage

 
Spottiswoodecover

Review: Spottiswoode’s “Wild Goosechase Expedition”

Artist: Spottiswoode & His Enemies Album: Wild Goosechase Expedition Tower rating: 4 out of 5 By Aimee Mandle For those not familiar with Spottiswoode & His Enemies, here is a quick rundown. They are a New York based ba...
by Aimee Mandle
 

 
 
Arctic Monkeys

Arctic Monkeys [Review]

Review and Photos by Bruno Postigo The Arctic Monkeys are a band that has evolved tremendously over the years. From their beginnings with “Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not” until their rece...
by mispy_admin
 

 
 
DSC_0182a

Folk the Police

Folk the Police was the culmination of what was quite a folking weekend. Being there and experiencing it is one thing, but trying to explain Nathan K covering Eminem is quite another. Or being caught in the middle of an east co...
by mispy_admin
 

 




iSPY Magazine Stage

0 Comments


Be the first to comment!


You must be logged in to post a comment.