Full Report | Moogfest 2014

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Having finally recovered enough sleep to face the glow of my computer screen, I am realizing that it will require a few unconventional methods to adequately describe the magnificent techno-gathering I spent the last five days attending.

First, a haiku:

Wise men and ravers
In the sweaty dancing pit
Harmony is realized

Presentations, demonstrations, panels, and workshops occurred throughout each day, with "Moog yoga" downtown at 10 a.m. to kick off the mornings right. Nighttime performances were held at ten venues throughout downtown Asheville, a festival landscape ripe with delicious food and more craft beer than you can shake a keg at. Seriously, I have never enjoyed walking between venues at a festival so much. Buskers peddled their musical wares on every street corner, presenting everything from old fashioned gospel hymns to bagpipe music, and if that wasn't enough music for one weekend, there were also bars downtown that had local folk and world music to entertain the substantial crowd Moogfest brought in.

 

Gypsy-folk band at 5 Walnut Wine Bar in Asheville

With so much going on, it seems to me that it's best to do this quick and dirty. Here are the quick hits and wicked pics from the last 5 days of mountainous bliss:

Wednesday

-Chilled with Flying Lotus in an elevator. Sweet.

-Dinner at The Noodle Shop downtown, and a fresh dose of swag from El-P at the Orange Peel

 

-Blinded by Pet Shop Boys lasers at Diana Wortham Theater, escape to the basement for Slow Hands

-Enjoyed bagpipes before hearing Flying Lotus literally blow shit up at the Orange Peel

El-P photo by Dylan Newcity

Pet Shop Boys

Flying Lotus photo courtesy of Magnum PR

Thursday

-Ogled synths at the Modular Marketplace before hearing Tom Oberheim talk about his life, the development of his synthesizers, and the time he hung out with Stevie Wonder.

-Nick Zinner (Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs) and Bradford Cox (Deerhunter) duration performance (from 3:00 - 7:00,) however I only lasted about an hour in the washy psychedelia.

-Keith Emerson brought back the 70's with his towering synth rig and ELP jams. A few longwinded, spaced-out stories afforded me and my crew just enough time to snag some ice cream before the band started playing again

-Dan Deacon was fucking madness. There was fire alarm inducing levels of fog and lights that would give your grandma seizures and a dance battle. Holy shit. Enough said.

Nick Zinner and Bradford Cox 

Dance battle at Dan Deacon

Keith Emerson photo by Richie Varnadore

Friday

-Screening of Scarface with the composer Giorgio Moroder at noon

-A solid nap, then Giorgio Moroder's live set at Broadway Outdoor stage

-The glory of Kraftwerk closed out the night on a hallucinatory, but awesome, note

Kraftwerk photos courtesy of Magnum PR

Kraftwerk

Saturday

-World premiere of I Dream Of Wires, a documentary about the origins of analog synthesis and the pioneering figures in the industry. 8/10, would recommend to anyone with an interest in synthesizers or music technology in general.

-Product demonstration and Q&A with Dave Smith and Roger Linn, The highlight of which was the numerous gasps of excitement after Roger Linn said that the Tempest drum machine would continue receiving updates well into the next decade. Looks like it's about time to invest that two grand...

-Dan Deacon's durational performance, which featured an electric player piano and trumpet amongst God-only-knows how many other instruments and gadgets. Very ambient, trance-y stuff for the most part; many people were laying down or even sleeping. My group and I were immobilized for an unknown amount of time, but we enjoyed every second of it.

-Caught a little of Zed's Dead, but headed over to stake out a good spot for Avey Tare's Slasher Flicks. I can best describe them as a spooky squid-jazz Animal Collective cover band.

-Finished the night off with "Moog chocolate" ice cream and comfy seats for M.I.A. The pit looked like a vortex, and she brought a bunch of girls onstage to dance at the end. The "Ohm" symbol ecstasy pills on the visuals were a little out there, but it was a fun time overall.    

Dan Deacon durational performance photo by Dylan Newcity

CHIC ft. Nile Rodgers courtesy of Magnum PR

M.I.A

Sunday

-Saw the extremely interesting Math of The Simpsons and Futurama panel with Ken Keeler, Stuart Burns, Jeff Westbrook, and David X. Cohen explaining the surprisingly intricate math that has gone into some episodes of the shows. Fun fact: Futurama is the only show to ever have a mathematical proof created for an episode.

Moogfest this year was seriously stellar and will forever rank among the most inspiring weeks of my life. I appreciate the fact that education is as much a part as entertainment at this festival and look forward to future years of analog goodness.

Jam of the Day | Dan Deacon - Crystal Cat

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Moogfest begins next week!

This exciting for many reasons, not the least of which being that Dan Deacon will be blowing minds at a venue called New Earth on Thursday night. His live shows are legendary affairs that often entail lots of weird audience participation and rave dancing, so god only knows what Deacon has up his sleeve for Moogfest this year. I will certainly be there and will almost certainly make a fool out of myself dancing like an epileptic squid.

"Crystal Cat" is an oldie-but-goodie that gives you a pretty good primer in Dan Deacon's absurd brand of psychedelic electro-pop.

Get pumped.

Wrap Up | Phuzzphest 2014

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Winston-Salem, you've done it again.

The city that I only ever knew for having an associated brand of cigarettes, is actually a wicked groovy place! Lots of friendly people, tasty grub (chicken satay baja taco hell ya,) and most importantly, great music. Phuzzphest was replete with talented artists last year, but Phillip Pledger and crew managed to outdo themselves with this year's Phestivities. On top of the most diverse line-up yet, there was also a coffee conference, day parties, and even a bicycle race.

Things got going on Friday night and went straight through late Sunday evening, so there was definitely no shortage of things to see. These were my four favorite sets (in no particular order):

Dark Prophet Tongueless Monk

All photos by Dylan Newcity 

In a perfect world Dark Prophet Tongueless Monk would open every festival I attend. Winston-Salem's Jacob Leonard helms the project, joined by a drummer and two guys who manipulate ink on an overhead projector, which is exactly as awesome as it sounds. Onstage Leonard was surrounded by equipment, making heavy use of vocal effects and looping to construct an impressive wall of noise given that it was only two people making it. The layers of synthesizer and spacey guitar loops complimented Leonard's pitch-shifted vocals extremely well, blurring the line between man and machine. Acid flashback-esque visuals from the projector not only added a psychedelic visual element to the performance, but made the show flow more smoothly and kept things interesting between songs. It was all a bit like what I imagine an early Pink Floyd show was like, and I couldn't have enjoyed it more.

The Tills



Representing my current home of Asheville, NC, The Tills tore up Krankies Coffee Friday night with a set of raucous psych-pop ditties. The punkish snarl of frontman Harry Harrison was dressed up with multipart vocal harmonies and sparkly arpeggios. Every song was catchy as hell and had the sizable Krankies crowd boping along like tipsy zombies. I have to commend the drummer for his ridiculously tight playing whilst singing clear and expressively, not an easy feat. The diversity and unexpected song shifts made for a consistently entertaining performance, but sadly I missed the last five minutes of their set due to a message for me at the taco truck..

No Age

It's hard to imagine a better band to headline a festival named after fuzz than No Age. Noisy, fast, and utterly irresistible, the crowd was spurred to life within seconds of music starting. In fact, it quickly became impossible not to get sucked into one of the mini-moshpits that formed at the front of the stage. The breakneck tempos and steady hand of drummer Dean Spunt made this set one of the most danceable of the weekend, while guitarist Randy Randall's textural playing created the lush atmosphere on top. The sonic assault that is No Age  is not for the lighthearted, but if you can stand the decibels you're in for a treat.

Jessica Lea Mayfield



I had high expectations for Jessica Lea Mayfield's performance at The Garage Saturday night, and was not disappointed in the slightest. Aided by her husband on bass and a competent back up drummer, Mrs. Mayfield played tunes from 2011's Tell Me and a couple new tracks, including "Oblivious." The Ohio born chanteuse wielded a sparkly pink twelve string electric guitar to pound out out the jangley accompaniment to her lovesick (or is it sick of love?) songs. The sparse accompaniment accentuated the catharsis of Mayfield's few solos, but she didn't need flashy guitar work with a voice like hers. Thoroughly amazing performance.


Can't wait until next year, Phuzzphest!
  

Jam of the Day | Jessica Lea Mayfield - Oblivious

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After the resounding success of the last two years, Phuzzphest, Winston Salem's premiere independent music festival, begins anew tomorrow evening. 2013 was SiC's first time at the party, and we had such a blast that we're returning again this year!

My deficit of sleep is only about to get larger, but I have no problem staying up late when Jessica Lea Mayfield will be there to keep me company. Her Dan Auerbach-produced 2011 release, Tell Me, was a delightful gem of guitar centered indie-folk, but if "Oblivious" is an indication of the stylistic shift we're in for on Mrs. Mayfield's new record, Make My Head Sing..., then there's a whole lot to be excited for. Hard-edged and fuzzy, "Oblivious" is certainly a few notches of intensity higher than anything we saw on Tell Me, but it retains Mayfield's distinct lyrical style and pop accessibility.

Give it a listen and make sure to stop by Winston Salem this weekend for Phuzzphest!