[Festival Review] Moogfest 2016 in Durham, NC

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Moog Like Rogue, Fest
Words & Photos by James Gilstrap

How many conversations have I had revolving around how to pronounce "Moog"?  Thanks to Moogfest FAQs, I have the knowledge to not sound like a fool.  So begins, the first step in entering my fest of Moog. Let me tell you the rest.

Thursday 19 May, 2016

8PM Dawn of Midi at Carolina Theatre

I couldn't think of a better way to start my festival.  Listening to Dawn of Midi felt like standing on a open field watching an approaching thunderstorm.  Not afraid, you stand there letting the rain piano, thunder bass, and lighting drums wash over you.  At that moment, I knew that Moogfest was going to be dope!

9PM Julia Holter at Carolina Theatre

There is still a dark cloudy sky left by the last performance.  Not problem for Julia Holter.  Her music punching progressively larger holes filled with golden light.  Endless smiles are what is left.

10PM Blood Orange at Motorco Park

I didn't know much about Blood Orange other than a few popular tracks from their latest album.  I was definitely excited about seeing them, but never thought it would be the best performance of the entire festival.  Even with a top notch band, Dev Hynes stands out as a true sex god.  The culmination of him ripping on the guitar, breaking out some perfect dance moves, and releasing his smooth voice; had the entire place grinding privates to ass.  I'm pretty sure many babies were made that night.

11:30PM Miike Snow at Motorco Park

I just want to dance!  Miike Snow let me. They brought this high energy electro pop rock that just took over my body. Many calories were burned during their set.

Friday 20 May, 2016

1:00 AM Ryan Hemsworth at The Armory

What an incredible DJ set!  The man masterfully controlled wide ranges of tempos across genres -- keeping everyone anxiously on their toes for what was next. NOTE:  Dude markets himself in a perfect manner.  His back drop projection was constant artistic representations of himself or his name.

2:00 PM

Give the non-performance festival activities the ole college try.  This lasts for about 10 minutes before I'm off to pound beers.  LIttle do I know,  drinking was a grave mistake.

4:00 PM

Pounding of beers continue.

6:40 PM

Getting tipsy.

7:00 PM Professor Toon at Motorco Music Hall

My hip hop side loves a bomb ass beat that moves your body. This was not Professor Toon.  Intelligent deep lyrics perfectly flow with the beat in the back seat just filling gaps.  He had my ear the entire set. Keep an eye on this fella.

7:30 PM

Head to The Pit rooftop for $10 buffet; and proceed to stuff my face with 2 plates of Carolina BBQ with vineagar sauce, BBQ Chicken, and green beans.  Thus begins, the great downward spiral.

8:50 PM Grimes at Motorco Park

I'm 35 and chubby.  Day drinking always wrecks me, but I always seem to forget.  Plus add on 2 pounds of food in my stomach, you do the math. Trying to muster up energy but having difficulty.  Ask anyone, Grimes put on a good show.  You can see this by just looking at the crowd move during her set.  But unfortunately, I had no energy to enjoy her show.  Must keep going.

10:15PM ODESZA at Motorco Park

The entire crowd is just jumping all around me matching the same high energy of ODESZA's performance as I make errrr sounds.  All energy has completely left the body.  I have become a zombie.

10:45 PM

I raise enough courage to call it quits and head home.  I vow again, to never day drink at a festival.

Saturday 21 May 2016

3:00 PM Daniel Bachman at First Presbyterian Church

Moogfest picked a perfect venue to hold this man and his gang.  Epic western guitar stories with a perfect back drop of dark wood paneling, large organ pipes, and the holy cross.  I anticipated a rugged cowboy kicking open the doors, shining six shooter hanging loosely at his hip, slowly walking down the center isle, boots clopping on the hard woods with a sharp ding of spurs, stopping in the middle of the church, and saying "Someone owes me 10 thousand pesos."  Daniel barking "I got your money, son" and starts wailing on his guitar.  The cowboy immediately starts doing a two step smiling the entire time.

4:00 PM Mac McCaughan at Durham Arts Council PSI Theatre

Not reading anything Moogfest wrote about his planned performance, I was caught completely off guard.  My only research was listening to his solo work on Spotify which was completely opposite of this set.  He synthesized an entire slow burn score while strangely costumed dancers moved in odd patterns with props.  Once I relaxed and just let it soak in, my enjoyment increased every minute.  The most unique performance of my Moogfest.

5:00 PM Julianna Barwick at First Presbyterian Church

Covered in warm stained glass light, standing at the focal point of spiritual energy; Julianna Barwick brought the Holy Spirit to Moogfest.  Everyone perfectly still absorbing her angelic music.  I was very surprised not to see hands raise in praise.

7:30 PM Gary Numan at Carolina Theatre

Only knowing a few tracks by Gary Numan, I was expecting a very chill and relaxed performance.  Boy was I wrong.  I would have never guessed this man screams electro Rock N Roll.  From the amazing light show, rock god poses, relentless band; I can see why there was a HUGE line. Gary Numan is the total package.

9:15 PM Son Lux at Motorco Music Hall

Each time Son Lux played a song the masses rejoiced.  Their style pretty much made it impossible not to enjoy.   It reminded me of dubstep mashed with rock.  Entire songs speckled with wonderfully synthesized sounds brief moments of dropping pure crazy.  They definitely kept you on your toes.

10:15 PM YACHT at Motorco Music Hall

YACHT's pumping 80s electronic dance set the packed Motorco into a frenzy.   Plus Claire L. Evans added stage energy, speaker standing antics, and not to mention her jacket disrobe; add anymore to this pot and risk spontaneous combustion all over the place.  Last thing I wanted to was pick pieces of smelly hipster off my Cole Haan shoes.

10:00 AM Explosion in the Sky at Carolina Theatre

Every since seeing Explosion in the Sky on Austin City Limits aired on 13 October 2007, I have been a fan in waiting for a chance to see them live.  Finally, the time has come to fulfill a life dream.  I arrived a hour and 30 minutes early to ensure my dream comes true.  Tied with Sigur Rós, there is not one band that can top their ability to create such epic stories minus a vocalist.  You just have to close your eyes and let your imagination create your own vision of the song.  I couldn't have asked for a better set to close my Moogfest.

Despite some issues, my first Moogfest was amazing.  On top of the fantastic performances, I met a lot of interesting people and had wonderful conversations.  In the end, this is the goal of any festival. Bring all styles of people together to share art.

I've lived in North Carolina since '86 and experienced its slow transition from a quiet to lively character.
Lets hope that Moogfest will continue to grow as a beacon not just for Durham, but North Carolina.

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.

Preview | Moogfest 2014 April 23rd - 27th

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One sure-fire ways to tell Spring is on it's way, is to drop by Speakers in Code HQ and check out the daily festival training regimen we subject ourselves to beginning March 1 each year. This highly specialized group of stretches and exercises was developed by pioneering music blogger Morty Jancobsen, who as we all well know, was tragically paralyzed from the neck down at Lilith Fair 1998, after attempting to hippy dance to a Paula Cole song after downing a chili dog in the media concourse. We will never forget the plight of Morty, nor will we ignore the gift he's given all bloggers by developing a program to help us prepare for festival season.

This winter has been unconscionably rough, so we've been doubling up on high-impact exercises like "the EDM" which involves laying complacent until the beat drops, then freaking the fuck out. We've also been experimenting on some variations on Morty's stretch called "The Southby" which is basically a speed-walking exercise from room to room, mirroring the mad rush you experience trying to get from show to show at SXSW.

This year, we've incorporated a few new routines to prepare us for the quickly approaching Moogfest 2014 in beautiful Asheville, NC, which has historically celebrated electronic music in general. But this year brings many changes that challenge the typical definition of "music festival" most interesting of all, a series of daytime collaborations featuring the likes of Bradford Cox (Deerhunter, Atlas Sound) as well as a class where Nile Rodgers will play selected pieces of his music and reveal his inspirations. Our workouts for these includes a mandatory all-staff rendition of the Soul-Train Dance Line.

The festival itself is jam-packed with triumphant technological talent, which includes 3 Kraftwerk concerts, M.I.A, Flying Lotus, Pet Shop Boys, Giorgio Moroder and Q - Tip.  But the list of bands we've covered here at SIC is too long to list in paragraph format, so here's a short rundown of Jam of the Day alumni that will be in performing:

Adult.
Avery Tare's Slasher Flicks (Animal Collective)
Black Dice
Com Truise
Dan Deacon
Dillon Francis
El-P
Escort
RJD2
Saul Williams
Wolf Eyes
YACHT

And that's just people who've made our JOTD list!  Many, many more are listed below. Check out the day and night lineups and if you're a non-blogger, make sure to scour the Pirate Bay to illegally download Morty's routine if you're planning to attend. Ticket info can be found here.

-Matt Smith

Preview | Moogfest 2014

Tweet

One sure-fire ways to tell Spring is on it's way, is to drop by Speakers in Code HQ and check out the daily festival training regimen we subject ourselves to beginning March 1 each year. This highly specialized group of stretches and exercises was developed by pioneering music blogger Morty Jancobsen, who as we all well know, was tragically paralyzed from the neck down at Lilith Fair 1998, after attempting to hippy dance to a Paula Cole song after downing a chili dog in the media concourse. We will never forget the plight of Morty, nor will we ignore the gift he's given all bloggers by developing a program to help us prepare for festival season.

This winter has been unconscionably rough, so we've been doubling up on high-impact exercises like "the EDM" which involves laying complacent until the beat drops, then freaking the fuck out. We've also been experimenting on some variations on Morty's stretch called "The Southby" which is basically a speed-walking exercise from room to room, mirroring the mad rush you experience trying to get from show to show at SXSW.

This year, we've incorporated a few new routines to prepare us for the quickly approaching Moogfest 2014 in beautiful Asheville, NC, which has historically celebrated electronic music in general. But this year brings many changes that challenge the typical definition of "music festival" most interesting of all, a series of daytime collaborations featuring the likes of Bradford Cox (Deerhunter, Atlas Sound) as well as a class where Nile Rodgers will play selected pieces of his music and reveal his inspirations. Our workouts for these includes a mandatory all-staff rendition of the Soul-Train Dance Line.

The night will bring the festival itself which is just jam-packed with triumphant technological talent, which includes 3 Kraftwerk concerts, M.I.A, Flying Lotus, Pet Shop Boys, Giorgio Moroder and
 Q - Tip.  But the list of band we've covered here at SIC is too long to list in paragraph format, so here's a short rundown of Jam of the Day alumni that will be in performing:

Adult.
Avery Tare's Slasher Flicks (Animal Collective)
Black Dice
Com Truise
Dan Deacon
Dillon Francis
El-P
Escort
RJD2
Saul Williams
Wolf Eyes
YACHT

And that's just people who've made our JOTD list!  Many, many more are listed below. Check out the day and night lineups and if you're a non-blogger, make sure to scour the Pirate Bay to illegally download Morty's routine if you're planning to attend. Ticket info can be found here.


ALWAYS STRETCH.