Started with a bit of Frankie Vega and then Electrobounce on the waterfront, keeping the upbeats with da man Brian G and the crew -- that was fun. Caught a bit of Al Ester and Osunlade on the main stage and then headed offsite to the DJs and Backpacks barbecue put together by Cornelius Harris as a fundraiser to provide backpacks for school kids. This was at the outside patio of Z's Villa, a cool tavern and restaurant in the New Center area and when you are Cornelius you can get the likes of Terrence Parker and Aux 88 to play -- I was there while TP was on the decks and had the good fortune to meet up with Otto and Cisco. Those who know should check out www.alteregomgt.com, and nice one Cornelius and everyone!
We got back to the festival in time to hear Octave One absolutely rip it up in the underground stage. Their sound is strong enough to dent even that sonic mess and they had the crowd jumping. But otherwise the garage kept eating DJs alive. I missed Neil Landtstrumm but heard he played well and quirky... speaking of quirky I watched the Wighnomy Brothers for a bit. I gather they are from eastern Germany and have put out a number of minimal/tech-house type releases. Meanwhile, Luciano was spooning out his non-quirky tech-house on the main stage. There's nothing really wrong with his selections but I always feel like he plays it safe. Afterparties -- a mixed bag. I could hear Larry Heard playing from the rooftop at New Bookie's from blocks away. But in the building was another story -- a bunch of drunk sports bar people, so I left immediately. Putting that behind I made my annual pilgrimage to Lafayette Coney Island -- no disappointments there. The turnout for Buzz Goree's Homecoming party at the Tangent gallery was really good, and we were treated to a long and densely interwoven set by Jeff Mills. I've only seen him play a handful of times, and this probably didn't measure up to his legendary ones, but it was the best I've seen from him, especially the last half hour or so -- surging and swirling, and a lot of fun to watch. Finally, No Way Back -- well, that was the right name for it! The Bo House is a great place for a classic one-red-light-and-killa-sound Detroit party. When Derrick "the mad acid king" Plaslaiko cranked up the tracks with the wiggly worm sound from the shiny little box it was slammin! Yeah, a good day overall ... fh
