> well then the prevalent view here is wrong. the festival works best when it > books diverse acts to pays its bills and perpetuate its own existence. big
There is no evidence to support the assumption that booking more artists outside of the Detroit tradition improves the success of the festival. There is in fact evidence that the festivals that were about Detroit's electronic music legacy had much larger attendance -- there is no way to know how many of those people would have attended had it not been free, but it's fairly safe to assume that the first few festivals would have been the greatest successes had an entry fee been charged and had the festivals been competently managed. The sponsorship was there (selling the festival as "Detroit Techno" all over TV, to boot), mainstream media was there, the initial excitement was there, the widespread local appeal was there. The only thing borne out as a more successful approach in the past few years is the charging of an entry fee and a much more competent management of the festival in general. You aren't going to convince anybody jumping to conclusions that aren't borne out. You can only claim Paxahau's festival would be less successful as a Detroit-centric festival if they throw one and it is decisively less successful. You may well be right (I think you are) considering the trends in electronic music these days, but they haven't had that festival to prove it, yet. > member that wants that 25 percent, there is someone out there looking for > the dnb stuff they are booking, or this or that. just because YOU dont dig > it, doesn't mean its invalid and has no place at the festival. That's certainly true enough, but helllooo McFly, why the hell are you on the Detroit Techno mailing list if you don't think Detroit's legacy is more important, ultimately more culturally relevant, than global superstar dj's or the newest hype for the majority of people attending. There has to be a balance between commerce and art/culture, but considering it's Detroit, and the only electronic music festival in Detroit, I think it's reasonable to expect there will be an undercurrent to the festival that celebrates Detroit's legacy. I don't think Paxahau has failed to address that, but as Detroit Techno devotees we want more, we want Paxahau to have the balls to risk it's ass to throw another Detroit-centric festival, now that they have put in place proper management. It is a bit unreasonable. Paxahau's business smarts that dictates the festival goes increasingly in a different direction -- the cultural relevance has been minim(al)ized, because.... I'm afraid electronic music, especially American electronic music, has suffered tremendously in the last 7 years. It would be crazy to throw a festival like the first few festivals again given that no one (comparatively) in America is buying Techno, and maybe more importantly look at the output of Detroit (and America in general). Paxahau is smart and they have probably judged the market correctly. You gotta get the kids there. There ain't many heads among the kids these days. The heads have jobs, kids, old fogie legs that don't dance so good no more...The kids ain't got no responsibilities and are much more carefree about burning through their dough. The majority just wanna party. Perhaps they would be open to learning about why Detroit's legacy is so important and unique to electronic music. But there is no real exciting reason why they would care to learn. The infrastructure to put Detroit/American electronic music culture in the public eye and make it compelling just isn't there. /0 may be obnoxious (ain't we all sometimes), but I'm afraid he's right. That said I'm attending if it's within my budget (plane tickets and gas = megabux right now) and a lot of friends of mine who have never gone before -- heads even -- want to go this year. It's the best we have and it's not going to improve if it's not nurtured. I believe things will come back around, and besides it's the best opportunity we Americans have to see so many artists we like in one place, without using a passport. And if the festival ain't up to snuff for you, you can shift your attention to soaking up the city and hanging out with seldom-seen friends...It depends on your budget etc whether it's worth it or not -- if budget isn't a primary consideration, absolutely it is... I miss Detroit a lot...
