Electric Zoo 2011, the best of the rest: Dirty South, Michael Woods, Fake Blood, and more
As our Electric Zoo 2011 coverage finally comes to a close, we’ve crossed our Ts and dotted our Is in an attempt to leave no stone unturned (or as few as is humanly possible – turning stones is hard work). Here we’ve assembled short recaps of other choice DJ sets, including that of Dirty South and Alesso at the Pacha afterparty on Saturday.
Friday, September 2
Dirty South (in place of Martin Solveig)
The highlights: Dirty South put on a great show at last year’s Electric Zoo, and we’re glad to report he’ll maintain his title two years running. We have to admit, we were a bit antsy when we heard Solveig’s “Hello” at the very beginning, as fears of a MS “tribute” set began to creep in.
Thankfully he dispelled those fears quickly with his mix of Skylar Grey’s “Invisible” and a to-be-IDed dubstep remix of Cassius’s “I Love You So.”
Skylar Grey – Invisible (Dirty South Mix)
A true high point was the big-room showing of his forthcoming single “Walking Alone” with Those Usual Suspects. Pounding synths and a true anthemic vocal make it one to keep on your radar. Some parting thoughts: “Aerodynamic” paired with the Teenage Crime vocal sounds damned good, as does “Alive” with a dubstep breakdown – think along the lines of this fan-made mashup, only more polished.
Dirty South & Those Usual Suspects – Walking Alone [Preview]
Dirty South & Thomas Gold – Alive (Statusbrown Dubstep Bootleg)
The rest: Apart from the initial fears of a tribute set…no major complaints. Of course, there will always be those who feel that the “One Look vs. Phazing (a cappella)” mashup that DS is rather fond of doesn’t quite do the original Phazing justice.
Saturday, September 3
Dirty South & Alesso at Pacha NYC
Dirty South and Alesso made a victorious return to Pacha New York the on the second night of the Electric Zoo weekend.
Alesso:
The highlights: Mostly tracks he had a hand in, which certainly speaks volumes to his talent. “Pressure” (Alesso Remix), “Calling,” and his remix of “Save the World” towards the end of his set garnered the most bombastic crowd response of all his songs that night.
Nadia Ali, Alex Kenji, & Starkillers – Pressure (Alesso Remix)
The rest:EDC has come and gone and most of us are a bit worn out from the Bassjackers’s “Mush, Mush” (if you didn’t hear it at EDC or on one of the many live rips, then you probably heard it during the day at the Zoo). The track deserves an early retirement.
Dirty South:
The highlights: DS loves to open Pacha NYC with his remix of “Coming Home”, and that’s exactly what he did. We loved the way he eked out a second life out of SHM’s remix to Coldplay’s “Every Teardrop is a Waterfall”, with his trademark delays, filters, and frequency cutoffs all working in unison so incredibly it made the song sound brand new. “Alive” was a big hit as well, and we wish he’d demoed “Walking Alone” in the intimate atmosphere he’d created.
Coldplay – Every Teardrop is a Waterfall (Swedish House Mafia Remix)
The rest: We were solidly impressed by Dirty South’s showing that night, so we’ll leave it to our readers to sound off.
Sunday, September 4
Fake Blood
The highlights: Be it the cool, trippy visuals ensconcing all who entered the tent or the ominous looped opening chorus of “Fake Blood…Fake Blood…Fake Blood….” not knowing exactly what to expect, Fake Blood’s set was by any standard an excellent one for at least the time we were there.
David Tort’s “Jack it Up” made an early appearance, jacking up the energy of the set as it boomed from all corners of the tent. His mashup of Vektorkat’s “End Run” with the a capella of Daft Punk “Revolution 909” (Roger Sanchez Mix) layered on top was wicked. Fake Blood’s set was a mid-to-high energy affair that zipped along a techy trail of mechanical delights.
David Tort – Jack it Up (Original Mix)
The rest: Not being recorded on SiriusXM for later enjoyment…we’ll catch you again live, Fake Blood.
Michael Woods
The highlights: You’ll have to excuse this editor for being ignorant of MW’s remix of Calvin Harris’s “Bounce” – it’s just so lively and downright bouncy it sounded more like the works of Chuckie than of Michael Woods. His versatility is no joke.
Calvin Harris feat. Kelis – Bounce (Michael Woods Remix)
RHCP’s “Otherside” is a track commonly dropped in DJ sets nowadays, and because of that it’s easy to become weary of it. Not when Michael Woods dropped it, pairing it excellently with Fedde le Grand’s “Metrum” (Liveset: at 40 minutes)
Best of all, the liveset is available in its entirety on Michael Woods’s Soundcloud.
Michael Woods at Electric Zoo 2011
The rest: The end of it all (sue us for enjoying his set a bit too much).
Honorable Mention: Danny Tenaglia. DA was there towards the tail end of his set and he absolutely rocked the place.
Categories: Music