Bassnectar NYE - Bass Center 2 - UMF 2011

I can't believe that I have three huge things to look forward to. I've had tickets to see Bassnectar on New Years Eve since the beginning of October, (and I'm proud to say I'm one of three thousand people that bought their ticket within the 10 minutes that they all sold out)! Then, I will be attending the second "Bass Center" in Asheville, NC where Bassnectar will be playing, along with the the Glitch Mob, Filastine, Super Dre, and Ana Sia ..and others will continue to be added. Then the third music event I will be attending is Ultra Music Festival in Miami, FL. I really can't contain my excitement for all of these, especially Ultra as Ultra will be 3 full days of most of my favorite electronic artists!!!

I had my NYE tickets first, and then I bought my tickets to Ultra Music Festival, but I just recently found out about Bassnectar in Asheville and snatched my early bird tickets on December 3rd. I'm hoping I don't get "burned out" since Bassnectar will most likely be at Ultra too! But I'm not sure how that will be possible considering Bassnectar is my favorite music artist right now. As for the "Bass Center," I'm assuming it is called this as a play on words for big venues where many artists get together and play in one night. Bassnectar started this idea of a Bass Center, and held the first Bass Center out West on Oct. 23rd. On that website you can see how many acts performed, and how many more could be added to the one in Asheville. If you're interested in Bass Center Tickets for the show in Asheville on February 19th, click that link. Early bird tickets are already sold out but more go on sale December 10th - better get on the ball!

Ultra has not even posted their line up for the festival this year yet. Yeah, that's how awesome it is going to be - Kevin and I bought our tickets without even knowing who was going to be playing! We will be going to Miami, FL that weekend (March 25-27), and this year Ultra is a 3 day event instead of 2 days like it was last year. That means manyyy more artists can be added, and I'm so excited about that. Here was the lineup for Ultra 2010 just to give you an idea of how awesome this year is going to be...as it can only get better.

So anyways, this was more of an "informative" blog post about my upcoming music events that I highly advise others to go to! I can't wait to talk about them all after they happen. I also gotta do some bragging on the video you see below. I created it myself and it is a collaboration of all the shows I've been this past year. I currently have 380 views which I'm super pumped about! Haha, I'm also really excited for my next video that will include everything I just talked about above...and more I'm sure! The next video will also be of better quality, as I'm going to try and upgrade what I currently use to video to something a little more fancy, since I'm apparently really into that kind of thing now :) Also check out some of my other videos on YouTube at kcdavmusic.




PS-I'm also attending Conspirator on December 16th in Raleigh. Conspirator is made up of two guys (Aron & Marc) from the Disco Biscuits and a "rotating cast of the best drummers in the country." Excited since I just saw Bisco at Moog!

Halloween at it's best - MoogFest 2010

MoogFest 2010. One of the best weekends ever? Maybe! And "maybe" only because all of my best friends weren't there with me, but if they had been, then most definitely. Many of my best friends were with me though which made for a wonderful weekend in Asheville, NC. If you don't know what MoogFest is, check out my blog post before this one.

My girlfriends at MoogFest inside the Asheville Civic Center

MoogFest was and wasn't what I expected, but in good ways. (And by the way, you don't pronounce Moog like the way it looks and like the way all my friends have been saying it for the past two months. It's pronounced like vogue with an M - mogue). When we first arrived to the Asheville Civic Center, I had no idea what the venue actually was since they were making everyone check-in at what looked to be the bottom of some kind of convention-center-building type thing. Then as you get through security, you walk right up to where the main acts of Moog are taking place! The Asheville Civic Center was by far the biggest venue, and was good to have during this music festival since so many people purchased tickets. The first show I got to see was MGMT, since we missed Big Boi due to driving from Raleigh that night. MGMT was somewhat disappointing, as I was expecting a better performance from them but heard that "they aren't good live" from some people there as soon as they started. It was still fun hearing some of my favorites of theirs including Electric Feel and Kids. RJD2 was the next most exciting act that many enjoyed at Moog, and he performed at The Orange Peel. Unfortunately we found out that this venue was at full capacity after our freezing walk to get there, but it made the night more fun and eventful. It also helped us learn our way around downtown Asheville as we walked back to the Civic Center with hundreds of other Moogers to see Girl Talk. When we got back to the Civic Center (I'll call it CC from now on) Dan Deacon was still performing. He was AMAZING. He was probably so amazing because of the way he captivated the crowd. Randomly during his performance, he got everyone (somehow) to "take fivvvveeee steppssss backkkkk." After everyone attempted this since it was such a large crowd for everyone to move in, he got people to create a circle so open space was in the middle of everyone. Then, I'm guessing one of his friends, or someone that is a part of his tour group led an interpretive dance for the entire crowd to participate in. This was so cool because everyone actually participated! (Well except people like me who were in the back just dying laughing at the whole thing, but I wasn't laughing AT it, I was laughing at how crazy it was that everyone was so into it! I happily shocked!)

It really made the night so much fun. And although you probably guessed that I felt this way, Dan Deacon's music was really good too. The video below was taken at the end of the interpretive dance when the crowd came back together and the music was building up for his next song. So amazing...

After Dan Deacon came Girl Talk. I didn't know what to expect because I had heard Girl Talk before, but knew that most of his songs are current, popular songs that have been remixed by him. Click this link for a good YouTube video that I found of all the people dancing on stage. YEAH - the security guards let a bunch of random people dance on stage while Girl Talk performed! I tried to get on stage with my friend Kellie but by the time we figured out this was an option, it was too full. That video was when it was a little less full! Click this for another good video of Girl Talk at Moog. This video was taken by someone who was taking a video of the screen that was displayed in the CC, makes me want to be back!

Next came Saturday night. We had the system pretty figured out at this point and knew that we wanted to stick around the CC instead of trying to leave to get into one of the other venues. Fortunately, Thomas Wolfe Auditorium was connected to the CC, so no going outside in the cold was involved on Saturday night! This was so awesome because we could walk right back and forth between venues without ever having to wait and get back in line.  First up was Nosaj Thing, which we missed because 6pm was just a little early to make it out and be ready for the night for us. However, I didn't even know if Nosaj Thing was good or not, I only was interested in seeing him because Bassnectar had tweeted about him before, so I figured he must be! (AND by the way, I'm on Glitch Mob's mailing list and in an email they sent me yesterday, it included a free download of a song Boreta remixed by Nosaj Thing. Here's the Direct Download link for this song, I really like it.) So we got there when Caribou was playing, and they were good, however Thievery Corporation was who I got pumped up for. My friend Elise has loved Thievery Corporation for over four years now and boy should I have listened her when she was playing them for me after the Glitch Mob concert we went to in May. She tried to describe what type of music it was for me, but I couldn't really understand how good they were until I heard them live. Here is one of their most popular songs and definitely my favorite as well, Lebanese Blonde. It has been her ring tone for two years now and now it's Kevin's as well. Hope I don't get sick of it because I like it too much! The video below is during Thievery...sorry for the shaking at the end, I was dancing!!!



Thievery Corporation at MoogFest 2010

 Since Thievery was so good, we were all thrilled to continue our night by heading to Thomas Wolfe to see Disco Biscuits! This was the first time I had walked over to Thomas Wolfe and I am so glad Disco Biscuits was in this venue because it made it so much better than if it had been in the CC. I personally am a fan of smaller, darker venues (as I described in my Bassnectar posts) and that is how Thomas Wolfe was. The crowd can get more into the show, and the lights look better when the venue's lighting is dark. I had heard the Disco Biscuits a few times before, but they don't have that many songs you can actually look up and play. What I mean is that they play a new set every time they do a show, so if you fall in love with the music they play when you see them, you will most likely have to download that set if you want to hear all of the same music they played. This is like what Phish does as well, as Phish puts out their set after every concert for people to download/buy. Anyways, Disco Biscuits were by far my favorite show at Moog (Pretty Lights hadn't happened yet ;)) and was definitely one of my favorite concerts I've been to ever. They had the best light and lazer show that I have ever seen, and it filled the entire venue allowing the lights to be on the ceiling and the walls. Every single person was standing up and dancing for the 3 hours that they played. (Yes, THREE..I took a few breaks - one including when a mean security guard took one of my lazers from me. Yes, I'm a nerd and bought two of the LEGIT green-beam lazers off ebay. He thought he was being sly when he came up and asked me for it but really I gave him the one that didn't work as well and he didn't know it..so HA!)


Disco Biscuits at MoogFest 2010

 Massive Attack was playing during Disco Biscuits and we were sad we missed out on that, but Disco Biscuits was just too good to leave. After Disco Biscuits, Shpongle was playing at the CC so we walked over and listened to him until he was over, as he was the only act still going on at this time of the night. I had never heard of Shpongle before, but people seemed to be really into him!



Shpongle at MoogFest 2010

 Crazy costumes filled every venue at MoogFest the entire weekend as well! I couldn't believe how many people dressed up both Friday and Saturday nights, and Halloween wasn't even until Sunday! Here are some of the pictures I took with people dressed up.

I didn't know how the third night night was going to live up to Friday and Saturday, and if it wasn't for Pretty Lights, Sunday wouldn't have been as good. However Pretty Lights seriously made the entire weekend. Everyone had been waiting for Pretty Lights since Friday night, and their show was better than the first time I saw them in March. (PS it's hard not to say them because the word "Lights" is plural, but even though Pretty Lights used to be a "him", he actually has a drummer that is on stage with him full time now, I believe). Anyyyways. Pretty Lights dressed up as Bassnectar and Deadmau5. WHAT A BETTER COMBO? I couldn't have picked two better music artists for them to dress up as. I seriously was so happy when I noticed that Derek was dressed up as Bassnectar, and his drummer was dressed up as Deadmau5. I took like 50 pictures trying to get a good shot of this and the two narrow pictures you see below are mine, but I just came across the other picture on MoogFest's Facebook page below those two.

You see that on the left is Bassnectar, and the right was Deadmau5. Derek had on a long black haired wig and the drummer had somehow made the costume head that Deadmau5 wears, and it looked pretty legit! They both took the costumes off about 20 minutes into the show, probably because they don't know how Bassnectar and Deadmau5 do it with all that hair/head in the way!

Here are some pictures and a video from the Pretty Lights show itself.

Pretty Lights at MoogFest


Before Pretty Lights, we saw Two Fresh, Young Brother, Mimosa, and Sleighbells. Two Fresh was pretty good, Young Brother was alright, Mimosa was GREAT, and Sleighbells was weird. To talk about the most important one, Mimosa, he was really good in concert. I loved every song he played and it really got me pumped up for Pretty Lights as the music before was kind of slacking in the excited department. Since Sleighbells and Mimosa practically came on at the same time in two separate venues, we decided to check out Sleighbells first, but we decided to leave since the first three songs weren't that good -  if we had stayed longer they probably would have gotten better, but we didn't want to miss any more of Mimosa than we already had. Sleighbells has a girl as the main singer and she was singing a little too crazy for my liking. Most of the Sleighbells songs that I like were nothing like the three they played first. Run the Heart for example, is one of their songs that I do like..except that one is a Bassnectar remix - so maybe that's why :).

Sooo, I can't believe I actually found time to do this blog post! Well, I guess MoogFest was October 29-31st, but it is finally done! Moog was so much fun and I definitely want to go back next year. I am happy that there is a music festival like one so close to home, as the other ones are going cost more money to travel to (Oh yes - I plan to attend Ultra Music Festival in Miami in March...now THAT will be a trip.) But for now, I am excited to have shared all of this info with whoever has taken the time to read it. I'm now counting down the days until Bassnectar on New Years Eve, 51 days to be exact. And remember, we have to see how many followers Bassnectar has then compared to what he had after the Wilmington and Raleigh shows.

Here's just a couple more pictures that I took at Moog. My whole album is on my Facebook page if you would like to see them all.



Kellie & Me with the Moog Man



Dressesd up for Halloween night at MoogFest 2010

 And this is a video of the last night after Pretty Lights, everyone was just cheering in the walkways, love it!

 Ta ta for now!

MOOGFEST 2010, Asheville NC Oct. 29, 30, 31

 Moogfest is almost here!!! Moogfest is an electronic music festival that will be taking place in Asheville, NC for the first time after being held annually in New York in later years. The festival is named after Robert Moog who has called Asheville home for the past 30 years, so that's why it is there this year. This music festival is unlike most music festivals in the fact that the venues are not all in one large area outside. Being the unique little mountain town that Asheville is, the festival will be held right in the heart of downtown and the shows will take place at separate venues spread out within. Some of these cool venues include the Asheville Civic Center, The Orange Peel, Thomas Wolfe Auditorium, Stella Blue, and Moogaplex.

 Being downtown will make for a very entertaining atmosphere as everyone will be surrounded by shops, restaurants, and bars..not to mention the other opportunites the festival presents to people including engaging in artist panel discussions, visual art exhibitions, and film screenings throughout the entire weekend. I'm also thinking about making a visit to the infamous Biltmore House, the largest American home in the United States, but definitely not in place of going to all of the shows! I can't wait to write on my blog after this weekend and I really don't know how I'm even going to explain all of the shows that I see. My favorite artists that I'm seeing at Moog are Pretty Lights (On Halloween night!), MGMT, Big Boi, Bisco, RJD2, Sleighbells, Nosaj Thing, Marty Party, Mimosa, Mindelixir, Girltalk, Hot Chip, and Thievory Corporation..... see ya next time!

Aritsts performing at MoogFest2010

One Lovely Tweet - GLO & P Groove Concerts

So I'm extremely pumped up right now because literally within the same minute today, Bassnectar tweeted at me and then I got a phone call telling me that I got a job!!! So it inspired me to get some words out on my blog. (I got a job with NC State's Student Affairs Technology Services, specifically the TRIO programs managing content on their website & doing social media marketing for them...SO excited!)

 kcdav 1 day till @bassnectar's wildstyle album drops! def buying it tomorrow

 bassnectar @kcdav THANK YOU!!!! :)

Had to share that :)

Anyways, I attended the Ghostland Observatory concert on September 19th in Charleston, SC at a venue called Music Farm. They blew me away! Since Kevin and I were visiting Charleston that same weekend anyway we decided to go since they were in town - and I'm so glad we did! I have loved their song Silver City for over 2 years now so hearing it live was great, we didn't expect the show to be as good as it was. They also had one of the best light shows over many of the other concerts I've been to this year and to prove it I included a video below. I'm a bigger fan now of GLO (Ghostland Observatory) than I was before their show and really recommend these songs for people who aren't as familiar with their music.

Sad Sad City     Stranger Lover     Midnight Voyage

The main singer named Aaron Kyle Behrens, surprised me with his ever so high-pitched voice that I didn't expect. You may be able to hear it in this video, however the sound quality isn't the greatest since I was standing right next to the speakers, literally.

Now to the Perpetual Groove concert (P Groove). This show wasn't one of the best, and this time it wasn't because of the venue, but I think it was because of the crowd. P Groove is an American jam band that originated about 13 years ago, but the people at Cat's Cradle (the venue in Carrboro, NC where the concert was held) weren't really up for "jamming." It could have been due to it being a Thursday night and not as many people could attend, but the crowd was slacking which made the show less entertaining. When a crowd gets really into the concert, the musicians get into it as well, and I think it was just a slow night for P Groove. I still enjoyed the music, and snapped this cool picture below while I was there, but next time I would recommend making sure a whole lot of people are going before attending, as that made a big difference!

Bye until MoogFest!

BASSNECTAR Concerts, Sept. 21 & 22 in NC

Bassnectar. Where do I even begin?! The concerts that I attended last week confirmed my already powerful obsession for this artist, and I have become an even bigger fan than I was before the concerts.

The first night in NC, Lorin (Bassnectar's real name) came to the Coastline Convention Center in Wilmington. Bassnectar concerts are known for being very energetic and most people break a sweat throughout the show. This is because you are "jamming" out the entire time.

jam [jam] verb, jammed, jam·ming, noun

1. to press, squeeze, or wedge tightly between bodies or surfaces, so that motion or extrication is made difficult or impossible: The ship was jammed between two rocks.

Haha okay, so when I looked up the definition for "jam" I was hoping it would be some kind of music reference..but when I saw this definition, it was actually quite perfect to describe a Bassnectar concert. However, it does depend on the venue and that is the point I'm making here. The venue in Wimington for me was just a little too long and narrow which made it extremely crowded for all the people trying to pack themselves towards the stage. I ended up hanging out in the very back for most of the night with my group of friends because the venue made it feel like not everyone there was all about the music because there was so much space. However, last Wednesday night in Raleigh at the Lincoln Theatre (one of my favorite venues) the concert was absolutely PERFECT and probably was one of the best I've ever been to. This venue is awesome for concerts because it can sell out for exactly the people that fit in it, whereas the show in Wilmington had a whole lot of space but only one area where everyone wanted to be. If you're my friend on Facebook you should be able to see this video of the song BASSHEAD which is one of my favorites...but truly which one of his songs isn't? If you aren't my friend, try this link. Lorin recently posted on Twitter that this video is almost to 1,000,000 views and when it is to send him a screen-shot of it! I'm hoping to be the one.

Check out my excitement



So now to the important stuff: I MET LORIN!!!!!!!! I thought my only chance was gone when I saw him nonchalantly get off of his tour bus and walk into the venue at Wilmington. But, I soon found out that he was allowing himself to meet his fans over by the area where his assistants were selling his merchandise. So of course I sprinted over to it and at this point, hardly anyone in the venue had realized he was standing there, probably because no one would expect that to happen (I surely didn't). I even said something like that to him as well and in my excitement probably said something along the lines of, "You're too amazing!!! What are you doing out here???" 

He really confirmed my dedication to his music and being a fan of his when I spoke to him. He was so genuine and really made me feel like he cared about each and every one of his fans and you could tell this because when he talked to you, he wasn't trying to end the conversation or move on to the next person in line. He took the time to have conversations with each person that wanted to meet him, and I really appreciated that! He loves the fact that he is not mainstream, and has said in many interviews that he would love to stay exactly where he is.Check 
out his website at http://www.bassnectar.net. Family photos are uploaded
every show! Don't know what a family photo is? He takes one at every 
concert with this crowd. Here is our family photo from the Raleigh show.

See the hot pink arrow? That's me!

Lorin, Me, Kellie

Seriously though, both shows were great and I most definitely will be attending his concert in Atlanta, GA on New Years Eve! (Hopefully if I get tickets, they apparently will sell out within days!) He will be playing at the Tabernacle and I really couldn't imagine a better place to be on that night! Bassnectar currently has 11,213 followers on Twitter. Let's see how many he has after New Years Eve!

Lorin taking time for his fans after the show in Wilmington, NC

Also, after the two nights of concerts I went to, he played a third night in Charlotte, NC. I was tempted to go to this show as well, but then I remembered a little thing called schoolwork. After the Charlotte show, Lorin and his crew made their way to Nashville, Tennessee. Here's the family photo from this show. 5,000 people...insanity.

Nashville, Tennesse show on September 24, 2010