Finishing Up
Dec. 20th, 2016 08:38 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ateolfOkay, get ready for it...the best show of the festival! Matmos was fucking incredible! Incredible as fuck! And I love Matmos, but they weren't even who I was most looking forward to. They weren't who I was expecting to take the Day for Night trophy home (but they most certainly did). Okay yeah, so the crew wheels out a fucking washing machine all mic'd up on stage and I have a good feeling about what's about to happen. So yeah, ends up their whole set centers around this washing machine. They start off asking an audience member in the front row for an article of clothing (someone throws up a hat) and they put it along with some colored scarves into the machine and start it up. The one guy was just playing a table full of electronics the other guy sometimes played a synth but spent more time with the washing machine. There was also some extra guy who played with the washing machine too. The first part it's filling up and they play along with that, more ambient and all. When it starts spinning they base the rhythm around that. And it just proceeds to be an amazing fucking show. At a point the two guys are drumming on the machine with brushes. At another point they're beating on it with their hands. More towards the end they start sprinkling water all over the metal and then start rubbing it with their hands making a squeaking noise. Anyway, all this is mixed in with Matmos's great sounds and it goes through different cycles (no pun intended) throughout the whole thing. Uh, yeah, way up there in best shows I've seen. And it was very Matmos, that unique blend of intellectual experimentalism and fun music. Now I'm like, why the fuck do I only have three (and a half) of their albums? I need to rectify this!
After that it's outside to the green stage for the end of Lightning Bolt's set (that was the hardest choice of the festival, but I definitely made the right choice, knowing Lightning Bolt is supposed to really shine live and liking them as I do, they are kinda one-note and that helped my decision). But yeah, I was to catch the last ten minutes of their set but I think they played longer and I got closer to twenty minutes. They were good while I saw them. Nice and noisy and energetic. Then they're done and a message comes on that Blonde Redhead's flight was cancelled due to weather and they weren't playing. I was pretty bummed. I wasn't sure if they'd be good or not, but I really wanted the chance to find out. There was a little overlap with Kamasi Washington so that at least resolved that (if Blonde Redhead was really good I'd stay to the end and if they were less than so I'd move out to catch all of Kamasi's set). I was able to get the red stage much earlier so I got a pretty good spot for Kamasi Washington. It was good. They got a late start. Here's where I'm battling the cold, but my scarf played a big part in carrying me through. I especially enjoyed the Moog solo, but it was all good. Lots of solos throughout the musicians. Then I was in position to get an even better spot for Squarepusher on the same stage. And that was another phenomenal show! I would've expected to like Aphex Twin more, but Squarepusher (live anyway) blew him out of the water. I mean, it was just good anyway. I was really close and center. He had these two huge screens (well, a bunch of screens pushed together) in a wedge behind him combined with the stage's other screens with lots of glitchy graphics, it was some good visuals. He played in his fencing mask. Anyway, yeah good, he was going crazy as fuck too. There was a lot of energy and it was loud and noisy and glitched all the fuck out. That was definitely a high point.
Next I wanted to check out Bjork's dj set. I ran into Josh coming back from it and he said it sucked but I still wanted to check it out. It was good to get back into the warmth of the blue stage. It was really crowded and you couldn't see her (his main complaint), but it sounded really good. She was doing a good bit with the music she was playing. There was a lot of flux with people so even though I was way to the side it didn't take too long to get more centered. And by the end I didn't have any pillars in my way and could kind of see her. Kind of. She had all these trees on stage in front of her, but sometimes I could see her upraised arm and her costume's horns when she was dancing. I really enjoyed it, even the bit of "New York, New York" played on car horns towards the end.
This is where I finally had my break. I'd first thought I might check out the bands on the yellow stage (they'd seemed okay and at least not as terrible as the other stuff at the same time), but I'd learned my lesson from the day before that I needed a break with some downtime (well, it wasn't so much a lesson because I mean there's no way I'd miss anything I saw the day before). So I hit up the food trucks and got a Korean cheesesteak and some kimchi fries. Good but I had to cram it down my face 'cuz I didn't have any drink due to logistics. I also hit up the merch tent again for some of that Bjork stuff 'cuz that was a damn fine set. They were out of the shirts but I picked up the cds they had: Vulnicura and Vulnicura Strings. Then it was inside to get out of the damn cold and check out some of the artwork installations! I'd wanted to but hadn't gotten a chance to beforehand. It was mostly stuff with lights. I'd seen a good bit of what was downstairs but hadn't made my way to the upstairs exhibits. So that was pretty cool, but a little before the last show of the night that kimchi started to hit me! And yeah, the last thing in the world I or anyone else in the world wants to do is to go to the bathroom (and I mean GO to the bathroom) at a festival. Of course I'd urinated many times in the portapotties which, of course, are all fucking disgusting. But I felt it might be a small sliver of luck that I was upstairs in the least crowded part of the whole festival. I found the bathroom there and while it was pretty disgusting, it was a bit less disgusting than the portapotties. I just utilized the toilet paper for a secondary purpose and made sure none of my stuff touched the wet floor and it wasn't the worst public restroom experience. Yay! Poop talk!
I'll move on to other stuff. The other stuff is Arca's set! Back downstairs to the blue stage. This is after midnight (well, it started a little before but went on til a little after one) and all the outside stuff stops at midnight so it's the only thing left going. He did a dj set and, while it was generally clubbier than I tend to go for, it was pretty damn awesome. He was doing a whole lot of manipulation to the stuff he was playing. Oh, and he's queer as fuck. I noticed right away he wasn't wearing a shirt and he'd dance behind his equipment like someone well acquainted with the gay clubs. He also got out from behind his table now and again and danced and interacted with the audience and all. Once he was "playing" "The Rhythm Is Gonna Get You" where it was all the drums chopped up and layered and bursts of the vocals all chopped up where they weren't words anymore (but you could still just barely recognize the song) and at one point he had the mic and sang the "oway oh waoh oway oh oh wah" part. Once he got up on his table so I could see him in all his glory: just wearing boxer briefs and knee high boots (and sometimes this body stocking thing he'd pull up over his chest but usually not). Anyway, I'm not a dancer but the set was really good.
Okay, so I raced through the cold back to the hotel and had a fucking awesome Day for Night experience! We got a late start in the morning and I woke up with legs like rubber after standing for like two days straight, but that didn't last long. We got ready and hit the road out of town (later than planned, but whatever). We stopped a little outside or inside Houston at a Whataburger and that was our eatin's. The drive back was MOSTLY uneventful. I say mostly but for one major event. Just before we hit Forest City, Josh was passing and then this eighteen wheeler decided it would pass too without signaling and right where Josh's van was supposed to be. Luckily he had good reflexes and slammed on the brakes and there was room off the side of the road to turn to and he kept us from getting killed. So hooray for that! Alright, I'll break off now. Should be one last post now that I'm done with Day for Night and Houston and all that (unless I left something out, which I most likely did).
After that it's outside to the green stage for the end of Lightning Bolt's set (that was the hardest choice of the festival, but I definitely made the right choice, knowing Lightning Bolt is supposed to really shine live and liking them as I do, they are kinda one-note and that helped my decision). But yeah, I was to catch the last ten minutes of their set but I think they played longer and I got closer to twenty minutes. They were good while I saw them. Nice and noisy and energetic. Then they're done and a message comes on that Blonde Redhead's flight was cancelled due to weather and they weren't playing. I was pretty bummed. I wasn't sure if they'd be good or not, but I really wanted the chance to find out. There was a little overlap with Kamasi Washington so that at least resolved that (if Blonde Redhead was really good I'd stay to the end and if they were less than so I'd move out to catch all of Kamasi's set). I was able to get the red stage much earlier so I got a pretty good spot for Kamasi Washington. It was good. They got a late start. Here's where I'm battling the cold, but my scarf played a big part in carrying me through. I especially enjoyed the Moog solo, but it was all good. Lots of solos throughout the musicians. Then I was in position to get an even better spot for Squarepusher on the same stage. And that was another phenomenal show! I would've expected to like Aphex Twin more, but Squarepusher (live anyway) blew him out of the water. I mean, it was just good anyway. I was really close and center. He had these two huge screens (well, a bunch of screens pushed together) in a wedge behind him combined with the stage's other screens with lots of glitchy graphics, it was some good visuals. He played in his fencing mask. Anyway, yeah good, he was going crazy as fuck too. There was a lot of energy and it was loud and noisy and glitched all the fuck out. That was definitely a high point.
Next I wanted to check out Bjork's dj set. I ran into Josh coming back from it and he said it sucked but I still wanted to check it out. It was good to get back into the warmth of the blue stage. It was really crowded and you couldn't see her (his main complaint), but it sounded really good. She was doing a good bit with the music she was playing. There was a lot of flux with people so even though I was way to the side it didn't take too long to get more centered. And by the end I didn't have any pillars in my way and could kind of see her. Kind of. She had all these trees on stage in front of her, but sometimes I could see her upraised arm and her costume's horns when she was dancing. I really enjoyed it, even the bit of "New York, New York" played on car horns towards the end.
This is where I finally had my break. I'd first thought I might check out the bands on the yellow stage (they'd seemed okay and at least not as terrible as the other stuff at the same time), but I'd learned my lesson from the day before that I needed a break with some downtime (well, it wasn't so much a lesson because I mean there's no way I'd miss anything I saw the day before). So I hit up the food trucks and got a Korean cheesesteak and some kimchi fries. Good but I had to cram it down my face 'cuz I didn't have any drink due to logistics. I also hit up the merch tent again for some of that Bjork stuff 'cuz that was a damn fine set. They were out of the shirts but I picked up the cds they had: Vulnicura and Vulnicura Strings. Then it was inside to get out of the damn cold and check out some of the artwork installations! I'd wanted to but hadn't gotten a chance to beforehand. It was mostly stuff with lights. I'd seen a good bit of what was downstairs but hadn't made my way to the upstairs exhibits. So that was pretty cool, but a little before the last show of the night that kimchi started to hit me! And yeah, the last thing in the world I or anyone else in the world wants to do is to go to the bathroom (and I mean GO to the bathroom) at a festival. Of course I'd urinated many times in the portapotties which, of course, are all fucking disgusting. But I felt it might be a small sliver of luck that I was upstairs in the least crowded part of the whole festival. I found the bathroom there and while it was pretty disgusting, it was a bit less disgusting than the portapotties. I just utilized the toilet paper for a secondary purpose and made sure none of my stuff touched the wet floor and it wasn't the worst public restroom experience. Yay! Poop talk!
I'll move on to other stuff. The other stuff is Arca's set! Back downstairs to the blue stage. This is after midnight (well, it started a little before but went on til a little after one) and all the outside stuff stops at midnight so it's the only thing left going. He did a dj set and, while it was generally clubbier than I tend to go for, it was pretty damn awesome. He was doing a whole lot of manipulation to the stuff he was playing. Oh, and he's queer as fuck. I noticed right away he wasn't wearing a shirt and he'd dance behind his equipment like someone well acquainted with the gay clubs. He also got out from behind his table now and again and danced and interacted with the audience and all. Once he was "playing" "The Rhythm Is Gonna Get You" where it was all the drums chopped up and layered and bursts of the vocals all chopped up where they weren't words anymore (but you could still just barely recognize the song) and at one point he had the mic and sang the "oway oh waoh oway oh oh wah" part. Once he got up on his table so I could see him in all his glory: just wearing boxer briefs and knee high boots (and sometimes this body stocking thing he'd pull up over his chest but usually not). Anyway, I'm not a dancer but the set was really good.
Okay, so I raced through the cold back to the hotel and had a fucking awesome Day for Night experience! We got a late start in the morning and I woke up with legs like rubber after standing for like two days straight, but that didn't last long. We got ready and hit the road out of town (later than planned, but whatever). We stopped a little outside or inside Houston at a Whataburger and that was our eatin's. The drive back was MOSTLY uneventful. I say mostly but for one major event. Just before we hit Forest City, Josh was passing and then this eighteen wheeler decided it would pass too without signaling and right where Josh's van was supposed to be. Luckily he had good reflexes and slammed on the brakes and there was room off the side of the road to turn to and he kept us from getting killed. So hooray for that! Alright, I'll break off now. Should be one last post now that I'm done with Day for Night and Houston and all that (unless I left something out, which I most likely did).
