First time to DEMF and I had a lot of fun. I went with zero expectations and kept an open mind to absorb the atmosphere. I heard a lot of decent sets, but none were mindblowing, and rarely heard a bad set.
Day 1
After check in at the hotel, made it to Main Stage to hear Todd Terje finishing up. Regret not making it earlier because he was playing some fun stuff, and something different. Stayed for a bit of Derrick Carter (ok) moved to Beatport Stage for end of Damian Lazarus (decent). I think I stayed for some of Davide Squillace which honest to God, I can't remember if he was good or not... usually means he's bland, but I'm not a big fan, but was distracted meeting up with lots of TAs.
My favourite set of the festival was Troxler vs Gerber and they brought it big time, though it was not stupendously awesome, but apparently good enough to get me dancing. Good end to Day 1. Too bagged from being up since 530am and driving to attend any of the after parties.
Day 2
Got to festival around 330pm to Beatport stage where Heidi was putting on a surprisingly fun set. Everyone I talked to seemed to think Maya Jane Coles was great, but I thought she was merely ok. Just couldn't get into her set much. Maceo Plex was good as usual, but not spectacular. Enjoyed his set at Footwork more. Caught a bit of Ian Pooley who played stuff that I normally like, but just did not catch my fancy.
Moved to Red Bull Stage for Hot Natured (Jones vs Foss) and it was packed. They were good, though seemed to play a little too abstract middle way through the set, for a festival kind of setting. Ended the night at Main Stage where Loco Dice delivered some serious goods. I was very glad to catch Public Enemy's show. Legends of hip hop and they were fun, even if 75% of the crowd were white. lol
Again, did not hit any afterparties. Durrrrr...
Day 3
Was a bit of struggle to motivate myself to wake up to go to Old Miami, but after seeing some fb posts, managed to get myself there. (Enough pot holes on Detroit roads...) Not sure exactly who I ended up seeing (Benoit & Sergio, Maya Janes Coles, some dude) but the tunes were overall good, though the sun was retardedly hot and humid. I thought Old Miami was fun enough, but not exactly worth the crazy hype. Left just as Maceo Plex was about to get on apparently. Did anyone stay for this?
A shower and a nap later, was back at Beatport stage around 8pm to catch Voorn vs Fanciulli. The set overall was good, though Voorn seemed to carry the set while Fanciulli played overall pretty bland tech. Randomly moved around to catch Stacey Pullen (good) and Steve Bug (decent). Ended the night with a bit of Kevin Saunderson who was really great, and wish I caught more of his set. Was curious to see what Mills hype was about, and I think he's about the only set that I didn't like a lot. Erratic flow as he'd play some proper techno, then throw on some weird diva house tune.
I regret not being able to catch any of Mark Farina, Tale of Us, Droog, Chris Liebing and Danny Daze. Also wished I spent more time at Made in Detroit stage as whenever I passed by and stopped there for a bit, there was a lot of good stuff coming out of that stage.
I did spend a lot of time wandering around Hart Plaza. Saw the technology area, too bad it wasn't in a more prominent place. Tried about 85% of the food vendors and I think I have an addiction to corn dogs. And I swear this Hawaiian pulled pork I had was laced with something as I felt pretty sketchy during Hot Natured set. Washroom situation was a bit disasterous at times, but not unexpected. The security was overall unintrusive and did not bother me.
Overall I thought DEMF was well organized, with clear directions everywhere, nice and helpful booklet with all the infos you need. Amenities were nice, such as cell phone charging station. Beer/water price was decent, and even though I didn't drink during the festival, wish there were more variety than Bud and Becks.
The stage setups were near perfect, and pretty much anywhere you stood, the sound was excellent. No real complaints there. I liked the lineup with more variety, because it looked like past years were more techno centric, while this year had a balance between techno and house. Spent too much time listening to house sets, and wish I spent more time with techno, but maybe next time! Public Enemy was a treat, and something different from everyday EDM.
I will definitely return to DEMF. Hopefully I'll get my party fitness up and I'll hit some of the afterparties for once.
PS: The weather was near perfect!
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quote: | Originally posted by chinamon
not true. i say "ugh"
but i am a tranny. |
quote: | Originally posted by kotsy
lol colour me retarded |
Last edited by Yohan on May-29-2012 at 22:47
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