Moogfest Day Two - A Condensed Recap pt. 2
After spending a bit of downtime, I walked over to the Carolina Theater where I caught the performance of London based electronic DJ, Rival Consoles. Displaying more of a straightforward IDM style, the music felt very similar to fellow UK electronic musician Clark. Although I’d consider myself a pretty big fan of Clark, I really wasn’t wowed by the performance. So, after staying for a few songs I decided to head on over to the Pinhook music club which was a couple blocks away.
Around 7:45 p.m. I made it over to Pinhook (a small, intimate bar / music venue) where I caught the performance of local hip hop producer / rapper known as “Trandle”. His hip hop music performance featured a bare bones set-up composed of a sampler and a small mixer, which he used for mixing and triggering loops and drum sequences. Despite its simplicity, the minimalist set-up only served to highlight Trandle’s skill as a music producer. I found Trandle’s performance reminiscent of that of Well$ (another performer at this year’s Moogfest). Another aspect which really drew me in were the live visuals, which were composed of clips from various VHS tapes ranging from subjects such as old 90’s video games and commercials. With Trandle’s quality drum beats and easy going vibe, I thought this was one of the better performances of the Festival.
The next performance I caught was from Portland based drone composer/sound installation artist “Grouper” (aka. Liz Harris) at the Carolina Theater. After having stood for most of Trandle’s performance, it was a much needed relief to get off my feet and enjoy the performance. Grouper’s sedate set was composed of her trademark ethereal vocals, mellow guitar tone, and frequent synthesizer loops. Another aspect that greatly enhanced the performance was the visual ambience, namely the use of low-level stage lighting and fog machines. Further adding to the low key performance, Liz sat on the stage Indian style playing her guitar for a majority of the set. It was a very intimate and hypnotic performance which I thoroughly enjoyed.
Following Grouper’s performance, I stayed around at the Carolina Theater so that I could catch the festival’s featured artist-in-residence, synth/pop superstar Gary Numan. If the name isn’t familiar to you, Numan is best remembered for his 80’s new wave hit “Cars.” However, in the many years since then, Numan has undergone a Gothic Rock phase that has seen him adopt many of the genre’s visual aesthetics, grimly music stylings that have pushed his recent albums closer towards the Darkwave genre. Such music can be heard on Numan’s latest album called “Splinter”. Numan has a large touring band which performed songs from a different album for each night. On the first night they performed songs from Numan’s album, “Replicants”. The night that I saw him, the band performed songs from his most famous album, “Pleasure Principle.” For this performance, Numan artfully combined the heavy edge of his latest material with the classic retro vibe of his earlier albums. This was accompanied by crunchy, distorted guitars and a series of intense stage lighting. The standing room only audience was very receptive to Numan’s performance. Having seen Numan perform for the first time, I was actually blown away and surprised at how well his music has held up over time. Considering I wasn’t able to catch their very first performance of the festival, I was very satisfied to catch them at least once during the fest.
For the last performance of the night, I headed over to The Armory to catch Detroit based DJ, Robert Hood. Robert Hood is fairly well known for his lasting brand of Detroit Techno and Minimal Techno music. Hood’s performance was heavily comprised of assembly line four-on-the-floor beats and repetitive electronic samples, which were dished out through his small assortment of mixers and sequencers. His DJ set was also accompanied by amazing visuals which were projected on a screen behind him. These visuals had greatly enhanced the performance and were provided by the same Moogfest staff who managed the live visuals for UV Boi’s earlier performance. Amazingly, Hood’s performance had the feel of an actual underground club performance and the audience seemed to enjoy the experience.











