2015 - Electric Zoo - New York

[Bosco]

WTF East Coasters. 2.5 weeks till the concert and not a peep. Wake up!

http://electriczoofestival.com/

[MadPooter]

Uggh.

If only I had an infinite supply of... what's that stuff... you know, money.

[inchemwetrust]

I could print some for you. Wait a minute...im outta ink! Sorry!

And not a single contest for flight and tickets to this show.

[rynostar]

So anyone actually going...that is either than me. I just bought my Friday ticket....wait...I just bought my ticket. I will get to see a chems gig for the first time in 10 years....

[inchemwetrust]

Woohoo Ryno is on board! Congrats! 

All I can say is prepare yourself!  You waited long enough man!

[Champiness]

Alright so now seems like as good a time as any to let you guys know that I'm attending - that I am, in fact in the park right now, sitting on a tree stump for the express purpose of sending this message! All my complaints about three-day passes were erased, not just literally by the forum sweep, but also figuratively in that single-day tickets eventually went up. The days went by and I still couldn't work up the nerve to write up my track-by-track response to Born In The Echoes, or in fact anything, but here I am on the verge of seeing it brought to life on the mainstage before me! That spot is currently occupied by Pierce Fulton, who should have been done 20 minutes ago but is sill at it playing Capital Cities mashups.  I don't mind - the park is a lovely place and the attendees are so peaceful. Randall's Island is strewn with festivalgoers in their best 90's raver cosplays, peppered with a few more ambitious getups like a deadmau5 helmet or full unicorn makeup. Amongst them I'm the preppy kid who runs the smart side of the business and builds mechanical hands for the performers who've lost theirs and rambles on in indecipherable terms about how great the music is. I keep running into the same people. A group of (comparatively) modest raver bros and girls in front of me in line broke into impromptu dance when they noticed I was filming the scenery. Other people do the same just traveling from venue to venue, skipping and cartwheeling along. Somewhere out there, presumably, is Rynostar. He might be walking past me this very moment (the stump is by the Sunday School stage, FYI)! The main act probably isn't anywhere near the venue yet - though I wish them well in their hotel rooms or VIP areas. A pleasantly overcast sky has just broken into equally pleasant sun, which will hopefully break into a pleasant night. The dubstep acts are cordoned off into their own tent where everyone else will be safe. All is well.

[WhiteNoise]

Electric Zoo: The Poetic Return of Champiness

[Csar]

You freaking rave it out of the park, will ya! Have the time of you live there!

[inchemwetrust]

The champ is back! Get ready to be reeled tonight!

[KNE]

That stage didn't look too friendly. 

[Apostle]

So many of the kids at E-Zoo were born after 95, no shot they were all going to stick around to see the Chems when people like Madeon were playing elsewhere. That was great for me and my group so we moved out of the vip coral pen and right to the middle of the floor. I saw a dude wearing a Chems shirt, I gave him a knowing thumbs up, and he said "only reason I'm here". Bingo!

There was a ton of smoke from smoke machines that created an awesome laser ceiling effect during the set. Too bad the main stage had these ridiculous "owl feather light racks" or whatever blocking part of the screen. But the sound was pretty good for being outdoors, you were able to feel the bass in your nostrils.

All the new BITE tracks were incredible live. EM Ritual and GO are as good as they are on the record, but as with anything, better coming out a great system. SIFSD makes WAY more sense in a live or club atmosphere. I'll See You There might have taken the place of Believe as being the top track that scares people who aren't ready for what's coming.

Big bonus for me: first time I went to a Chems show with my new fiance AND the first time she heard any of their tracks. She loved it; I'm making a good decision.

[Ben_j]

The show was broadcasted on Beatport's Twitch, but I only found out now. Anyone recorded it ?

[inchemwetrust]

I was given a link for that, but  it showed other artists. One viewer said that they showed the chems on the last 5 minutes of the broadcast. Unless the chems show was blocked from the broadcast but was still filmed.

@apostle
Congrats on the first show with your loved one. Not bad for first chem concert impressions!

[rynostar]

CHAMP WAS THERE?!?! I probably did walk past you quite a few times. Met up with Gian at one point in Sunday School.

Agreed on the kids. Agreed on the main stage lighting.

I didn't get there till after 5. I mostly did the wander, have a dance to a few tracks, find food, find fluid, and chilled while waiting for the Tom & Adam. I was surprised by the Sunday School tent playing the mostly Proggy Techno. I quite enjoyed the Alan Fitzpatrick and Martinez Brothers sets. The other set I wanted to see was Cashmere Cat. I was intrigued was his set was going to be like considering his track sound more organic and are not on the heavy dance side like many of the dubsteppers he was in between. I truthfully just sat back and  enjoyed my soba during the set.

Main event. Right side. About 10 to the front originally. Closer as the set went on and the 'kids' couldn't be bothered. The sound in an outdoor setting was impressive. Go has quickly become one of my favourites off BITE and the live version has solidified that for me. Some of the live recordings don't justice to the acid synth squeals as it progresses. I had the same thought about as Apostle on I'll See You There in terms scaring the kids. It was probably the one track that I lost my self the most to the psychedelic synth lines. Realizing that I haven't seen T&E(&A now) since Oakland '05, it was interesting for me to finally see all the tracks since WATN live. I've watched the countless videos since then. However, it really does make a difference seeing them live and to experiences it yourself. Swoon was particularly nostalgic for me as I thought back to when we first were trying to figure out what the track was from the fabric gig. TSU was one track that made me really smile having not heard it in a live setting before. There was a big latino guy beside me that belted a huge scream as the flute line started. I was really happy to see his reaction knowing that there are a few non-forumers who still know the classics and get excited for them. It was great to see some of the kids with big smiles across there faces as they danced to something that had little to do with the rest of the dubstep that is mainstream.

I left after praising/thanking Tom & Adam and taking a few shots of the robots. I wondered if Eroll was somewhere in the wings. I tried to get out of there before the 'transformation'. As I walked across the bridge back to Manhattan I could feel the glint in my eye and the grin on my face as I thought back to all the memories of past gigs, past meetings with forum members, the online first listens, the random theories (I still claim first acknowledging the etchings!). The rest of the night ended up with me and my mate drinking till 5am at craft beer bars in Washington Heights.

Overall, this was a much needed pilgrimage for me. It restored my faith and my spirit

[Bosco]

fuck yeah!


Now all we need is BoldCaptain to sweep in and steal the show.

[whirlygirl]

Welcome back Champi (and Apostle!). And Ryno - the review. These reviews and glimpses into the experiences from this show is an absolute rush.  Happy tears.

[Ben_j]

looks like they had an extra set of lasers at Electric Zoo ? I saw a few videos where there appears to be at least 4 more lasers than what they usually have

[KNE]

they had no overhead laser, and no disco ball for BRB.

[Csar]

Urgh, they really had to make compromises, didn't they? The lights set up is fairly blocking a whole lot of the screen.

Those lasers!

On the other hand, could this be have been the the only occasion so far where you could get that close to the robots?

[Enjoyed]

There's a surprising amount of space in that crowd. You get a serious uninhibited dance on in there.