Well I had the fortune of seeing the final show of the Area:One festival last Sunday in L.A. It was held at the Glen Helen Blockbuster Pavillion. As expected, this was a major corporate-sponsored event with Intel, Ford, and Trojan promotions everywhere. Having said that, the festival itself was very well organized and didn't have the overcrowding problem that was experienced at the docks.
After coming back from a weekend in Vegas, I wasn't in the mood for hard partying at Area:One. Instead, I was content walking around and laying on the grass, listening to sets of the various musical artists I wanted to hear.
They had 3 stages set up - the main Area stage, the Ford Focus tent, and the hip-hop stage.
Well when I first walked in, the Roots were on the main stage. Having never heard them before, I thought they were really good. The crowd seemed really into them.
I then decided to wander over to the Focus tent, where Timo Maas was spinning. Having seen him spin before, I knew what to expect (so-so mixing, great tunes) and that's exactly what I got.
Next up - New Order! I have been a New Order fan since I can remember, so there was no way I was going to miss them on the main stage. They played lots of great classics with a wicked rendition of Bizarre Love Triangle.
I stayed for most of their set, but I wanted to hear a bit of the Orb, so back to the Focus tent - caught the last ten minutes of their set. They were playing some cool, psychedelic tracks.
Now back to the main stage for Outkast. I was expecting a lot from them, from all I have heard, so to be honest I was slightly disappointed. They were great on stage, very lively and into their set, but I guess that I'm not really a big fan of their music, so I couldn't get into it.
Soooo, back to the Focus tent for Oakenfold. Oakenfold was playing his signature, cheezy, big tune tracks. But to be quite honest, he had the crowd going wild! And the most surprising thing - he was really into his set, jumping up and down behind the decks, raising his hands into the air, encouraging crowd. He even threw down some breaks tracks. Everywhere I looked, there were big, happy smiles on everyone's faces.
Finally, back to the main stage for the one himself: MOBY. Moby showed why he is one of the most versatile artists of our time. He played/sang tracks from his vast collection. The highlight of his set was when New Order came out and played a song with him. Moby had cited New Order and Joy Division as his two most important musical influences.
Overall, it was a perfect way to spend a gorgeous, Sunday afternoon/evening in Southern California. The crowd there was extremely friendly. As you can tell from my review, it was very easy to flow between the main stage and the Focus tent - no problems like the one in Toronto. Pictures are forthcoming.
After coming back from a weekend in Vegas, I wasn't in the mood for hard partying at Area:One. Instead, I was content walking around and laying on the grass, listening to sets of the various musical artists I wanted to hear.
They had 3 stages set up - the main Area stage, the Ford Focus tent, and the hip-hop stage.
Well when I first walked in, the Roots were on the main stage. Having never heard them before, I thought they were really good. The crowd seemed really into them.
I then decided to wander over to the Focus tent, where Timo Maas was spinning. Having seen him spin before, I knew what to expect (so-so mixing, great tunes) and that's exactly what I got.
Next up - New Order! I have been a New Order fan since I can remember, so there was no way I was going to miss them on the main stage. They played lots of great classics with a wicked rendition of Bizarre Love Triangle.
I stayed for most of their set, but I wanted to hear a bit of the Orb, so back to the Focus tent - caught the last ten minutes of their set. They were playing some cool, psychedelic tracks.
Now back to the main stage for Outkast. I was expecting a lot from them, from all I have heard, so to be honest I was slightly disappointed. They were great on stage, very lively and into their set, but I guess that I'm not really a big fan of their music, so I couldn't get into it.
Soooo, back to the Focus tent for Oakenfold. Oakenfold was playing his signature, cheezy, big tune tracks. But to be quite honest, he had the crowd going wild! And the most surprising thing - he was really into his set, jumping up and down behind the decks, raising his hands into the air, encouraging crowd. He even threw down some breaks tracks. Everywhere I looked, there were big, happy smiles on everyone's faces.
Finally, back to the main stage for the one himself: MOBY. Moby showed why he is one of the most versatile artists of our time. He played/sang tracks from his vast collection. The highlight of his set was when New Order came out and played a song with him. Moby had cited New Order and Joy Division as his two most important musical influences.
Overall, it was a perfect way to spend a gorgeous, Sunday afternoon/evening in Southern California. The crowd there was extremely friendly. As you can tell from my review, it was very easy to flow between the main stage and the Focus tent - no problems like the one in Toronto. Pictures are forthcoming.
