VHS OR BETA in Review

Last Monday Craig Pfunder and VHS OR BETA stormed through Atlanta with their spin on dance rock. They categorize their sound as elements of Rock, French House, and Dance-Punk. They played a little from each album. Sounds corney but they really are a mix of the three said adjectives.

I really liked the start of their set. It started with an ominous loop as they took the stage. Once they got going they rocked out to an extended instrumental. It was nice way to break the ice and introduce the bands sound. I believe that song is off thier first album Le Funk.

If you haven’t heard anything off that album, I found a great interview with them in Bogota, Columbia. It talks about their though process as a band in forming their sound. Check it out if you have time.



They immediately went into some new stuff off the new album, Bring on the comets. Here is a video of them playing "Burn it all down."



My favorite moment of the night was when they played “You Got Me”. My friend Zero was down in Virginia Highlands (section of Atlanta) a few years ago. The bar he was at was having a Hot Chip release party for their new album at the time. They were giving away astralwerks promotion cds. The first song on it was “You Got Me”. Although I had never bought any of their music, I always remembered that song.

When I heard that VHS OR BETA was coming through town I had to check them out. It had been years since hearing them but that song kept running though my head. They did not disappoint. They were fun and carefree even though The Earl was throwing every curve ball they could from faulty ear-pieces to malfunctioning monitors. Here is them playing my favorite track from them, “You Got Me”



If you would like to see all the song preformed at:

www.youtube.com/20ATL07

Who's got the biggest party in Atlanta?

There was a stir in my google group this week. Digitalism this and digitalism that. “It’s going to be the best show.” I tried to stay away. Payday is two long weeks ago. Rent is due next week. I need to stay away.

So last night I get a phone call from my friend Jorge. “Are you sure you aren’t going? Did you at least look at the Youtube links I sent you?” I had not. I need to stay away but curiosity got the best of me. I clicked on the link…



I know this band... I know this song... I LOVE THIS SONG!!!... I called Jorge back , “Come pick me up, I am going.”

This was my first Kissatlanta event. It was also my first trip to the Masquerade. We were early, very early. There were a dozen people in various corners with Death Metal blasting through the speakers. It literally felt like we in the rooms namesake, hell. As we sat in this strange atmosphere, I told Jorge, "It can only get better from here." Two hours later GunsNBombs was finishing a spirited garage/punk/trance inspired set. Then Digitalism took the stage for one of my favorite performances in the past year.

They walked up on two tables worth of equipment: Two microphones, electronic drum machine, a few labtops, several processors, several turntables and keyboards. There was a ton of music coming from this duo (Jens "Jence" Moelle and İsmail "Isi" Tüfekçi) from Germany. Everything was spot on from the soundboard, to the synced projected images, to the wonderfully mixed set. For over an hour they banged out track after track. By the time they finished with Pogo, the crowd was literally chanting for more. Here is digitalsim ending their set, live in Atlanta, enjoy:



Oh, and by the way, Digitalism has got the biggest party in Atlanta. I'll never get tired of them singing that in "Home Zone." Here is a 10 minute mix that starts with "Idealistic and mixes into Home Zone" You can see it here:

Simian Mobile Disco in review

So March 19th has come and gone. The hang over and sleep deprivation is no longer effecting my motivation. The fog has cleared and these are the results:

I will be back for the “Unofficial Wednesday Night Hipster Dance Party” at MJQ. The resident DJ was playing some really great tracks as we were walking through the door from Justice, to Daft Punk,to Hot Chip, to MIA. From the time we arrived at 11pm, the place was starting to fill up. By the time the opening DJ Le Castle Vania started, the concourse was packed.

The vibe was good at MJQ. There was a nice diversity of people even though there were many Hipsters and overall the mood was rawkus. People started going nuts with Le Castle Vania interesting mix of “disco punk”. Then he played Snowden’s “Black Eyes” remix and the place went wild. I was saving my video for Simian Mobile Disco but I couldn’t resist. The only other time I heard this song was after Snowden played at Lenny’s Saturday Night Dance Party and I was blown away. If anyone knows where I can get my hand on this remix, I would love some info. Here is that moment:



We had to wait until 1am for Simian Mobile Disco. By that time, it was difficult to move in the underground sea of people. The great thing about the show is that most of the people there A) were there to see the group B) knew and recognized all the songs. Through out the set their was sporadic jumping and screaming all around us. It reminded me of a rock concert. It was vibe that I was not used to for a dj set. Here is a 10 minute clip of the start of their show. I’ll be back for the end in a day or so keep tuned.