i woke up today WAYYYYYYYYY before I was supposed to, so i'll contribute from some recent ventures:
Bassnectar - 4/23/11 (Albany, NY) -9/10
Ok. This was a big event for me due to a) no one worthwhile from the EDM worldcoming to Albany in recent memory (except PL in november, and both mimosa and shpongletron [separately, of course] in march but that's a different story), b) he was playing in my favorite local venue: an old war armory, and c) I was bringing my girlfriend. As you'd expect, I was very excited to see him again (as well as EOTO) as I only saw fleeting parts of his Electric Zoo set when I was there. Musically speaking, I really respect what he had done with his mixes and songs (unexpected tempo shifts and impeccable timing). His set was phenomenal in part due to the crowd energy. His bangers were sung by the 4500 of us packed in there, clothing was quickly stripped (never been in a hotter venue), and he knew that he controlled the entire room. One thing that really surprised me was that he actually tended to stray away from "conventional" versions of his original productions (which, imo, you see wayyyy too much of today), resulting in A LOT of live/new remixes (between his own songs), new songs (some of his Divergent Spectrum album/unreleased shenanigans), and semi-sufficient amounts of DnB/drumstep (which surprised the hell out of me). He brought in his own visual equipment (a few light towers, 2 screens, some other cool shtuffs) which complemented the Armory's AMAZING (

) Bose sound system perfectly. THE ONLY THING that i did not like was his stopping his set due to people throwing glowsticks/water/etc and saying that he'd "keep playing if we all promised to not be disco biscuits glowstick throwers." I 100% understand why he did it, but he JUST played some high tempo mix. wait till it slows to say that, lol.
Long story short, his set he played for albany was why I stood in the back during his Bisco set as a means of resting for wolfgang gartner.
Shpongle Live - Camp Bisco (7/8/11) - 11/10 (if at all possible)
I'm going to start by saying I may be biased as I am a massive shpongle fan. In fact, I camped out during the set change before easy star all stars (3 sets before) as a means of being front row for shpongle. While I have never seen Simon with the shpongletron (although he came to albany in march to a small club. i had to work that night

), I was ecstatic for the full live band. I mean come on, Simon, raja ram, michelle (who i think is gorgeous), 3 or 4 in the string section, and Joe Russo playing drums for them (which REALLY caught me off guard). Musically speaking: beautifully flawless....and even had a magical air to it since it was now an organic sound. the set list was great (although a tad predictable), Raja Ram was as raja-ish as ever, and everything was beyond on-point. While there were no shpongletron shenanigans, Shpongle had brought out 5 or 6 towers of lights in addition to the stage lights and had a bunch of circus acts (contortionists, stilts, hula hoops, etc), so they made an attempt (which did work well and I loved, for the record) to go above and beyond....so massive props to them! I also fully believe that Mother Nature is a shpongle fan. during the intro to the first song (which happened to be dmt), an eery thunderstorm began that complimented every major bass hit and tempo change with beautiful lightning above the stage...yet the storm ended minutes after the set. It was BEYOND unreal, as in, I could not give you a single adjective to describe it. The musicianship of the set was unsurpassed the entire weekend by ANY other group...and was easily in the top 2 shows i've ever seen in my life (the other was Metallica's albany stop on the Death Magnetic tour, but that's a whoooooooole other story). I will say that between the family fluff in my head and Shpongle live in my ears, I had a true religious experience.
Harvard Bass - Camp Bisco - 5/10
This was a set I wasn't expecting to catch. As an Audiophile, I wandered quite a bit from my cousin with whom I attended. At one of the tents I saw a gaggle of people on wayyyyyy too much K leave, which was my cue to walk right up to the front row. Turns out that Harvard Bass was coming on next. Admittedly, I am not the biggest fan of hard house/minimalist, but I certainly respect it. I burned a j of some rediculous local Haze I had while he was setting up. he saw me, we locked eyes and he gave me the nod and smile of a fellow stoner. I lol'd, tried to hand him some but he didnt notice me (turned his back to set gear up) so I finished it myself

. That is probably the only reason he got above a 3 in my book, because his set was boring as all hell. If my head is not reminiscent of A Night at the Roxbury during a house set, you're probably not doing it right. his intro was strong/held me really well and built into.....nothing. just mediocre minimalist for the most part. Although he did do something right since his fans in the tent were going nutty as hell, but it just wasn't my groove so I left about 20 minutes into it. but hey, if you like him, more power to you.
Nero - Camp Bisco - 10/10
This set is the reason why Nero is now my number 1 dj(s). Sadly, only one half of them attended (I believe the other got shafted on something at the airport in the UK, but idunno), but boy did it not seem like it mattered. I caught the end of Treasure Fingers before Nero to get a good spot, but the tent only got more and more PACKED. In fact, it's why the crowd at DFA on the main stage was a third the size it should have been. There is literally nothing I can say negatively about his set EXCEPT maybe more DnB was needed, but the high tempo dub + what he did throw in was absolutely awesome. He even had KhalifaDub as a hype man (he was Borgore's hype man 2 days prior). The crowd fueled his set, not vice versa. My section (front row to the right) started alot of the on-tempo clapping (and singing of Crush on You, lol), which turned into a few thousand really fucked up fans attempting to clap on tempo. The crowd ate everything up. He did alot of live improv mixes, live remixes of his own songs, and impromptu setlist changes...and showed that Nero is a massive force to be reckoned with. I still dont think they get the credit they deserved. I've watched the full set on youtube multiple times, and all it does is cause an intense emotional reaction within me. I believe it's for me to return and be a part something as beautiful and euphoric as the communal energy, mindset, and overall vibe that the both the crowd and Nero and the crowd amongst it's self shared, but who knows. I truly respect their production AND dj'ing ability, and I hold them in the upper tier of EDM. Mark my words: Nero is going to prove to be very influential in the popularity (and growth, for that matter) of EDM. Also, I met some of the coolest people (that sadly I lost. the guy had some Alex Grey's, but they were VIP so I lost them when they went front frow for Bassnectar. im still REALLY sad about that) and had the time of my life during that set. Never had more fun at ANY show I have EVER been to (or possibly anywhere else), which is really saddening for me to reflect on. Fuck it, though. Just means I have to buy tix next time they're around NY (except identity fest. fuck paying 100 for 1 day, especially when they were first 40something a piece.)
there are alot more shows that I want to write about, but oh well. that's what later is for