Social The Live Show Review Thread

Some statistics:

I am supposed to be studying the quantitative section of the GMAT right now, but I feeling pretty lethargic as I dropped yesterday, so I decided to combine BL and studying quantitative analysis, I present to you: The LSR Statistical Report! :)

Total Reviews
230

Most Reviewed Artists
1. Bassnectar (10)
2. Pretty Lights (7)
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3. Boys Noize (5)
3. Deadmau5 (5)
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4. A-Trak (4)
4. Rusko (4)

Highest Rated Artists
NOTE: I am only including artists that have been reviewed 3 or more times. The final rating is an average of all the ratings. The total number of reviews is listed in the brackets.
1. EOTO 10/10 (3)
2. Pretty Lights 9.92/10 (7)
3. Bassnectar 9.75/10 (10)
4. Boys Noize 9/10 (5)
5. Infected Mushroom 8.83/10 (3)
6. A-Trak 8.5/10 (4)
7. Feed Me 7.83/10 (3)
8. MiM0SA 7.66/10 (3)
9. Disco Biscuits 7.5/10 (3)
10. MSTRKRFT 7.26/10

Top Review Locations
Note: I only included reviews that explicitly stated the location of the event. This statistic turned out to be not very informative, but whatever.
1. USA - 65 reviews
2. Ukraine - 15 reviews (all courtesy of yours truly :))
3. Holland - 5 reviews
4. UK - 4 reviews

Reviews by Year
Note: I only included reviews where the authors explicitly mentioned a date/year. Results might be off by 1 or 2 points.
2008: 1
2009: 9
2010: 38
2011: 42

Stats calculated on September 18th. Last post logged is 200.

Okay, back to real studying! :)
 
That's a really nice little factsheet. I imiagine it might help to choose who to see when $ is tight.
 
Eventually this post will be updated with Rusko (2), MSTRKRFT, 12th Planet, DJ Shadow (2), Steve Aoki (3), and more. But I am lazy. :p
 
Thanks for the facts, levictus.

Zedd @ the mid

This is now my second time seeing Zedd and think time he played a bit longer. His track selection is spot on... just amazing. He was playing daft punk, wolfgang gartner, and some porter robinson remixes. He has a lot of energy up there too. It was very similar to the last show I saw at the double door, except for the length. I definitely enjoyed this show the same if not a bit more.
9.5/10
 
Shpongle (DJ Set) @ Abbey Pub, Chicago, IL 2008

This is probably one of my favorite shows of all time. I am a pretty big Shpongle fan, so I was really excited about this show, even though this was a Simon Posfrod DJ set and not the full live band. The venue wasn't anything special, but it did have a nice cozy atmosphere and there weren't too many people. The other two times I saw Shpongle, the event took place in pretty big concert halls and I felt that a smaller venue (or an open air festival) is much more suited for listening to Shpongle. I'd say there were about 150-200 people in the whole venue. Not too much in the way of fixtures and lights, unfortunately. As far I remember, Posford began his set with the dance remix of Divine Moments of Truth - this made the crowd go wild. I had taken some LSD about 2-3 hours before Posford came on stage and the MDMA was just beginning to kick in as he was starting to play (It was my first and only candy flip), and this being my favorite artists - I was on cloud 9. :) Posford played a mix of his old tracks and some new tracks (at that time) that would be released on their 4th album "Ineffable Mysteries from Shpongleland". I remember being really impressed by the new unreleased tracks. Every single track was overloaded with psychedelia, for some of the ambient tracks, Posford made custom dance mixes to keep the crowd moving. Posford didn't play too many tracks from his first album, but that's understandable as tracks from "Are You Shpongled?" tend to be more ambient. Overall, the music was top notch, the tracks flowed together as a whole and the aura in the venue was oozing with psychedelia. The only thing that I didn't like about the show was that it was too short, at the very least they could have had someone perform after Simon. When Posford finished playing, you could see that the crowd wanted more music and that everyone was still really into the performance. Another note about the crowd, it was full of laid-back people druggies who understood the music. There were a lot of people on various substances, but everyone was having a good time, dancing and enjoying the power of Shpongle. :)

10/10
 
Sounds awesome. I may be going to the Abbey for the first time here in a few weeks to see papadosio and the coop.
 
Bump! Looking forward to some more reviews! I'll post a review of Shpongle Live in Moscow (2009) a little later. As you guys might have noticed, I am pretty good at remembering my Shpongle shows. :)
 
Should be seeing cut chemist tomorrow, dirty south saturday, and tonight I'll be at NitGrit!!! Seriously keep em coming!
 
Pretty Lights @ NIU Dekalb, IL October 6, 2011

It was an alright show. He played w/out a drummer. The performance wasn't bad but wasn't stellar either. It took some time adjusting to the very young crowd (show was @ a college campus. I don't know what else I expected, professors? lol). A too-low dose of 2cb also worked against me. All in all, I'm probably biased by those other circumstances but anyway...

PL played mostly songs from the two newest EP's + some older classics off the first 3. Standout moments were Sunday School, a mean dubstep workout about 3/4 through the set, and an encore w/ Chicago Bulls Theme --> Turn On The Lights Remix --> Finally Moving. Weak spots were a 4x4 electro house-type workout mixed into and out of sloppily and a brief flirtation with DnB. I also expected a bit more mixing skill. Every time he goes from one song to the next he'd do the same thing; kill the highs an send the active scene to a delay w/ long feedback --> a soft melodic intro into the next track --> build n drop.

I do have to say though, the builds and drops were pretty massive. The lights were ON POINT and made the show about 70% better than they would have been w/out. The sound was also stellar. Now that I've seen PL once, I don't feel the need to see him again.

6.5/10
 
skream and benga @ the mid
Skream and benga are my two favorite dubstep producers by far, and this was a great show. BUT, way too much skrillex and skrillex-like music at this show! Where was the skreamizm and outside the box! shit??? They had Sgt Pokes on the mic which was cool, and he even played This isn't house by Dream when I asked him too. Skream and benga seem like cool dudes, but I don't really understand why they felt the need to play all of that brostep stuff. they're really better than that.
8/10

LaidBack Luke
This was my second time seeing him and I was definitely more impressed the first time. This show was also with MSTRKRFT and wolfgang gartner. Laidback began the show at about 10 o clock and was definitely the weakest of the three. I enjoyed his set, but it was just nothing special. Especially when the other two followed. I was smoking cigarettes towards the end instead of watching his set, which is never a good sign.
7/10

MSTRKRFT
I really enjoyed this set! It was my first time seeing them as I missed out buying tickets the last time they were in Chicago. Energetic set, played a bunch of familiar tracks and had the crowd going crazy.
9/10

Wolfgang Gartner
Definitely the best set of the night. Played all the right tunes, and had the place going nuts. This was my second time seeing him and it was even better than the first time at North Coast. I love wolfgang's tracks and seeing him play them live was amazing.
9.5/10

Amon Tobin
I don't care for the music, but that really wasn't the reason that I was there. Just an amazing display of new technology that is definitely going to pave the way for years to come. I don't have much to say besides just see it for yourself if you have the chance. I also did not take any chemicals.
10/10

Dash Berlin
As I've said before I really don't dig trance. This was a really good set though. High energy, beautiful trance music that had me going the entire time. He played a three hour set as well! Other trance artists that I've seen play long sets like that just seem to be dragged out and boring the entire time, but this was a lot of fun.
8.5/10

This weekend it will be BT on Friday, dada life, skrillex, dillon francis, and arty saturday.
 
Just got home after a crazy night. ended up seeing Mord Fustang and Miles Dyson last night

Mord Fustang - 11/22/11 Saratoga, NY - 8

I honestly loved his set. a few of my friends were opening up for him and i was able to see him for free. His set was spot on, playing a lot of new and unreleased stuff beautifully with his current stuff. the guy deffinately has talent, the only real issue i had was that about 45 minutes into his set his controller crapped out and he had to end his set early. not his fault, but still sucks. I would EASILY see him again.

Miles Dyson I would love to comment on, but i was getting HAMMERED and all sorts of twisted during this set so I didn't see enough of it to give it a proper rating. but everyone inside sounded like they LOVED him.
 
In the past few months I have seen:

Deadmau5, Excision, Zedd - Palladium Ballroom, Dallas, 10/10
Great show. Each artist brought the energy. It seemed as if everybody there was dancing all night long. It was also the 2nd night of a Deadmau5 back to back.

Downlink - Lizard Lounge, Dallas, 10/10
Wow. Downlink threw down. The place was insane. First time rolling, and I'll never forget this night.

Cold Blank - Lizard Lounge, Dallas, 10/10
It was their first time in Dallas and it was amazing. They are now my favorite producer because of this show. They played the PERFECT set imo. I didn't stop dancing once, not even for water...

Zeds Dead, Bass Science - Trees, Dallas, 10/10
Didn't dig Bass Science too much but when Zeds Dead got on stage, the crowd went wild. Every single person in the venue was having a great time and Zeds Dead put on a hell of a show. I didn't even know what to expect. It ended way too early though...

Upcoming events:
Mord Fustang - Lizard Lounge, Dallas
Lights All Night - Dallas Convention Center, Dallas (check the line-up if you haven't ;))
 
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Please add descriptions of the shows you attended

Chuckie Black Wednesday at the MID
This show was straight nuts. Chuckie was high energy the entire time playing a bunch of classics. Really glad to hear him throw Otherside by RHCP in the mix. I saw him at Lolla and I think I gave him not so good of a rating... it really wasn't a good show. Last night was completely different. I don't know if it was because it was in a small club or what but this show was awesome. Will definitely be seeing him again.
9/10

Dillon Francis at the MID
Another sick show from Dillon. He had much more energy than I last saw him which was cool. The crowd had NO idea what moombahton was and was really feeling it. Apparently he was cancelled before the show due to some traveling dilemma, but was added on last minute.... thank god. Moombah'd the fuck out of this club.
8/10

Felix Da Housecat
Honestly I was really excited to see Felix... I don't think I've seen him before. I was really let down. He played a buncha old school house tunes, which was cool, but was just overall boring. I spent the majority of the time smoking squares outside because I was just bored lol. I don't know. Kinda lame.
5/10

Skrillex and 12th Planet at the MID
Look I don't like Skrillex. But this show was fucking awesome. I waited in a nearly two hour line outside the club to see this show. I knew Skrillex would be there (it was a "surprise") and thought nobody else knew. When I arrived the line was wrapped around the block lol. 100% worth it. An hour and a half of pure insanity. Skrillex and 12th planet played a tag team set. I had so much fun at this show, and Skrillex even got on the mic and acknowledged that he is annoying when he just talks on the microphone the whole time. He crowd surfed too, although I didn't see it. These two were playing all the right tracks, brostep and dubstep combined. I don't mind a little "brostep" thrown into the mix, but when the whole set sounds like animals being murdered it gets annoying.
Sorry, but I have to do it... 10/10.

Skrillex (Skrillex Cell live at the Congress Theatre)
This show was, in my opinion not as good. It was a lot of fun and some awesome technology, but I don't take drugs at these shows.... so seeing a bunch of cool lights is cool, but not a make or break like it is to the kid rolling on a few pills. I thought that the whole robot behind him with the sensors on his body was really cool, don't get me wrong, but I'd rather see a good performance than a bunch of lights. I left this show a bit early to beat the crowds, and I usually never do that unless I am getting bored. I give this a high rating BECAUSE of the special effects, though... as you really can't say they aren't amazing.
7.5/10

Dillon Francis (again) at the Congress
This show wasn't as good. Honestly I don't even feel like getting into it. It was just kind of boring, so it leads me to believe that Dillon is hit or miss. This was one day after I saw him at the MID.
7/10

Dada Life at the Congress
Such a sick show! I love these two fools man. Just straight partying up there, throwing blow up champagne bottles and bananas at people. They dropped all the good ones - Red Meat White Noise, Cookies with a Smile, and the new banger Happy Violence. If you guys don't know them, get familiar.
9/10

NitGrit
This show was wicked. I took some strange research chem at this show, which I regretted greatly, but besides that it was a good time. NitGrit is intense, man. He seems to have his own style of bass music almost. I got to meet him and he got me in free which was also really cool. He is also like 7 feet tall and all muscle... kinda crazy. Anyways, yea this show was really fun and I would have to give it an
8/10

BlackMoth SuperRainbow at the Metro
Really cool show! It features one of the members of Tobacco, I believe. It was a guy with I believe a dj setup and then a drummer. Super awesome shit. Played for about an hour and a half. It was a really good crowd of people. Obviously being a smaller group you didn't get people who didn't know what was going on, and I really like a good crowd who is into the music. I would love to catch them again, or at least Tobacco. I'll be returning to the Met on Monday to see Digitalism. If anyone has seem Digitalism let me know how it went! Also Caspa on the 17th of December.
8/10
 
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Topmid said:
In the past few months I have seen:

Deadmau5, Excision, Zedd - Palladium Ballroom, Dallas, 10/10
Downlink - Lizard Lounge, Dallas, 10/10
Cold Blank - Lizard Lounge, Dallas, 10/10
Zeds Dead, Bass Science - Trees, Dallas, 10/10

Upcoming events:
Mord Fustang - Lizard Lounge, Dallas
Lights All Night - Dallas Convention Center, Dallas (check the line-up if you haven't ;))
Click to expand...

Please add some comments. Even a few sentences should be all right.

Everything is updated. I really need to go some good shows. It's too bad that we don't get too many big artists in Kiev.
 
levictus said:
Please add some comments. Even a few sentences should be all right.

Everything is updated. I really need to go some good shows. It's too bad that we don't get too many big artists in Kiev.
Click to expand...
i added some comments. sorry, i'm just not good at giving reviews...
 
Topmid said:
i added some comments. sorry, i'm just not good at giving reviews...
Click to expand...

No worries man! Just a friendly comment. :) If you have any questions or comments feel free to contact me or post in the EMD social thread. We're a pretty friendly community. Enjoy!
 
Nicolas Jaar @ SmartBar

Nicolas Jaar @ SmartBar, Chicago, 11-25-2011
I really like Nico Jaar's productions. It has what I call "delicate impact" like the floating bag in American Beauty or a red, French balloon. Each sound and sample is perfectly chosen, edited, and placed for maximum impact without gratuitous womp, wub, squeal, screech, or squelch. Instead, every composition is beautiful in its precise perfection. It's perfect chill out/headphone music.

Unfortunately, Jaar did not successfully bring the headphone vibe to life in the club environment. The set, although full of beautiful tunes, was arranged in a way that killed any momentum. I really do not know what he was thinking. He'd intro a track w/out bass or sub bass and then drop them in for maximum impact after like a minute or two per track (which was great). Then, literally after only 8 or 16 bars, kill the subs and bass again (which was rotten). It was the DJ's equivalent to pulling the emergency brake on the dancefloor, and he did it repeatedly throughout the night. In fact, most of the set was thumpless and lacked dynamics. There were no builds or real climaxes.

His other mistake was his tempo choices. He only played for two hours and pretty much only his tracks so he did not have time nor material to take the audience for a "journey". After all, the lack of bass had us standing still instead of moving anywhere in the first place. He stalled the crowd even further by taking tracks down to an undanceably slow tempo right as they got moving. So ultimately a crowd wanting to dance was made to wait by a DJ played without bass (by choice) on a Funktion 1 system at lethargic BPM's but only after teasing that crowd with 8-16 bars/song of danceworthy material.

2/10
 
That's sucks about the Nicolas Jaar. I really like his album, he makes unique music that doesn't sound like anything else I've heard, it's too bad that his DJing skills seems to be worse than his production skills. :(
 
Boys Noize at the MID ..... The show |>R()|)!G/-\L should have attended :)

WOW! What a show! I just did not want this one to stop. His slot was 12:30-2:30. During this time he played what seemed like for the most part ALL new material. The only songs I recognized were Ecstasy (one for me) which is unreleased and Jeffer. It was fucking awesome. Soooo intense the entire time. He even brought his own effects in. At 2:30 when he was scheduled to stop, I saw him telling the people from the club that he was going to keep going. For the next 25 minutes he ended with an Daft Punk Around the World remix, into Yeah, into Lemonade, into Chemical Brothers Swoon remix, and ended it with My Moon My Man. He was mixing Yeah into Lemonade, Swoon, and My Moon My Man. Just an incredible display of mixing. The crowd was going crazy the entire time, and this was by far the best crowd I've ever seen at the MID having been there countless times since it's opening. Just an excellent night.
10/10

This week I'll be attending Digitalism (tomorrow) and Joachim Garraud again at Soundbar... stoked.
 
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