Newest articles on The Sacramento Press tagged as "melee beats"

2012 Sacramento Electronic Music Festival

2012-05-08T04:00:10Z

The third annual Sacramento Electronic Music Festival swarmed into Harlow’s and the Momo Lounge this weekend.

From Thursday to Saturday, tremendous pulsating music attracted an overwhelming crowd to Midtown. Three nights of great music brought over three dozen premier entertainers to the stages.

The festival had been in the works for months, and the promoters worked feverishly to bring a great lineup of electronic artists for each evening. Co-creators Adam Saake and Clay Nutting brought together great talent to perform this year.

Although Thursday night’s crowd started off small, it grew quite rapidly as the evening progressed. Doors to the venue opened at 7 p.m. and performers took the stage at 8.

Host A.V. introduced each performer at the main stage and kept the audience entertained. A.V. also brought gifts, in the form of T-shirts, that he tossed into the audience.

After outgrowing the previous Townhouse venue, the move to the current site was made seamlessly. The main Harlow’s stage brought several acts to perform for an over-21 crowd. Other performers and DJs played on the second floor of Momo's Lounge and in Harlow’s back patio.

I missed a couple of the early performances on Thursday night but was fortunate enough to arrive as the Paper Pistols took the stage. They performed on the main stage with a flock of fans gathered around. Their upbeat instrumentals and astounding beats kept fans in the front moving their heads in rhythm.

Several performers, including Paper Pistols, returned from last year. Drummer and sound specialist extraordinaire Ira Skinner’s work did not end after the Paper Pistols left the stage but continued throughout the weekend as he offered technical sound support for all artists.

The show went off without a glitch, or at least none that I noticed. As one entertainer was finishing up their act, another was already setting up their computers and instruments. The efficiency of moving from one entertainer to the next was amazing. Each evening’s lineup moved with astonishing precision and allowed audiences to enjoy a thorough experience of rhythmic beats and striking visuals.

Moving from one stage to the next also gave guests the opportunity to socialize, dance and enjoy electronica that suited their taste. The Harlow’s and Momo Lounge bars were busy throughout the festival, and security staff must be praised for a job well done.

The exposure given to electronic music has grown over the past few years in Sacramento. SEMF continues to grow and soon may rival similar festivals in L.A. and San Francisco. SEMF should also be commended for promoting the Sacramento music scene and local talent.

About the only disappointing thing was the last-minute cancellation by Death Grips, who announced they would be dropping out of their current tour to focus on completing their next album.

Although Death Grips cancelled, the many acts more than made up for their absence.

Saturday night’s show was packed with little room to move from one stage to the next. Music oved many to any available dance floor.

“I came to see Dusty Brown, and I’m floored by the music being played,” said Erika Towers, who attended Thursday night. “I was standing next to this giant speaker upstairs, and it literally moved me. I stood in front of it and as the bass got louder and louder, my whole body moved forward and the feeling hasn’t stopped.”

Indeed the sound system allowed fans not only to hear the music but feel it. The upbeat, thumping, throbbing, pulsating and at times overwhelming sounds made for a great sensory experience. Lighting and other visuals also enhanced the experience.

With so many performers each evening, there was something for everyone. I was able to enjoy several of my favorites, such as Jon Wayne, Dibiase, B. Bravo and Starship Connection, Little Foxes and DJ Whores.

SEMF delivered on the vision “to continue to foster a supportive music community while attracting world-class talent to Sacramento, not just at the annual festival, but throughout the year.” For the past three years, SEMF has brought quality music to Sacramento. Continued fan support can generate a greater following for these entertainers as well as for SEMF.

Photos: Sacramento Electronic Music Festival - Day 2

2011-01-31T04:53:22Z

Day 2 of the second annual Sacramento Electronic Music Festival continued at the Townhouse Lounge on Friday, featuring performances by Little Foxes, Boss Magic, Melee Beats and FAVORS, among others.

The three-night festival showcases local and international electronic-centric artists, and the SEMF vision is "to continue to foster a supportive music community while attracting world-class talent to Sacramento, not just at the annual festival, but throughout the year."

Friday night Roger Carpio and Shaun Slaughter were among the DJs who held court nonstop on the first floor with a wide range of music (New Order, The xx, Crystal Castles) and kept the sexy people of Townhouse sweaty all night.

After a literally in-your-face performance by FAVORS on the dance floor, the beats continued upstairs where artists like Boss Magic, Little Foxes (my favorite of the night) and Melee Beats killed it in a haze of fog and lasers.

SEMF covers all the bases in the electronic genre, from “straightforward” DJs with laptops to groups that incorporate organic instruments with their synths, and does a fantastic job of showcasing quality acts in a well-organized and centralized environment. SEMF is a blast for old and new fans of the genre (and good music in general), and Sacramento is lucky to have it.

Coverage of Day 1 of the festival can be found here.

FAVORS

Brian Camera of Boss Magic

Brian Camera (left) and Michael Calero (right) of Boss Magic

Jacob Golden of Little Foxes

Dusty Brown of Little Foxes

Jacob Golden of Little Foxes

Melee Beats

Crowd

DAY 3

Jessica Brown of Dusty Brown

Dusty Brown

Zac Brown of Dusty Brown

Cole Cuchna (left) and Scott Simpson (right) of The New Humans

Scott Simpson (left) and Mike Steez (right) of The New Humans

Photos by Steven Chea

Sacramento Electronica Music Festival A Great Success

2010-02-02T05:20:29Z

Beats, beards and booze filled the Townhouse Lounge Saturday as the Sacramento Electronica Music Festival wrapped up its third and final night.

The Sacramento Electronica Music Festival ran Thursday, Jan. 28 to Saturday, Jan. 30 offering a chance to check out Sacramento's vibrant electronica scene as well as experience something unique.

Adam Saake, the event's organizer, said the event was born out of a desire to bring Sacramento's electronica musicians together. Saake knew many of the electronica artists in the area, but none of them ever played together.

"The dots weren't connected, and there was never any electronica bill," Saake said. "We could do a really dope electronica festival."

Saake said the show started as a night concert, but as interest grew, so did the plans.

"It snowballed into this amazing thing," he said. Eventually, 17 electronica artists and seven DJs were lined up to deliver the first Sacramento Electronica Music Festival.

The event took place at the Townhouse Lounge, a two-story venue on 21st Street with DJs and a dance floor on the first floor and a live music room on the second floor. It was a fun night and a great introduction to the Sacramento electronic music scene.

Many people were on the dance floor downstairs, dancing to the beats created by various local DJs, including DJs Muppetblast, Crush Delight and I@N. Droning rhythms, throbbing bass and drum loops echoed through the room while pulsating strobe lights matched the beats and seemed to wrap around the whole area. It was very much like a club experience, and many on the dance floor were dancing, holding drinks and enjoying themselves.

Most of the people at the Townhouse Lounge were upstairs watching the live musicians. The majority of the audience consisted of 20-somethings who looked like they just walked out of a Midtown coffee shop, complete with tight jeans, big scarves, wool caps and bushy beards on the men. More than half were holding drinks, and although many gatherers were young, there were a few older couples enjoying themselves.

The packed crowd responded to the music in varying ways. Some people just stood and bobbed their heads, while some were sitting down with their eyes closed. One guy even spent the first hour or so painting on a canvas on the wall, ultimately creating a striking image of a woman's head moving to the side, her hair floating behind her.

Both the music and lights upstairs were usually less intense and created a comparatively more relaxed experience, one which focused almost solely on the live music.

The live music itself was unique and varied, showcasing the various takes on electronica Sacramento has to offer. Seventeen musicians, including CityState, MochiPet, The New Humans, Night Night, Sister Crayon, Tycho and Dusty Brown all contributed to the event with different styles.

Some of the live acts consisted of one guy and a computer, while others had full bands with added electronic elements. The music ranged from peaceful and atmospheric to droning and loud, as well as everything in between.

Homo Erectus, for example, played music that was all about heavy beats and growling vocals. The two musicians wore unicorn masks and pranced around on stage, which made for a very strange performance. Night Night took the stage next and used his laptop computer to add video game samples to a calm rhythm, which made for a more relaxing experience. It was a very different setting from a typical rock concert, which was highlighted when Dana Gumbiner, the man behind Night Night, encouraged the audience to sit on the ground, look up at the ceiling, or do whatever they wanted.

"Don't feel like you have to look at the guy on stage. Besides, I'm just checking e-mail," said Gumbiner while he was on stage.

After his set, Gumbiner said that his live performances combine sequenced beats with live improv sections. "It's kind of like controlled chaos," Gumbiner said.

Gumbiner also said he was impressed with the whole event, the artists and their performances. "It seems pretty clear from tonight that there's a lot of talent here in Sacramento," he said.

The event was a hit with the city as well.

Saake said that more than 1,000 people showed up throughout the whole weekend, including more than 500 on Saturday night alone.

"It was a gigantic success," Saake said. "I'm overjoyed and thrilled, but mostly I'm really, really impressed with Sacramento for coming out and supporting the local electronica scene."

Donald Bell, a writer for consumer technology website Cnet.com, used to play with former Sacramento electronica band Command Collective as Chachi Jones around five years ago. Bell traveled from the Bay Area to see Saturday's show and said he was impressed with the turnout.

"Five years ago, the turnout for this kind of show was maybe a third of this," Bell said. "Maybe we were ahead of our time."

Saake said he was very encouraged by the turnout and said that many people asked if there was going to be another electronica music festival next year.

"Definitely next year, we're going to do another one," he said, filled with excitement. "Sacramento was finally ready for this."