They are honoring Devo with the XL after all (anticipated at the beginning of their set on Friday evening) so likely they are obliged to attend.
Devo was the primary motivation for my getting there as well. I've opt for the full weekend and workshops, etc but just can't make it happen due to family commitments, etc.
For me, it's not just the $85 bucks but airfare, rental car, and hotel lost. Having said that, I'll make the best of it and Yes... hoping for Mark and Gerry to perform, host a discussion or something. PLEASE
Thread for "Who is going to MoogFest 2010?"
Re: Thread for "Who is going to MoogFest 2010?"
'76 Minimoog, Taurus 3, Oberheim FVS + Son of 2-voice; Sequential ProOne; Juno 106; Moog Model 15; Kurzweil 250; Hammond M3; and a handful of Fender Basses Flickr!
Re: Thread for "Who is going to MoogFest 2010?"
Some quick notes on Moogfest and the bands I saw
I could only make it one day (yesterday); it was a quick (but long.. if that makes sense) trip from New Jersey via U.S. Air and a 2+ hr. car ride from Charlotte but worth it.
Downtown Asheville is really nice. The last time I was there, I went straight up to the Moog factory and didn't get to visit the local area. Tons of bars, eateries, and art.
The two main venues (AAC and Thomas Wolfe Auditorium) are part of the same building; one has the charm of an old New York theatre, the other fairly large open floor reminds me of the Cow Palace in San Francisco or one of the small minor league arenas from Slap Shot (Charlestown Chiefs) or Will Farrell's semi-pro basketball team played in. I also wandered down to the Orange Peel at the other side of town to catch what should have been Dan Deacon but I was denied access after waiting on line for 30 minutes due to the fact that I was carrying a backpack with my camera in it. I wasn't happy as the show info said that small backpacks (non frame type) were permitted.
The big draw for me would have been Devo but they of course had to cancel due to Bob's injury as we've all read about. 2/5ths of Devo did play, joining Octopus Project for Girl You Want (Freedom of Choice) and Beautiful World (New Traditionalists). I was amazed at how well the Octopi played the two songs. Octopus Project were also very very good, I'm a new fan.
Mark broke out during the refrain to talk about Bob Moog. The normally goofy, even inappropriately so at times (which is classic), Mark was engaged and spilled heartfelt comments to a very receptive Octopus Project crowd. This happened at the tail end of their set (around 7:30pm). Nobody would have complained [the crowed was as amped up for the surprise DEVO duo than for Octopus] if they carried on for 10 more songs but unfortunately, it wasn't to be. Gerry played one of Yvonne's keyboard for the bassline of Girl you want and an actual non-Steinberg 4 string bass for beautiful world. Mark played riffs on a Little Phatty for both songs.
After they were done, the stage was cleared and a DJ setup was pulled out to center stage along with an ominous form covered by a black shroud. Yes, the XL lay beneath. Haunting chants of Eric's Therimin video come to mind but I'll simply say that not many people noticed or cared much. By the time another 20 minutes elapsed, only the first 10 feet of standing room only space was occupied, accompanied by a few dozen fans that sat in the seats. Then the editor of Keyboard Magazine came out, introduced Mike Adams, and Mike subsequently brought Mark and Gerry out to present them with the XL.
Mark dropped to his knees and did the ole' "we're not worthy...' bit, and cracked jokes left an right. Gerry, much more reserved and serious (though obviously amused) said "I'll simply say Thank You". Mike Adams had a pretty good one liner that went... "the MiniMoog XL is free but the case will cost you $5000 bucks".
From there, the stage was cleared, two blokes folded down and carried away the XL (like deli guys delivering a 9' submarine sandwich) and the DJ started his bit. It was the ole' (or new) Ableton looped turntable bits, tweaking knobs left and right, mostly orchestrated cut-ins and transitions over the course of the next 30 minutes at least. It was loud and hell and the growing and appreciative crowd bobbed and swayed as the DJ took them on a sonic journey.
A couple of folks I met from Knoxville, TN told me that a fair # of the acts were indeed DJ types. The mostly young (I'm 44) crowd has grown up listening to the new Genre that artists like DJ Spooky seem to have pioneered. Part of me wanted to drag some Fooger filters and MuRFs down the stage, sync with their Midi clock, assign some CC's to knobs and say "this is how it's done, son" but of course that didn't happen.
The good news is that Moog is (in my opinion) "this close" to blowing up on the scene. I've remarked in the past that some of the MF-105M marketing, and MultiPedal and now the Slim Phatty appears to be aimed at this type of performance oriented music. With any luck, this year's MoogFest may have brought this realization closer to fruition.
On to MGMT, I wandered over to the large hall to hear Big Boi still playing, what a racket, not my scene at all but the place was mobbed. (I prefer the Andre' 3000 half). After some setup, MGMT came out and H O L Y C R A P what a sound. I was only barely familiar with their music and their growing popularity but WOW. They are everything that is/was missing these days, that being a complete band. And for me, that means that keys are back.
MGMT have such a solid beat combined with a Rickenbacker picked bass and 2 guitars up front. The lead guitarist has some sort of Rhodes or dressed up midi organ at the far side of the stage; then on the near side, Ben Goldwasser played a stack of keyboards with a prominently displayed Green Voyager with at least a pair of foggers. The crowd went nuts packed in like sardines complete with at least 3 foiled attempts a stage diving (guys got up on top of the crowd and were passed to the front like cartoon ants carrying a watermellon only to be slapped down by the bad-ass bouncer and kicked out. Pretty amusing and entertaining stuff.
Ducking out of there 15 minutes early, I caught most of "Claire and the Reasons". I've never been more impressed by four musicians in my life and Claire is just as charming as can be. She reminds me of Madeleine Peyroux except sweeter, witty and multi-talented. The four piece played a Cello (and Little Phatty), Stage Piano, Guitar and 'everything else'. The everything else was Olivier Manchon, Claire's husband, who played bass, guitar, baritone, xylophone, violin and recorder (sometimes multiple instruments at the same time). They only drew a small crowd but a very dedicated and appreciative one, closing with 'Pluto' (google it).
Then I caught only 3 songs of Van Dyke Parks accompanied by a few of Claire's band members. He tore up the Piano as if he was Jorden Rudess's mad uncle but I couldn't stay much longer. Hopped in my rental car and drove 2 1/2 hrs. back to Charlotte to sleep @ a hotel near the airport (almost drove off the road a few times in a tired stupor but I survived).
Two other quick observations. 1. During the Devo presentation, Mike Adams commented that Moog's new building was just a few hundred yards from the venue and that they hoped for many more years of making great products and to be an even bigger part of Asheville. Certainly those comments were well received. Many of the folks working in stores and pubs I dropped into were also appreciative of the draw this weekend. 2. a few of the college kid crowd (easily a 65% demographic of the crowd in the shows that I went to) were being interviewed by a local reporter while in line for one of the shows and I overheard one dude saying that in past years the [talent] lineup sucked but this time they got it right. And therein lies the gap between Keith Emerson, Rick Wakeman, Bernie Worrell, Jordon Rudess, etc. and the new generation of musicians. For Moog to continue to be successful, they need to a) keep us somewhat older guys happy and b) appeal to the new music crowd [forgive me, I don't know the NAME of this new fangled music].
But I like it.
(I added some additional pictures down below)
I could only make it one day (yesterday); it was a quick (but long.. if that makes sense) trip from New Jersey via U.S. Air and a 2+ hr. car ride from Charlotte but worth it.
Downtown Asheville is really nice. The last time I was there, I went straight up to the Moog factory and didn't get to visit the local area. Tons of bars, eateries, and art.
The two main venues (AAC and Thomas Wolfe Auditorium) are part of the same building; one has the charm of an old New York theatre, the other fairly large open floor reminds me of the Cow Palace in San Francisco or one of the small minor league arenas from Slap Shot (Charlestown Chiefs) or Will Farrell's semi-pro basketball team played in. I also wandered down to the Orange Peel at the other side of town to catch what should have been Dan Deacon but I was denied access after waiting on line for 30 minutes due to the fact that I was carrying a backpack with my camera in it. I wasn't happy as the show info said that small backpacks (non frame type) were permitted.
The big draw for me would have been Devo but they of course had to cancel due to Bob's injury as we've all read about. 2/5ths of Devo did play, joining Octopus Project for Girl You Want (Freedom of Choice) and Beautiful World (New Traditionalists). I was amazed at how well the Octopi played the two songs. Octopus Project were also very very good, I'm a new fan.
Mark broke out during the refrain to talk about Bob Moog. The normally goofy, even inappropriately so at times (which is classic), Mark was engaged and spilled heartfelt comments to a very receptive Octopus Project crowd. This happened at the tail end of their set (around 7:30pm). Nobody would have complained [the crowed was as amped up for the surprise DEVO duo than for Octopus] if they carried on for 10 more songs but unfortunately, it wasn't to be. Gerry played one of Yvonne's keyboard for the bassline of Girl you want and an actual non-Steinberg 4 string bass for beautiful world. Mark played riffs on a Little Phatty for both songs.
After they were done, the stage was cleared and a DJ setup was pulled out to center stage along with an ominous form covered by a black shroud. Yes, the XL lay beneath. Haunting chants of Eric's Therimin video come to mind but I'll simply say that not many people noticed or cared much. By the time another 20 minutes elapsed, only the first 10 feet of standing room only space was occupied, accompanied by a few dozen fans that sat in the seats. Then the editor of Keyboard Magazine came out, introduced Mike Adams, and Mike subsequently brought Mark and Gerry out to present them with the XL.
Mark dropped to his knees and did the ole' "we're not worthy...' bit, and cracked jokes left an right. Gerry, much more reserved and serious (though obviously amused) said "I'll simply say Thank You". Mike Adams had a pretty good one liner that went... "the MiniMoog XL is free but the case will cost you $5000 bucks".
From there, the stage was cleared, two blokes folded down and carried away the XL (like deli guys delivering a 9' submarine sandwich) and the DJ started his bit. It was the ole' (or new) Ableton looped turntable bits, tweaking knobs left and right, mostly orchestrated cut-ins and transitions over the course of the next 30 minutes at least. It was loud and hell and the growing and appreciative crowd bobbed and swayed as the DJ took them on a sonic journey.
A couple of folks I met from Knoxville, TN told me that a fair # of the acts were indeed DJ types. The mostly young (I'm 44) crowd has grown up listening to the new Genre that artists like DJ Spooky seem to have pioneered. Part of me wanted to drag some Fooger filters and MuRFs down the stage, sync with their Midi clock, assign some CC's to knobs and say "this is how it's done, son" but of course that didn't happen.
The good news is that Moog is (in my opinion) "this close" to blowing up on the scene. I've remarked in the past that some of the MF-105M marketing, and MultiPedal and now the Slim Phatty appears to be aimed at this type of performance oriented music. With any luck, this year's MoogFest may have brought this realization closer to fruition.
On to MGMT, I wandered over to the large hall to hear Big Boi still playing, what a racket, not my scene at all but the place was mobbed. (I prefer the Andre' 3000 half). After some setup, MGMT came out and H O L Y C R A P what a sound. I was only barely familiar with their music and their growing popularity but WOW. They are everything that is/was missing these days, that being a complete band. And for me, that means that keys are back.
MGMT have such a solid beat combined with a Rickenbacker picked bass and 2 guitars up front. The lead guitarist has some sort of Rhodes or dressed up midi organ at the far side of the stage; then on the near side, Ben Goldwasser played a stack of keyboards with a prominently displayed Green Voyager with at least a pair of foggers. The crowd went nuts packed in like sardines complete with at least 3 foiled attempts a stage diving (guys got up on top of the crowd and were passed to the front like cartoon ants carrying a watermellon only to be slapped down by the bad-ass bouncer and kicked out. Pretty amusing and entertaining stuff.
Ducking out of there 15 minutes early, I caught most of "Claire and the Reasons". I've never been more impressed by four musicians in my life and Claire is just as charming as can be. She reminds me of Madeleine Peyroux except sweeter, witty and multi-talented. The four piece played a Cello (and Little Phatty), Stage Piano, Guitar and 'everything else'. The everything else was Olivier Manchon, Claire's husband, who played bass, guitar, baritone, xylophone, violin and recorder (sometimes multiple instruments at the same time). They only drew a small crowd but a very dedicated and appreciative one, closing with 'Pluto' (google it).
Then I caught only 3 songs of Van Dyke Parks accompanied by a few of Claire's band members. He tore up the Piano as if he was Jorden Rudess's mad uncle but I couldn't stay much longer. Hopped in my rental car and drove 2 1/2 hrs. back to Charlotte to sleep @ a hotel near the airport (almost drove off the road a few times in a tired stupor but I survived).
Two other quick observations. 1. During the Devo presentation, Mike Adams commented that Moog's new building was just a few hundred yards from the venue and that they hoped for many more years of making great products and to be an even bigger part of Asheville. Certainly those comments were well received. Many of the folks working in stores and pubs I dropped into were also appreciative of the draw this weekend. 2. a few of the college kid crowd (easily a 65% demographic of the crowd in the shows that I went to) were being interviewed by a local reporter while in line for one of the shows and I overheard one dude saying that in past years the [talent] lineup sucked but this time they got it right. And therein lies the gap between Keith Emerson, Rick Wakeman, Bernie Worrell, Jordon Rudess, etc. and the new generation of musicians. For Moog to continue to be successful, they need to a) keep us somewhat older guys happy and b) appeal to the new music crowd [forgive me, I don't know the NAME of this new fangled music].
But I like it.
(I added some additional pictures down below)
Last edited by EMwhite on Sun Oct 31, 2010 2:26 pm, edited 2 times in total.
'76 Minimoog, Taurus 3, Oberheim FVS + Son of 2-voice; Sequential ProOne; Juno 106; Moog Model 15; Kurzweil 250; Hammond M3; and a handful of Fender Basses Flickr!
Re: Thread for "Who is going to MoogFest 2010?"
Thank you so much for the review (and for turning me on the MGMT)!
Mark
Mark
in T3 heaven......
Re: Thread for "Who is going to MoogFest 2010?"
A few more pictures I took:
'76 Minimoog, Taurus 3, Oberheim FVS + Son of 2-voice; Sequential ProOne; Juno 106; Moog Model 15; Kurzweil 250; Hammond M3; and a handful of Fender Basses Flickr!
Re: Thread for "Who is going to MoogFest 2010?"
I was pretty disappointed by Devo not performing at Moogfest. My disappointment was quoted in the local paper, but what was not included with my quote was my best wishes for Bob's recovery, and also not quoted was my statement that luckily there were plenty of other great acts to see. If Devo weren't on the bill I would have opted for Saturday. That was such a great lineup.
One thing I loved about the Moogfest festival was the atmosphere around downtown Asheville. There were so many young college kids dressed in Halloween costumes, and that really added to the festival ambiance.
The Octopus did nothing for me. They would lock into a great groove but never went anywhere. The bass player would get all hyped up at one point and the groove's dynamics would change, but that was about it. Loved the venue.
Big Boi was ok. He performed his heart out and at one point got some locals dressed in Halloween costumes on the stage to dance about. Not my kind of music, but I could appreciate it. There were about 6000 people packed into the arena, and they were groovin to the vibe. Big Boi had a female bassist whose every note would rattle your innards.
I could not get into MGMT. They bored me to tears. I could see them performing in a coffee shop or a small bar. However, 6000 other people loved them.
Clare and the Reasons were fabulous. Not much in the way of electronics but their ethereal vocals were amazing. Each member played a multitude of instruments: from penny whistles, cellos, violin, percussion, baritone, etc. A class act only seen by about 100 people.
One thing I loved about the Moogfest festival was the atmosphere around downtown Asheville. There were so many young college kids dressed in Halloween costumes, and that really added to the festival ambiance.
The Octopus did nothing for me. They would lock into a great groove but never went anywhere. The bass player would get all hyped up at one point and the groove's dynamics would change, but that was about it. Loved the venue.
Big Boi was ok. He performed his heart out and at one point got some locals dressed in Halloween costumes on the stage to dance about. Not my kind of music, but I could appreciate it. There were about 6000 people packed into the arena, and they were groovin to the vibe. Big Boi had a female bassist whose every note would rattle your innards.
I could not get into MGMT. They bored me to tears. I could see them performing in a coffee shop or a small bar. However, 6000 other people loved them.
Clare and the Reasons were fabulous. Not much in the way of electronics but their ethereal vocals were amazing. Each member played a multitude of instruments: from penny whistles, cellos, violin, percussion, baritone, etc. A class act only seen by about 100 people.
Mark Mahoney
http://www.reverbnation.com/markmahoney
www.cdbaby.com/cd/mmahoneympeck
www.cdbaby.com/cd/markmahoney
http://www.reverbnation.com/markmahoney
www.cdbaby.com/cd/mmahoneympeck
www.cdbaby.com/cd/markmahoney
Re: Thread for "Who is going to MoogFest 2010?"
EM,
That was a very professionally written review of the events! Thanks for the references to the video lol.
I really wish I could have attended, as I said the workshops interested me more than anything.
That was a very professionally written review of the events! Thanks for the references to the video lol.
I really wish I could have attended, as I said the workshops interested me more than anything.
Support the Bob Moog Foundation:
https://moogfoundation.org/do-something-2/donate/
I think I hear the mothership coming.
https://moogfoundation.org/do-something-2/donate/
I think I hear the mothership coming.