“…this year’s Moogfest in Asheville, NC was one of the most impressive buffets I’ve ever been to with live acts, DJ’s, and presentations spread across six venues and three days. The celebration of Bob Moog’s legacy coupled with the energy and costumes of Halloween made for an amazing time…” Article by Robert Galbraith, photo’s courtesy of Mr. Fang.
(November 2010) MUSIC festivals are like buffets for the ears where people can nibble and taste things that they normally wouldn’t order or gorge themselves on what they love. Put into this
perspective, this year’s Moogfest in Asheville, NC was one of the most impressive buffets I’ve ever been to with live acts, DJ’s, and presentations spread across six venues and three days. The celebration of Bob Moog’s legacy coupled with the energy and
costumes of Halloween made for an amazing time.
Some of the highlights ::
The Octopus Project’s set at the start of the festival was full of energy. Their mix of synth pop and indie rock was a great starter for the festival and their live theremin took things to another dimension. Because of an injury, Devo who were set to play next, were unable to perform but two of the founding members came out and played a couple of tracks (sadly not in costume) with the Octopus Project.
Massive Attack’s performance was absolutely spot on. The numbers with Horace Andy on lead vocals (“Girl I Love You” and “Angel”) were particularly riveting. “Teardrop,” didn’t quite reach the heights of Liz Frazier’s recorded version but provided an adequate stand in. The effect of their performance was heightened but an enormous LED board that was scrolling political factoids. However, the award for the most impressive visuals has to go to Jonsi (of Sigur Ros), who had a backdrop of shape shifting animals and burning forests to complement his otherworldly pop.
While the other electronic artists (Nosaj Thing, Jon Hopkins, DJ Spooky) put on impressive and excellent sets, Matmos were the most charismatic and enjoyable. Their set went from whimsical to dark and brooding and used mix of synths, laptops, toy instruments, and ethnic drums. They looked like polar opposites with M.C. in a suit and tie and Drew dressed as a wizard. Matmos are also responsible for one of the best quotes of the festival – “We would like to apologize for all of our synthesizers being Rolands.”
Saturday night’s show with Richard Devine, while not part of the official Moogfest line up (part of a small lineup at the Posana Café), was one not to be missed. The sound was absolutely incredible, showcasing the fractured beats and insane sound design he is known for. Of his two sets during the weekend this was the faster and harder of the two. His Saturday afternoon showing was billed as a performance on Moog’s Abominatron II (A custom built modular built for the festival). However, he seemed far more interested in what was going on his laptop and his own Eurorack modular system. As with the night earlier, the sound was intense and groundbreaking. Sadly, it was cut short due to some
technical difficulties at the start of the set.
Tara Busch’s performance was highlighted by her gorgeous voice being processed through a set of Moogerfoogers (Moog’s Pedal Effect Line). This was accompanied by her Omnichord and laptop with her husband Maff on bass and other instrumentation. This added up to wonderful combination of the synthetic and natural. Her contribution to
Sunday’s sound design workshop was also of note, where she went over her technique of backward to forward singing.
The festival was also full of pleasant surprises: Omar Souleyman’s Syrian pop styling and Dabke singing were both unique and highly danceable. School of Seven Bells, despite loosing a key member, put on a great performance with searing guitars and lush vocals. And while I must admit that commercial hip hop is normally not my cup of tea, Big Boi, along with his band and dancers, put on quite a booty shaking performance.
The panel on the birth of the Minimoog was particularly fascinating with input from the original engineers and designers who worked with Bob Moog over forty years ago. The tales of happy accidents and intersections with the famous musicians of the late 60’s and early 70’s were intriguing. I would have loved for this presentation to go on for another
hour or more.
The majority of the festival was excellent and there were only a few low notes: MGMT (completely flat and lacking in energy), Sleigh Bells (lots of yelling and screaming for no reason), and Hot Chip (poor sound and a rampant kick drum). All and all, a fitting tribute to Bob Moog who’s influence can be felt throughout just about every genre of music. This was the first time that the festival had been held in Asheville (the current home of Moog Music) and based on the overwhelmingly positive responsive it will be back next year. I’m looking forward to it.
