[...music...]: kinetik festival phase 2

2008-05-17

kinetik festival phase 2 - industrial @ usine c

last night, i went to kinetik festival phase 2 - industrial with roxanne and ryan.

it was my first time at an industrial show (in fact, it was my first time at a show with laptop acts). the people were really dressed up. i felt like i stood out from the crowd because i was dressed 'normal'. also, because: a) i was not dressed in black; b) i am not white. but it didn't matter. i still had a great time.

the evening more or less followed the schedule. what i appreciate about these laptop acts is the short set-up times.

6:20pm - cenotype
the music was good, but it was early, and the room was mostly empty. only a couple of lone dancers. we just stood around.

7:10pm - synnack
the music and film were kind of experimental. the lack of a prominent dance beat meant that the crowd mostly stood around, still.

8:00pm - distorted memory
the singer appeared on stage, trying to look imposing/menacing/scary (or whatever), and announced that they are from winnipeg, which we found funny. energetic, with an active singer, it was a good warm-up act to get the crowd moving.

8:50pm - headscan
we missed this set because we went out to eat.

9:45pm - memmaker
we returned to the venue in the middle of this set. by then, the room was full, and everyone was dancing. i started dancing too (tried to). they ended the set with "death comes (sale traître)", a song that appears on the kinetik festival compilation.

10:45pm - rabia sorda
this band had a live drummer, which was the most 'rock' element of the evening. they had good songs, but they suffered sound problems throughout the whole set, unfortunately. they played the song "the shape of a name", which is my favourite from their album; live, it did not sound as dynamic as on disc, so slight disappointment there.

11:50pm - funker vogt
the main act of the evening. they started late, close to 12:15am. they had really good songs, a balance of dance beats and singing melodies, and the crowd was into it. i recognized a couple of the songs ("child soldier" and "thanatophobia"). this is probably where i danced the most. i know i was super dorky (i have no rhythm nor fluidity), but the room was dark, everyone was doing their own thing, so i didn't care, and just had fun, that's all.

1:00am - kiew
this act seemed like an experimental art noise project. the sound was harsh, and the epilepsy-inducing strobelights were too much. we sat out during most of this set, and took a break.

2:00am - noisuf-x
we returned to the room to check out the last act. it was mostly one guy pounding away on his electric drums, while his partner provided some additional sounds. the constant beat got us dancing again. it was a good way to end the evening/early morning.

the show ended by 3:15am.

hopefully, they make this an annual event. i would go again.

~~~

cd purchase: there were many merch booths. but i didn't know any of the music. so i just got cd's of the acts i liked. funker vogt's "aviator" and memmaker's "how to enlist in a robot uprising".

hearing damage: the room was nice, air-conditioned (or very well ventilated, at least), and had good sound. i survived the whole night without earplugs, and my hearing was still fine afterwards.

~~~

Labels: cd purchase, cenotype, distorted memory, funker vogt, headscan, kiew, kinetik, memmaker, noisuf-x, rabia sorda, shows, synnack, usine c