For those of you unfamiliar with the wide world of electronic music, here is a quick tutorial. Back in “The Day” (because apparently, Rome was built in a day, and that’s when everything good happened. Sorry you missed it; wish you were there.), there was “the beat”, and it went like this – “Doof, Doof, Doof”, except in Detroit, where it went like this – “n-TS, n-TS, n-TS”, but I digress…
From the early days of Hip Hop, the beat has been half-stepped, double-stepped, 
trip-stepped and dubstepped. From the House & Techno of the 80s, the sound evolved into the Trance and Drum & Bass of the 90s. As the home computer revolution made music programs more comprehensive and more accessible, the D.I.Y. music scene erupted with a wellspring of heretofore untapped genius from the darkened corners of the world.
Even better, the early platforms of music-sharing like MySpace, Facebook & Youtube kicked off the careers of many DJs & MCs that might never have gotten even a shnub-nosed glance from the conventional corporate music industry. The PEOPLE could now control the music by voting with their opinions and their support without having to depend on the moguls as middlemen.
And so today, more than any other time in history, the ethics and ideals of the artists can be expressed more purely; without interference. I tell you all of this so that you will understand more correctly the background and appeal of the DJ known simply as
Last Friday night in Greenville, thousands of wide-eyed teens and caffeine-engorged grown-ups converged on the BiLo Center, water bottles and glowsticks in hand, for the epic maelstrom that is a Bassnectar show. Much like the Grateful Dead days of yore, “Bassheads” travel from all over; many following the tour.
Rarely in my days do I get to see a crowd of people so twitchy and tweeky in such geektastic fashion. A cross between the Raver culture wardrobe, Festival costumery, and Freak-dandy-couture, the beauty and excitement of this throng was like an elementary school Halloween Party. On speed. With hula hoops…
The stage was a massive wall of projection screens, the ceiling grid was a thousand lights in perfect sync, and the sound was, well, invincible. DJ Lorin Ashton creates a genre-blending tech-bending wall of sound that feels, physically, like a really good dance partner taking the lead and never stepping on your toes. The dips are fantastic.
When at long last “Done-O’clock” rolled around and the lights came on, it was fun to inventory the different dilations of pupils. There were many hundreds of kids whose inner party would be going for another 6-8 hours… Gangs of uberdivas like The Thundercats, The Trippy Squad, and The Psychedelic Christs were glad to pose for photo-time for me.
The afterparty (well, the one I went to) was at Gottrocks in Greenville. Though I was devastated to find out that I missed Hip Hop artists Projekt Lotus, I did get to see Up Until Now from Athens, GA, and they did, in fact, rock the house.
If you have any curiosity about the electronic music world, take a bit of time to stroll through the garden of sound. Between Wikipedia and Youtube, the resources are there; and whether you’re pulled more by the “Doof Doof”, the “n-TS n-TS”, or the “WOOT WOOT”, it’s all the heartbeat of the world, and it’s calling.
your raving rapporter,
TimTv
~ for more, the whole photo set is Here ~
THIS WEEKEND for ME: The Albino Skunk Bluegrass Festival in Greer & The Duck Derby in Falls Park! Fire, stilts, hoops and lots & lots of laughing… Next report will be from the SNUGGLEDOME..!
