On the Ecstasy of The Slow Floorburner and the Fear of Trampling

Nicolas Jaar @ Metropolis

Is the new direction of electronic dance music the slow burning sound scape, occasionally punctuated by beats? It's perhaps a valid question to ask after the second night of our Mutek experience, third night of the festival, failed to deliver a clear cut, hands in the air style party rocker, save Alicia Hush's four to the floor Live PA in La Parc De La Paix.

By no means however, is this an unwelcome situation. If anything the whole tone of the festival has felt entirely restrained -- well paced might be another good descriptor -- preferring to focus on aural experimentation and creating the opportunity of a patient listening experience rather than servicing the demands of beat hungry ravers. It's really what Mutek does best - providing unique opportunities to see and hear unique performances.

But the tension is clearly palpable. When this festival explodes it's going to be amazing.

But if the beats weren't always there the audience didn't seem to mind. In fact in proof of the growth and appeal of the Mutek festival and perhaps electronic music in general in North America, the showcase at Metropolis last night was dangerously oversold.

We hung out again toward the rear of the theatre. Opting for a quiet table from which we could hold court, serve as a location reference for lost parties and answer a seemingly unending string of text messages which usually involved questions and statements along the lines of  "Where R U?" "This is sick" "I'm on my way".

The rear seats proved to be an excellent space to hang out as when we attempted to go up front and find some friends right before Nicolas Jaar's performance we were overcome by the crowd.. The relentless push of the crowd forward was as I mentioned earlier, annoying at best, criminally negligent at worst. An unending horde of people crowding their way to catch a glimpse of 22 year old wunderkid who is unarguably one of the most lauded composers of our time.

Jaar's set did not disappoint. Flanked by a guitarist and Saxophone player, the band moved deftly  through familiar soundscapes containing portions and echoes of his globally acclaimed Circus Company debut album Space Is Only Noise, taking their time to weave in moments of improvisation before somewhat predictably dropping the beat hammer for the album's title track some 40 minutes after taking the stage.

During Jaar's performance we beat a hasty retreat for some respite from the crowd then made a pact to leave following Jaar. Apparently a lot of other folks had made this pact as well and as barely the final notes hung in the air, the crowd, so anxious to move forward just a short time earlier took a completely 180 and surged for the exits. I am sure we did not move to the door under our own power. Talking to friends, we rode the push of humans out the exit all of us becoming separated in the process and having to reconnect outside. It was dangerous and perhaps more tellingly it might be proof Mutek has become a bit of a victim of its own success, and much like the extremely wise decision to forego using Metropolis' Savoy Room this year, perhaps it's time to retire Metropolis for good. 

But where one venue falls a bit short the newly renovated SAT does not disappoint providing an excellent venue for the fantastically scored performance by Sendai (Peter Van Hoesen + Yves De Mey) and the new SATosphere space looks to be a remarkable location for Christina Sealy, Jeremy Greenspan and Keith Fullerton Whitman performance tonight.

A few more notes about the show at Metropolis: Rumpistol and Red Baron pulled an otherwise fairly unengaging effort out of the realm of the forgettable with a fantastic vocal pop closer. Deniz Kurtel's intimate R&B inspired grooves fell flat it the largeness of the venue.

In other good stories of the night I proved I can still deliver the facts when called upon to explain the history of the Seven Years War and its legacy on Quebec and Canada, Erica Dixon and Justin Kane Forthuber made the trip up from Colorado, good chats about music with friends, hip hop "nerdery" with Sean Horton and a very funny chat about gum to tooth ratio proclivities. 

Also: Can someone explain to us the expression "So fresh you won't blow out a candle?" Sounds like it could be cool rap lyric, but apparently it's something English people say when commenting on French Open tennis.

Also: URSULA BOGNER IS TOTALLY FAKE!

Also WTF is this disturbing ad campaign for a confection called "Shaving Cream"