swayzak-what miami is missing ?

[coolassleoo]

well guys,most of you who know me know that i am a big swayzak fan.here is a review from the spundae board,

Hi Junkies! I wrote this review of Swayzak’s Fri. nite show Sat. morning, but didn’t want to post it till after the weekend, because I figured it would get buried under a flood of Tiesto posts.

I arrived at 11, and walked right in. No line. Cover charge was $12.

The girl at the door told me Swayzak would go on at 1230. They stamped me for in and out privileges, and I went in.

RD had gone on first, and I had missed him.

Trichrome was spinning a mix of minimal electro, and there weren't many people there. I wasn’t feeling it, and I had an hour & a half to kill, so I went back outside and took a walk down Hollywood Blvd.

I returned a little after 12, and the club had filled up considerably. Trichrome had ramped up his set, and was playing some bitchin' robot funk that had most of the crowd moving. I grabbed a drink & hit the floor.

Swayzak came on, and I really didn't know what to expect. I loved Snowboarding when it came out, and really liked Himawari. But the Groovetechnology mix CD that came out about a year ago was just OK, and I haven't gotten Dirty Dancing because I haven't been too impressed by the one or 2 tracks I've heard from it (I Dance Alone, Make up your Mind). I've been to laptop shows before, and usually they are a boring, minimal, self-indulgent geek fest. I wasn't expecting much.

But within the first 5 minutes of their set, it became obvious that this would be the best laptop show I have ever heard. I was expecting minimal tech-house, but Swayzak played progressive house with a dash of electro and a heavy shot of funk thrown in. Completely different than anything they have put out on CD. The music was never repetitive, and was constantly going in new directions, but the groove was completely infectious & totally ass-shakin. The whole crowd Swayzaked to & fro, and I could not stop dancing the entire set. The guys stood up onstage, bobbing their heads and semi-dancing as they moused their laptops & moved their faders. They didn't make any eye contact with the crowd, but stared and worked at their computers as if they were the only things in the room. During the breakdowns, the crowd would cheer & whoop. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. It completely exceeded my expectations. I was blown away. I wish I had a recording of this set. Anyone familiar with Swayzak would be flabbergasted at the difference in styles between their records & their live show. Their records may be good but their live show was INSANE. So much more danceable and alive than their records, with a depth and complexity and constant changing that their records simply do not have. I cannot overemphasize the difference between their recorded material & their live performance. They should do a live album. I think it would take their careers to the next level if they did. They played a 90+ minute set, from 1230 till a little after 2.

TL Smith went on after Swayzak at about 210, playing some OK electro. But after hearing the music directly out of Swayzak's computers, the records sounded flat and weak. Within 15 minutes, the room had cleared, and there were 3 people on the dance floor. I left about 245. I was told the club would be open till about 4, but after Swayzak finished, pretty much everyone left.

Geek Report - I'm a music nerd, so I had a pretty good idea about what they were using. I couldn't figure it all out, so I talked briefly to them about their gear after their set.

They were using 2 Macs - a Titanium Powerbook & an iBook, both decorated with cut-up stickers. Their peripheral gear was identical, with each of them using an Emagic EMI2-6 USB audio interface with stereo outs fed to one side of a Vestax DJ mixer. For MIDI controllers, they each had a Doepfer Pocket Fader unit hooked up to a small Midiman USB MIDI interface.

The real surprise was the software - they were using Ableton Live. I was stunned when I asked how they were syncing the systems together, and they told me they weren't!!! They just set the software to the same tempo & went!!! They told me there was some drift, but I sure didn't hear it. When they wanted to change tempos, they just talked to each other & did it! No outboard samplers or MIDI modules were used - all the sound was coming from the Macs. Unbelievable. Welcome to tomorrow.

What a great night. This review doesn't do it justice, and Swayzak's records don't do them justice either IMO. If you ever get a chance to see them live, don't miss it. You won't be able to sit still. Thanks to Swayzak, PAX, & the King King for a mind-blowing night of music.

For more on Swayzak, including samples & video from their new album, visit their site at www.swayzak.com.

this review was written by slipman 518 of the spundae board.

[phrankadelic]

thanks for the tease.