Glitch Mob

For weeks I knew about this show. But I was torn. I had two other things on my calendar: My friend Annie Bacon had a show happening in Bolinas and another friend was having a super fun birthday party near the panhandle. Also, the $20 ticket price for the Glitch Mob show seemed expensive and I'm a little on the broke side.

But then it got down to the day of the show and a couple of friends called to make sure I was going too. Ok, now I can feel the jealousy coming on. Tickets are selling fast. It's sure to sell out. I don't think I can miss it. Damn it!

I went down to the Mezzanine to buy tickets from the box office. I hate paying those Internet fees and I also wanted a real ticket in my hot little hands so I wouldn't have to wait in the inevitable will call line. But no luck. No box office today. So back to the Internet to buy my will call ticket. Hmph.

That night, I met a few friends at Anu bar around the corner from Mezzanine for a pre-show cocktail. A guy I know, Ben (aka Porkchop) was spinning some heavy Whomp beats. I like Anu because there is no cover and the crowd is generally pretty cool. We figured the party might really get going at Mezzanine around 11, so we hung out there for a bit.

Big mistake.

When 11 rolled around and we walked around the corner to go to the show, there was a line a half block long just for will call. I knew the will call line would be a drag, but I didn't know it would be a good forty five minute wait. The crowd outside was fun though, and I couldn't help noticing how damned glamorous many of the folks were, in their own playa chic vs. hipster DJ best. It seemed like an underground Hollywood premier or something. I kept wanting to see giant search lights waving in the sky.

When we finally made it inside, the place was already more full than I had ever seen it. There were a couple of DJs rocking the house and the energy was already awesome. Everyone was dancing. No spectators. I tossed my hoodie on a speaker and we headed straight for the front of the stage.

I didn't know who the DJs were at the time, but it turns out they were Megasoid, a couple of awesome producer/remixer/djs from Montreal. They played a high energy set of synthy elektro hip hop they have coined "turbo crunk" (heh). Really excellent stuff. Everyone, and I mean everyone in the place, was hitting the ceiling. I mean getting down for real.... all the way to the back of the club. Not a crew of dancers at the front of the club and stand-and-schmoozers in the back. Everyone was dancing. I have rarely seen such great energy from a crowd at any show.

After a brief intermission, The Glitch Mob, a four man DJ crew came on. Known for pushing forward the relatively new glitch subgenre of electronica, they have been touring around the country spreading the word.. er.. beat. Glitch gets its name from the sounds used to make the music which sound sort of like electronics breaking down, crashing, skipping, etc. It's a way to make great music out of otherwise painful sounds.

The guys inherited a great energy from the previous performers. The crowd kept on dancing even during the break. And they kept the party going admirably for the better part of the show. I eventually had to abandon my prime real estate at the front of the stage just to escape the intense heat coming off the sweaty bodies.

The music was great, and the crowd was pretty stoked about it. But I was hoping to hear some of the great remixes I had heard recently. Also, as seems to happen at some shows, is that the tempo of the music actually slows down over the course of the show. I would think one would build up the crowd to a speedy frenzy as a finale... I have heard that it's good DJ practice to let your crowd rest now and then so they have the energy to stay on the dance floor. But eventually I just got tired and lost the big energy I had started with, and started to lose interest. Could be heat... could be overexertion, dehydration. But I am going with the tempo.

I also noticed what seemed to be a cheesy Hollywood factor that seemed to have crept up on them. They wore matching business suits, pumped their fists, and shouted rah-rah hip hop-ese to the crowd. (e.g. "Wu's up San Franciscoooooooo?!"). They are clearly popular and talented, and whatever they have been doing seems to be working for them. But some of it seemed distracting and unnecessary.

I will continue to download and listen to anything and everything they put out. I truly believe these guys are a major force in a new direction of music. That's ultimately why I felt like I had to go to the show. It was not to be missed.

I have to say, I enjoyed myself more during the Megasoid set, who as it turns out, have begun working with the mighty Ninja Tune label.

After the show, I headed to the house where that birthday party was still going on. I got to get down in a more intimate atmosphere with some super great folks to some fantastic soul and disco spun skillfully by Chard, who works at Ko Ko Cocktails on Sunday nights. I had just as much fun dancing to his set as I did at the Mezzanine. Apples and oranges though.

Maybe I'll go check out his set at Ko Ko's tomorrow night.

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