Day 1
Camp Bisco XI will go down as one of the best music
festivals of 2012. Just when I thought Camp Bisco couldn’t get better than last
year, The Disco Biscuits and MCP found a way to make it better in every aspect.
Opening the gates Wednesday night before the festival started Thursday
afternoon allowed campers to get situated early and get the party started.
Overall the entrance process was both smoother and faster compared to last
years despite the increase in attendance. You could feel the excitement in the air
on the festival grounds early Thursday as many started to explore and continue
setting up their campsites.
To start off Day 1 I headed over to the Label Tent
for Michetti’s set. Chris Michetti
is a dubstep producer and guitarist in Conspirator, which includes members from
the Disco Biscuits Marc Brownstein and Aaron Magner. Michetti dropped his two
singles ‘Shpolonk’ & ‘Hit Me Master’,
two very bass filled tracks. Michetti was a good lead into one of the most
anticipated shows of the day, Zeds Dead.
After coming off their “Living Dead” tour this past spring, Zeds Dead
has emerged onto the festival scene playing at Electric Forest, Camp Bisco,
Tomorrowland, Lollapalooza, Electric Zoo as well as many others. Hailing from
Toronto, this duo of DC and Hooks are one of the hottest acts as far as dubstep
goes right now. Playing on the Main Stage, Zeds Dead came out firing and never
looked back. Tracks such as ‘Rude Boy’,
‘Bassmentality’, ‘1975’ and ‘Hit Me’ really got the party going and the
crowd was finally able to hear what the main stage speakers had to offer.
The
crowd got its first taste of trap when Zeds Dead dropped Flosstradamus’ remix
of ‘Original Don’ as well as RL Grime
& Salva’s ‘Mercy’ remix, which
later became the track of the weekend. Zeds Dead’s edit of ‘Gimme Shelter’ was definitely a
highlight from the set. To end their set they dropped a new track from their
new EP titled “The Living Dead” into their hit song White Satin. Zeds Dead
surely did not disappoint and really set the tempo for the entire festival.
Next on the Main Stage was Skrillex. After a ten-minute countdown the
anticipation finally ceased and Skrillex dropped his first track. He was mixing
and creating sounds I have never heard before, nor can explain. The energy was
peaking amongst the crowd as he played tracks like ‘Make it Bum Dem’, ‘Devils Den’ and ‘Ruff Neck’.
From teenage girls in bikinis to older festival vets,
everyone in the crowd was feeling the vibe. Skrillex truly put on a show and
proved why he is as popular as he is, despite what many like to say. Late Night
came with many surprises and gave us a chance to see what the festival looked
like when night fell. Part of the new improvements this year at Camp Bisco was
a ferris wheel, live projected art installments gave you something to look at
on the way to the other stages and their was even a “tunnel of light” pathway
that lead to the dance tents.
At
the Label Tent Bird Of Prey put on one of my favorite sets of the weekend and
I’m glad I checked him out. His psychedelic bass sounds filled the set with
deep wobbles and synths that provided a unique vibe in comparison to the other
faster-paced late night sets. Over at the B.I.G. dance tent Porter Robinson and
Zedd played a surprise B2B set, which was totally unforeseen, and was definitely
a highlight of the weekend and I wish I had the chance to catch more of the
set.
Day 2
Everyone was riding high off an awesome first day of Camp
and Day two was sure to be just as good. Starting the day off with Orchard Lounge
at the B.I.G. tent was the perfect way to start. After playing a late night
down-tempo set at the Label Tent the night before, Orchard Lounge came out
ready to get the dance party going Friday afternoon. Made up of Spencer Lokken,
Bethany Briscoe Lokken, and Ben Silver, these three DJ’s played a “tag-team”
set switching off each playing their own variations of house, disco beats and
straight up funk. There is a certain groove that certainly can bring you from
“the dance floor to the couch.”(their slogan) You could tell from their
presence on stage they were having as much fun as the crowd, if not more. If
you haven’t checked out OL, I suggest you do so a.s.a.p.
On the Main Stage
Break Science had one of the best afternoon sets of the weekend. Playing
alongside Chali2na (Jurassic 5) they broke out a bunch of tracks from their
second EP titled Monolith Code, including ‘Victory’
as well some new bangers that got everyone riled up with Adam Dietch
absolutely killing it on the drums making it one of the best livetronica acts
to see at Camp. Although no act could replace Shpongle, Emancipator with
special guests Bonobo and Dom Lalli of Big Gigantic was a once in a lifetime
musical experience that was truly something to see. Emancipator’s chill sounds
mixed with Simon Green of Bonobo on bass made the music that much better and
Dom on the sax was the cherry on top. The set was filled with a ton of soul and
some good jams, and this was the first of a couple appearances by Dom on
saxophone.
I had high expectations for Amon Tobin. I cannot sum up his show in words, but it is truly an
experience. I knew the music was
going to be different, but it was on a whole other level. The show itself was
an absolute sensory overload, ranging from the transformer like sounds and
astonishing visuals. I think the
show would be better suited in an indoor venue to truly appreciate the
mind-bending visuals.
Day 3
Camp Bisco wouldn’t be complete without rain. After some
storms early Saturday morning, the final day was upon us. Knowing it’s the last
day always comes with an mixed feelings that Camp is coming to an end, but also
how awesome the weekend had been so far and what was to come on the final day. After
finding out that Mord Fustang had been replaced by Redneck we headed over to the
Main Stage for Big Gigantic. I have wanted to see Big G again since I saw them
at Royale. Their remix of ‘Do I See Color’ got the crowd moving from
the start and tracks like ‘I Need A Dolla’,
‘Bonfire’, and ‘Get Em’ High’ all had unique appeal and the trademark “Big
G” style that everyone enjoys so much. They also played a handful of tracks
from their Nocturnal EP such as ‘Beginning
of the End’ & ‘The Uprising’, but my favorite new song of the weekend
was their remix of ‘Mercy’.(video)
This truly was the Bisco XI anthem and Big G absolutely killed the track.
Everyone was riding high in anticipation for Bassnectar’s set on the Main Stage
after Big Gigantic. Bassnectar has become a true staple at Camp and played in
front of one of the biggest crowds I have ever seen this year. After five different
cut outs and some technical difficulties, Bassnectar really got going. Recently
there has been a lot of talk in the EDM realm about pushing buttons and that it
does not necessarily take any skill.
Aside from speaking out on his website, Lorin Ashton showed what it
takes to perform. Having the music
cut multiple times at the beginning of the set really killed the vibe, but
Bassnectar has a way of reading a crowd and giving them what they want and
more. Bassnectar dropped fan favorites like ‘Lights’
‘Vava Voom’ and even ‘Pink
Elephants.’ My favorite song
of the set was his ‘Technologic’ trap
remix. With the totems flying high and bassheads raging hard the entire set
this was one of the top performances of the weekend.
Late Night at the B.I.G.
tent Dillon Francis got everyone dancing to his moombah filled beats such as ‘I.D.G.A.F.O.S’, and his new song with
Doctor P ‘Music Is Dead.’ After dropping
some TRAP, Dillon played an awesome ‘Lowrider’
bootleg mashup for an overall well-rounded dance filled set while Gramatik’s
chill tracks closed out the festival at the Label Tent.
It wouldn’t be Camp Bisco without 6 sets of the Disco Bisucits.
Starting off a big slow the biscuits definitely got into their groove as their
performances went on. Saturday we were treated with another sit in from Dom
Lalli of Big Gigantic, who played Sax on the Disco Biscuits track “Spaga,” what
was part of what I thought was on the best segues of the weekend; <“Spaga>
“Above the Waves” >“Spaga” (w/dom)>. The overall vibe at Camp Bisco is
truly awesome and you must truly experience it first hand to realize that. There
is a certain connection amongst Bisco vets and rookies alike. As we loathe that
Camp Bisco XI is over it’s the experience and memories that make Bisco what it
is. Until Camp Bisco XII!
DJ: VolTran (Mike Tran), Boston
The
crowd got its first taste of trap when Zeds Dead dropped Flosstradamus’ remix
of ‘Original Don’ as well as RL Grime
& Salva’s ‘Mercy’ remix, which
later became the track of the weekend. Zeds Dead’s edit of ‘Gimme Shelter’ was definitely a
highlight from the set. To end their set they dropped a new track from their
new EP titled “The Living Dead” into their hit song White Satin. Zeds Dead
surely did not disappoint and really set the tempo for the entire festival.
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