TheDopeFiend

Superglued Music & Events Website

There are a lot of music event and concert websites out there. Some hit the mark, and others don’t. Superglued looks like one that has hit the mark. The website has a clean and simple user interface with some really nice integration with Facebook, Twitter and Flickr. The website allows users to browse events, share events and review events they have been to. They have also released a Superglued iPhone app that looks to have a interface and some cool tools.

Fabulous Music Festival

Wow, as if there wasn’t already enough stuff going on Halloween weekend. The Fabulous Las Vegas Music Festival looks to be one of the best options yet. Taking place at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, the event is hosting an official Ed Banger party with Busy P, Sebastian, DJ Medhi, So Me and Mr. Flash. Also included in the line up is a live set from Crystal Castles, Felix Cartel and Heartsrevolution. I will be in San Francisco at the Part of the Weekend Never Dies Premier, but if I wasn’t this would be right up there for my next choice of events.

Minitek NYC

For the electronic music lovers in the New York area, you may want to consider checking out the first ever Minitek Festival going down on September 12, 13 and 14 in NYC. The festival is focusing on innovation in both music and art. Featuring musicians and artists that are using unique techniques to change the way we experience performances and exhibitions. The tickets are only $80 for the entire weekend, and with the look of the lineup of performers that seems very reasonable. Head over the their website for more info, full lineup and tickets.

Eventful

In the past I have been rather skeptical of most event and concert community websites. They never seem to keep good track of the smaller, less mainstream shows and venues. However, Eventful has quickly changed my opinion. The website’s integration with many other tools is the best part. Eventful not only allows you to track your favorite local venues and the shows that are playing there, but it does a great job at customizing your profile to search out artists that you like. Eventful will even search you Last.fm profile and iTunes library for the music you listen to and then search for those artists playing in your area. You can also demand artists that you would like to see in your city, join community groups and discussions and add your favorite venues and artists to your watch list.

And for those of you with an iPhone of iPod Touch be sure to check out Eventful’s iPhone application.

STEREO @ Sound

This coming Wednesday (June 18th) The Sugar Rush Kids and TheDopeFiend bring you the kickoff party to our new weekly club night STEREO. STEREO is a night dedicated to bringing a whole new breed of internationally recognized DJs and bands to Salt Lake City, as well as giving local DJs the opportunity to play and gain exposure. Unlike most other weekly club nights in Salt Lake City, STEREO will feature new DJs every week, many of which have never performed in Utah. Plans are already in the works to bring out MSTRKRFT, Eli Smith and other So Sweet artists, Steve Aoki of the DIM MAK fame, and many others.

For the kickoff party Dan-oh , weekly resident at Hollywood’s DIM MAK Tuesdays, will be laying down a set that’s sure to be unforgettable. Also performing will be Salt Lake’s own Never Eat Neon and DJ Nova from Los Angeles.

If you live in SLC and you are looking for something different check out STEREO.

Every Wednesday
Club Sound
579 West 200 South
Email here for VIP list

Party W/DJ Craze Tonight

If you are in Salt Lake City tonight come party with DJ Craze, Kanye West’s official tour DJ, at the Hotel. Never Eat Neon will be opening along with DJ Juggy, and then Craze will blow you mind.

“This is Craze – the man who arguably defined his hometown Miami turntablism scene, only to return now to reinvent this take on the Miami sound; a neo-genre of his own special blend of every which way club codes from the ghosts of discos past, present and future.”

If you are interested email me to get on the guest list.

Coachella Review ‘08

Surprisingly this year was my first visit to Coachella. I had not planned on going and have never been big on music festivals, but this year I made a spontaneous decision to drive down with some friends. The line-up this year included a lot of acts I was excited to see, most of them electronic performers. I had many expectations as to who would blow me away, who would be okay, and who would most likely let me down. For the most part I would say my expectations where all proven to be wrong. Here is the rundown on my Coachella experience and on the performances I saw.

See videos
See photos

BLOWN AWAY

Justice
Okay, admittedly I actually didn’t expect to be blown away by Justice, it was more of a hope. I had seen a DJ set by Justice before In Hong Kong and enjoyed it greatly, but it didn’t quite live up to the hype. Their performance at Coachella lived up to the hype and surpassed it by a long shot. I would go so far as to say it was the best performance I have ever seen. The set was compiled of live remixes of their songs, and also what seemed to (hopefully) be previews of some new tracks to come. The stage set, lights, sound, everything was perfect. The only downfall to the experience was the lack of some people’s enthusiasm in the crowd. I will never doubt Justice again.
See Video

Simian Mobile Disco
I wasn’t sure what to expect of Simian Mpbile Disco’s performance. I had seen videos of how the make their music live, circling around mostly analog instruments tweaking knobs. The show started out a bit slow for me, but by the time the build up to Hustler was being played it was totally on. This performance would probably rank in my top 3 performances of this year’s line-up, I was totally blown away.
See Video

Boys Noize
Surprisingly it was the smaller, daytime DJ events that had the best vibe. The crowd at these events seemed to be there specifically for the DJ and the music. Boys Noize has impressed me remix after remix, consistently releasing good tracks. I was then even more impressed when he released his full length album Oi Oi Oi last year. I had high expectations of Boys Boize and they were fully met.
See Video

PLEASANTLY SURPRISED/SHOCKED

Holy F*ck
Holy F*ck has never made a big impression on me before this performance. I have had a hard time sitting down and listening to more than just a few tracks of theirs at once. The live performance by these guys completely shocked me, it is truly live electronic music. The way they sample and loop their music is amazing. I highly recommend seeing them.

Kid Sister, A-Trak & Flosstradamus
It is good to see people making fun, dancey, silly, good hip hop. Kid Sister’s performance was pure entertainment. It was fun, light and her music is made for partying. Opening for Kid Sister was the world famous A-Trak who was not surprisingly fantastic, and backing her up was Flosstradamus. I had expected the show to be good, but I was surprised at how good it really was. I would put this performance in my top 5 at Coachella this year.
See Video

Hot Chip
Again, I like a track here and there by Hot Chip, but have never been one to listen to an album in one sitting. Going into the show I expected more of a rock show, but what I got was a dance party. During their live performance their music is so much more energetic, bouncy and fun than on their album. It’s always nice to gain that much more respect for a band after seeing them live, and that was my feeling after this show.
See Video

LET DOWNS

Aphex Twin
In my mind Aphex Twin is one of the godfathers of electronic music. With an insane resume/discography I went into the show expecting to be blown away, instead I ended up leaving early. The music was nothing that I had heard from Aphex Twin before, and sounded painfully generic. Maybe I went in with too high of expectations, but regardless it was a big let down.

Mum
I am convinced that there are some artists/bands that just don’t really work in the Coachella atmosphere. I would say Mum is one of those bands, especially the time of day they played and their order in the lineup. I had just seen Sebastian and Busy P play their sets, and then moving from that into Mum was a difficult transition. Not only that, but I had expected their set to incorporate a much more of an electronic element. I am a big fan of Mum and their electronic, blippy sound, but their set seemed more symphonic than electronic, and truthfully was just pretty boring.

Fatboy Slim
I decided to see Fatboy Slim mostly out of nostalgia than anything else, also the fact that in most parts of the world he is regarded as a god in the dance music scene. To me he mostly came off as a creepy old guy still trying to relive the glory from his last solid album that was released 8 years ago. Maybe that comes off as sounding a bit harsh, but really the only thing that intrigued me about his performance was the enormous LCD screens he was DJing on top of. His performance, actions, facial expressions all seemed contrived and hokey.
See Video

OTHER WORTHY MENTIONABLES
:: Glitch Mob (Including edIT)
:: Sebastian
:: Stars
:: Yelle
:: Does It Offend You, Yeah?

Sugar Rush Vol. II

The first ever Sugar Rush dance party was held on the on the 1st of this month and the event far exceeded are expectations. With over 800 kids walking through the door and onto the dance floor shit got insane. The folks at MixRevolution and TheDopeFiend are back at it with Sugar Rush Vol. II. The lineup includes NeverEatNeon, Nova, Matt Hoffman and Mikal2000. This time around we have selected a different, smaller venue so if you plan on attending you best get there early, this event is sure to sell out.

Brought to you by Zuriick and Skull Candy.

Stay tuned for more info and official Sugar Rush mixtapes to come.
VIEW FLYER HERE!

iPartee

No, despite what it sounds like iPartee is not another random overpriced accessory for the iPod. It is in fact a website designed for people who want a one-stop-shop for party events. In a nutshell this site allows you to plan events and share info with friends, share and promote your events, see what events your friends plan on attending, post photos of events and of course gives you widgets to share this info on your site. One feature I would see using a lot on this site is the venue guide. Whenever I visit another city I find myself browsing tons of useless websites trying to find what is going on where. If iPartee catches on I could see it being a great tool to browse venues and events in unfamiliar cities. In the sea of cool websites popping up these days it’s a bit hard to stand out from the rest, but if iPartee manages to do so it could be great.

Embrace Miami

If you were to gather a majority of the biggest electronic/dance music names talked about throughout the blogosphere in the past year and throw them all into one massive event you would have Embrace Miami. Miami seems to be an epicenter for insane dance parties and with Embrace’s roster of DJs and artists it is sure to add to the reputation. The website isn’t all that informative about the actual event, but with Deadmau5, Switch, Sinden, Drop the Lime, M.A.N.D.Y., Junior Boys, DJ Medhi, VNDLSM, Erol Alkan, Simian Mobile Disco and Boys Noize all performing at the same event I am not sure what else you need to know.

Tradeshow Roundup

I am back from Las Vegas and back to the freezing temperatures of Salt Lake City. Over the four days in Vegas I was able to check out all four of the major fashion tradeshows going on during the week – Magic, Pool, Project and United. I would have to say I enjoyed Project and Pool the best, however, I think Magic did step up their streetwear section this time around. United had its highlights, but In all I feel their were more creative things going on at Pool and Project. Here are just a few labels or projects that stuck out as I was browsing up and down the many, many isles of convention center carpet:
:: Beautiful Decay
:: Spitfire
:: Zuriick
:: Quite Hero
:: Deter
:: Rise Up
:: Denada Designs
:: Dim Mak

Magic, United and More

I am off to partake in the trade show madness tomorrow in Las Vegas. I will be attending United, Magic and hopefully more. Stay tuned for tradeshow goodness and Las Vegas badness.

HARD NYE

My friend Jeff and I were talking the other day about plans for NYE. He mentioned we should head down to LA for Hard NYE. At the time I was like, “Ah, I don’t know if it’s worth driving all the way down there and dealing with the insane mass of party kids and all the other shit”. Later I got to thinking about it and almost punched myself in the face. Since when is a road trip with friends to go see Justice, Peaches, A-trak, Steve Aoki and tons of other kick ass DJs a “pain”. Damn, what was I thinking? There’s going to be a midnight countdown by Peaches herself, along with acrobats and a special screening of Daft Punks new film Electroma. So if the stars align properly and I am able to take make it to what is sure to be an insane party, perhaps I will see you there.

Super Heavy!

For local readers in Salt Lake City who are feeling the lack of variety in the club department, check out Super Heavy every Wednesday at The Mynt. This is a new weekly started by myself and musical partner in crime HOT NOISE!!! to bring something
new to the party people here in SLC. I won’t begin to try and list of the lengthy list of music genres that we play every week. I will tell you you won’t hear this shit anywhere else in this city, and if you like to dance there’s no better music. Besides, why explain the music when you can just listen to it?

Download the Super Heavy Mixtape!
(Feel free to re-post and share this mix!)

Super Heavy – Every Wednesday
The Mynt
63 West 100 South, SLC
Contact me to get on the guest list.

Sasquatch Music Festival: May 26-27

Honestly, what could be better than a road trip with your friends to go see some of the most amazing bands and artists in the world at a beautiful outdoor music festival? I really couldn’t think of many better ways to spend a weekend. If you agree with me you may want to consider getting some freinds together and heading to the Sasquatch Music Festival at the Gorge in George, Washington. The line-up for the 2 day festival is amazing, including Bjork, the Beastie Boys, M.I.A., Interpol, Grizzly Bear, Aquaduct, Electralane and a lot more. With a line-up like that and cheap tickets, starting at only $55, this should be a no-brainer for anyone living remotely close to Washington.

Thanks for the heads-up on this one Steph.