Pretty Lights
With Paper Diamond and Spankilicious
Old National Centre
April 12, 2011

[Photos by Benjamin Swisher.]

Is the music more important than how it’s provide? This was a question I’ve been struggling with recently, and I think this show may have provided an answer for me.

Tunes from Blockhead greeted me as I walked into the ballroom. The downtempo and trip-hop flavors alluded to songs like “Something’s Wrong,” “Samso,” and “Finally Moving” by Pretty Lights. These cuts formed the foundation of what intrigued me about the headliner. I knew that in the few years since I’d discovered him, he had risen through the ranks of festival performers to be among the top electronic acts in that market. I had not really kept up with his last few releases but assumed that he had maintained the sound that drew me to him. I also had a sneaking suspicion that he might have started incorporating electro and dubstep sounds but I hoped I was wrong about that.

Trip-Hop producers had been migrating to Electro variations in the same way that Junglists have begun making Dubstep. Separating the true believers from those who are just following the market is academic at this point. The truth is that those who make music for a living have to chase the ever decreasing revenue streams to maintain that career. The only people who get sticked are those who enjoy the music that was discarded for more profitable endeavors. But back to business…

The first act up was Spankalicious from St. Louis. The entire set was a particularly melodic style of Dubstep. I’m not a fan but his performance was raw. He used his body language and movement to give rhythmic cues to the crowd in a way comparable to a conductor showing the finer points of a piece to an orchestra. I’ve never really seen anything like it before. He additionally had some drum pads he would tap with sticks every now and then. The effect was fun but minimal and came off more as a gimmick to me than a crucial part of the music. I didn’t see his setup but I spied knobs getting turned, implying a midi-controller with software.

Here’s why these setups create mixed feelings:

The accessibility of the resources to provide sound to a crowd is higher than ever before. A laptop, inexpensive midi-controller, and pirated software can be obtained for less than the cost of a single turntable. Software can detect key and automatically sync beats for the user. Any genre or sub-genre you desire can be accessed freely or without high cost.
Virtually every barrier that existed between thinking about being a Dj and being one is no longer relevant. Saving up money for equipment, traveling to strange and exotic spots for records, developing rhythm, a sense for harmony, and the dexterity to put it all together. These are all requirements of the past.

The ultimate question is this: Will the “Laptop DJs” make use of all this new tech to push the boundaries of music and performance… or will they simply do what the previous generation did bu without the same level of skill, passion, or dedication?

The answer that the next 2 acts gave me was mixed.

Paper Diamond was described to me as “Downtempo Glitch-Hop”. Unbeknown to the person who told me this,

I’m a producer/DJ of both Downtempo and Glitch-Hop. He took my bemused look at his description to ignorance instead instead of skepticism. I thought I heard a laugh track play somewhere in the background.
To my ears, It seemed to me to be a strange mix of Gabber and Techno played from 130 to 160 bpm. I thought the music was pretty unpleasant but the crowd ate it up. One thing I really noticed was the lack of showmanship. The first act kept the crowd hype through music and performance; this cat kept the energy up through the music alone. There wasn’t anything charismatic or dramatic about how he presented the songs. This was intensified by the fact that he performed his music with an Ipad (or something comparable).

In the end, I wasn’t as concerned by the tools used as much as the lack or virtuosity. Drops, breakdowns, dynamic filtering, and a ridiculous variety of additional techniques can be used to liven electronic music up. I didn’t feel like I really saw or heard any of those techniques get employed. If any of that was actually done, it was subtle enough for me not to notice and I was consciously looking for it. I guess the Paper Diamonds is either a master of the delicate touch or a “Jukebox.” I can’t be certain…

Each of the two opening sets were short, though. Regardless of my opinions on either music or showmanship, each set lasted about an hour apiece. The intermission music was RJD2 and similar acts. Again; enjoyable but a poor representation of the other styles I’d heard so far.

Throughout the show, I had been rapping with Slater Hogan about the event. Keeping it Deep had brought Pretty Lights Music out and made a little change. The ticket price was relatively heavy but the fans showed out in enough numbers to make it worth the promoter’s time. I’m extremely casual in my enjoyment of House music, but I have to admit that Keepin’ It Deep is one of the few reasons that national and international electronic acts stop here in Nap. And out of all the electronic acts I’ve seen; Pretty Lights is one of the most visual. Plus, we can’t ever forget that this show was a relatively big deal and yet was performed by working class musicians from an independent label. No matter what impression the show itself gave me, I have to give an A+ for effort anytime small names make big moves. But things began to pick up…

The back of the stage had 9 pillars of varying height. Each pillar was built out of LED’s and the front of the custom performance platform was the same. These had been on stage the whole night but inactive to the point where I  assumed they were just backdrops. I don’t even have words to describe the range of images that flashed, but it was a sick counterpoint to the sounds.

The music was hard. Filter sweeps, tactical samples, impromptu drums triggered by pad, and most of the other tricks that I lamented not seeing/hearing in the previous acts. It was all there.

Plus, the new style wasn’t bad. The intense synth of electro, the choppiness of Dubstep, and the drum patterns of Hip Hop were present in virtually every song. To be sure, there were variations now and again. Certain songs had more elements of Trip Hop or Rock or even occasional Swing elements… but it was sample usage that differentiated most songs for me.

A prime example would have Steve Miller’s “Time Keeps on Slipping” looped up and turned into a bed for Eric B. and Rakim’s “I Know You Got Soul.” It put a smile on my face.
To be real… the sound, lights and overall presentation were on point. The only thing bothering me were two assumptions I had made that felt reinforced by the first two hours of his set:

1. Pretty Lights had entirely forsaken the style of mellow but dramatic tunes that had drawn me to his music.
2. My fellow attendees weren’t hip to those early songs and didn’t miss them.

The finale of the night proved me wrong on both counts. The first few notes of “Finally Moving” brought a roar from the crowd. It had been retrofitted with new percussion and synth to fit in with the rest of his sound but the unmistakable Michael Bell guitar loop was in full effect. What threw me off was how he went acapella during the classic Etta James vocals and the crowd sang along word for word. As much as I wanted to dislike the crowd based on cultural prejudice towards “Hippies,” it’s physically impossible to hate on people while they’re singing Etta James. I tried.

Afterwards, the set ended as Pretty Lights pretended to retire for the night while waiting for the crowd to make enough noise to justify coming back for a couple more songs. Among the last two songs was a fun mash of Hova and Alicia Key’s “Empire State of Mind” with Biggie’s “Juicy.” Another smile-worthy moment.

Overall: The show left me conflicted. I was too sober to get lost in the festival vibe and just enjoy things for what they were. My journalist/Dj/Producer brain over-analyzed a lot of what I saw and heard and stole the magic of a fun and energetic show from me. The excitement from the crowd told me it must have been a good show, but I stayed stuck on how little I thought the opening acts were doing to produce sound. The true story is that most of the folk around me didn’t care and just had a good time. Maybe, next time I’ll leave my cynicism at home and do the same.