Revolution 909
Must write a bit about my experience last night. Went to a small Dutch rave called Revolution909, in which the famous analog synth was the focus of the evening. As digital as everything has become at these events, the analog synths (303, 606, and 909) are verrrry popular and hold an understandable fascination among both DJs and dancers alike - after all, they do add a unique sound that you can't get from the new stuff. Fortunately, modern musicians realize this and have not discarded analog in the least. Several times during the evening the synthesizer itself was held up to the audience so we could all admire its beauty.
The event was held from 12pm to midnight in the "Amsterdam Bos" or Amsterdam forest. It is a big park to the Southwest of Amsterdam and our area was a small sports field right on the side of a beautiful lake, with trees all around. The weather was gorgeous. They put out blankets for us to lay on and my friend Alyson and I enjoyed the warmup part of the afternoon just laying in the sun and drinking some wine.
Soon things heated up and the music took hold. By then, we had found Victor, an adorable little Mexican gay friend I met in Madrid, but who had moved to Holland long before me. He is simply a ton of fun to party with - so full of joy and great to talk to and dance and laugh with. And I met Richard, a Dutch OkC guy who wrote me out of the blue asking what techno events I go to. This never happens to me; I am always the one dragging people TO these events and not the other way around. So that was nice, and he seems very cool. So the four of us made our way to the front (as is my way) and totally lost ourselves in the music and the vibe, which was interestingly Dutch. I guess because the event was not so big, there weren't a ton of foreigners there (I felt we were noticed), and it was lovely to see the Dutch go wild to music.
After the most famous international DJ, Christian Smith, blew us away with his sound, the music went downhill significantly with whomever followed. Boring: it was a disappointment. Alyson went home and I considered doing the same. But Richard told me that Remy, the last DJ and a Dutch DJ, was supposed to be very good. So we got some more wine and soldiered on until he came on. Thank goodness for daytime parties!
DJ Remy did not disappoint. In fact I was picking up my glass of wine at the bar when I heard this incredible sound from the stage...and had to rush back, spilling much of it as I bumped into dancing people on my way. He was amaaaazing! I haven't yet figured out the words to describe why his sound is different from the rest. The first and only word that has come to my mind was "holistic". While Christian Smith did an amazing job of moving from the melodic to the poundingly hard and back again, Remy somehow did it all at once. Beauty and strength, together: my personal ideal in terms of music. And it was so fun to see the crowd go absolutely crazy for it. I remember way back, thinking it was a bit strange to call raves "parties", when you think of parties as something more personal in someone's home. But I felt at the end there, that this was a true party, because everyone was dancing from their hearts, as if they were in a private place where they wouldn't be seen...so much individuality and expression. A real treat!
The only downside is that literally 5 minutes before we left, I was elbowed hard in the eye by an enthusiastic dancer. Both she and her partner were extremely apologetic...but today it looks like I took a permanent purple marker to my eye. I am about elbow-height to most Dutch people, so I guess I shouldn't be very surprised. And fortunately I know it isn't permanent.
So now I head towards Awakenings, arguably one of the most famous parties on the planet. I hope my eye won't be purple then! It's hard not to have very high expectations, especially considering I know such wonderful people will be there: not only Kerri and Etienne but also Victor and Richard have tickets. And the lineup is second to none.
I am a lucky, lucky girl. I find myself saying this often...
The event was held from 12pm to midnight in the "Amsterdam Bos" or Amsterdam forest. It is a big park to the Southwest of Amsterdam and our area was a small sports field right on the side of a beautiful lake, with trees all around. The weather was gorgeous. They put out blankets for us to lay on and my friend Alyson and I enjoyed the warmup part of the afternoon just laying in the sun and drinking some wine.
Soon things heated up and the music took hold. By then, we had found Victor, an adorable little Mexican gay friend I met in Madrid, but who had moved to Holland long before me. He is simply a ton of fun to party with - so full of joy and great to talk to and dance and laugh with. And I met Richard, a Dutch OkC guy who wrote me out of the blue asking what techno events I go to. This never happens to me; I am always the one dragging people TO these events and not the other way around. So that was nice, and he seems very cool. So the four of us made our way to the front (as is my way) and totally lost ourselves in the music and the vibe, which was interestingly Dutch. I guess because the event was not so big, there weren't a ton of foreigners there (I felt we were noticed), and it was lovely to see the Dutch go wild to music.
After the most famous international DJ, Christian Smith, blew us away with his sound, the music went downhill significantly with whomever followed. Boring: it was a disappointment. Alyson went home and I considered doing the same. But Richard told me that Remy, the last DJ and a Dutch DJ, was supposed to be very good. So we got some more wine and soldiered on until he came on. Thank goodness for daytime parties!
DJ Remy did not disappoint. In fact I was picking up my glass of wine at the bar when I heard this incredible sound from the stage...and had to rush back, spilling much of it as I bumped into dancing people on my way. He was amaaaazing! I haven't yet figured out the words to describe why his sound is different from the rest. The first and only word that has come to my mind was "holistic". While Christian Smith did an amazing job of moving from the melodic to the poundingly hard and back again, Remy somehow did it all at once. Beauty and strength, together: my personal ideal in terms of music. And it was so fun to see the crowd go absolutely crazy for it. I remember way back, thinking it was a bit strange to call raves "parties", when you think of parties as something more personal in someone's home. But I felt at the end there, that this was a true party, because everyone was dancing from their hearts, as if they were in a private place where they wouldn't be seen...so much individuality and expression. A real treat!
The only downside is that literally 5 minutes before we left, I was elbowed hard in the eye by an enthusiastic dancer. Both she and her partner were extremely apologetic...but today it looks like I took a permanent purple marker to my eye. I am about elbow-height to most Dutch people, so I guess I shouldn't be very surprised. And fortunately I know it isn't permanent.
So now I head towards Awakenings, arguably one of the most famous parties on the planet. I hope my eye won't be purple then! It's hard not to have very high expectations, especially considering I know such wonderful people will be there: not only Kerri and Etienne but also Victor and Richard have tickets. And the lineup is second to none.
I am a lucky, lucky girl. I find myself saying this often...