Lolla Flashback

Perry's Electro Playground

by Tracy Block on August 14, 2009 at 11:03AM

The entrance to Perry's "rage stage."

Walking along Michigan Avenue early Friday afternoon, there was no telling what Lollapalooza's electro experience would have in store. From the main entrance, the rain drizzled, the clouds darkened and shiny, fresh kicks aged quickly with added muddy waters. Perry's rage stage - as I've been referring to it - was already popping off with a whirlwind of beautiful futuristic beats spiraling together. It was Chicago's own Dark Wave Disco that set the tone for the weekend's epic lineup of artists and a soundtrack of extra filthy tunes that made this hearty slice of cacophonous heaven one for the memory books.

The Rig for the Gig

Praise Perry Farrell for his well-thought blueprint on the location and setup of this most perfect dance floor. "Wow, this is so much bigger than last year," returning Lolla ticketholder Dani Levy said. "It's in a better location and it's much more creative." With a circular towering rig that looked to be more than 50 feet in the air and a platform that would make any DJ feel like a god of the turntables, the main stage of Perry's was massive. Two entryways with colorful, welcoming "Perry's" signs hinted those who couldn't tell they had already arrived.

State-of-the-art sound equipment blasted hour-long sets throughout the weekend, and it was clear by the sounds of speakers and massive woofers that Perry's was no joke. In fact, Farrell and his team of electro technicians put up a most impressive location that had nods of approval all weekend. At night, the big rig came alive. With thousands of LEDs blinking and shimmering, the visual art kept Perry's aglow, flashes running up, down and around the tower in sync with every beat, transition and impromptu mashup. A flood of color came washing over the tower. Electric blues, pinks, reds, yellows, greens and purples flashed from strobes and spotlights. And as they hit the stretched spandex decorating the energetic art, it was an explosion of eye candy.

Chivalry's Alive and Kicking

The best part about Perry's was its friendly vibe. You'd think with all that rage and aggressive activity, the majority of the Perry's posse might knock you down and leave you in the dirt, but the ambiance was the complete opposite. Crowd surfers were up in the air from the minute popular team The Bloody Beetroots hit the decks, but everyone in the crowd was ready and willing to keep things safe and functioning. Although I took a few blows to the head, my new male companions were sure to shield and protect me and all other ladies as best they could when things got rowdy. New faces shared water to hydrate and T-shirts to dry rain and sweat. Festies were conscious and alert to make sure everyone around them was having a blast. The pit was all smiles, save for some great facial expressions to match dance moves, and the company Perry's kept was just damn delightful.

The security team is to be thoroughly thanked. That band of dudes were true troopers. Quenching thirst with water, supplying sunscreen and catching airborne ragers for three days straight, they deserve a steak dinner and some spa action. It was amazing to see them keep their cool. By day three, it was great to watch them interacting with front-row kids, dancing along and grinning, instead of losing their tempers and booting the wild ones.

Smorgasbord of Sounds

By day three, this reporter had Tweeted, BBM'd and texted the masses about the greatness that was Perry's. Only to be sorely bit back with replies like "Why haven't you gone to see any real music?" The answer: I was literally a kid in a candy store. All things electro took over this musical playground. Genres ranging from disco to trance; West Coast rap to punk and break beats to dubstep all found a home at Perry's fine-tuned house.

Friday - Dark Wave Disco brought local flavor as the first formation of a dance crowd inched forward toward the barricades. The rain fell throughout their set; forming puddles, as everyone danced to one of the first of many Daft Punk "Technologic" renditions. The rain did not stop, but the show did go on. Italian prodigy Bob Rifo and DJ Tommy Tea, two parts that create The Bloody Beetroots, sported their much-anticpated venomous Spiderman masks, dropping filthy bombs like "Warp" and their violated Timbaland remix "Discommunication." And the rain was the perfect complement to the undeniable electricity pulsating through the crowd as fans jumped in excitement. Soon after, mastermind A-Trak - who's been conquering the ones and twos for more than a decade - repped his label Fool's Gold with mixed tracks from his recent release Infinity +1, along with plenty of dance-heavy jams and nasty hip-hop flavor, including samples from the new MSTRKRFT disc Fist of God. The rain finally ceased as Simian Mobile Disco took over and first looks of lights ignited the tower. They're super-sexy disco grooves and repetitious choruses kept hips and lips in motion.

Saturday - The forecast: hot with a chance of even hotter. No rain boots necessary for Perry's brigade on day two. Kaskade brought both Chicagoans and house lovers back over for some treats for both the eyes and ears. Sultry, female-heavy vocals matched swimmingly with the scantily-clad brunette twins dancing on either side of the platform - complete with baby blue boyshorts and leather gloves. Perry Farrell made a special appearance, gracing his brainchild of a stage, with s sexy champagne-toting wifey on hand and an extra serving of Kaskade for admiring fans. Later, LA Riots kicked things into full gear with their amped underground remixes and disco-flavored uppers. A dapper Diplo, who came fresh off a set over at the Playboy brunch, arrived dapper as hell in a three-piece suit, proving he's got class in both the looks department and on the decks. He tossed out a rage fave, Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit," urged 'hands up, thumbs down,' dropping sassy reggae and pleasing the sea, as always. San Fran's father of all things bass went head to head with Tool and Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and like the champ that he is, Bassnectar fired up and delivered up a set that would give you more wings than a case of Red Bull. As he jumped in the air, his untamed mane was just as out of control as the monstrous vibrations.

Sunday - A quadruple threat took over Perry's, making it hard to leave to check out other bands, but when in ragetown... The Glitch Mob was the first act to conjure the masses, plating an intense dose of West Coast rap, funky sub bass and glitch-hop with plenty of Tupac, Dre and Ice Cube to add another genre to the Perry's palate. Fans cheered in appreciation as DJ edIT hooked it up with free CDs, an unheard of gesture since the underground group doesn't tend to record and release. German turntable tech Boys Noize came through next, offering some Michael Jackson, new tastes from his fresh album and a handful of dance jams from '07 album Oi Oi Oi. Rounding out his set with Feist-featured favorite "My Moon My Man," it was hard to see the innovator leave the decks, but Perry's had to make way for the sonic boom that is MSTRKRFT. Pedaling most of the same set throughout summer, JFK and Al-P kept the dance partying flowing with popular remixes including Simian/Justice's "D.A.N.C.E.," Daft Punk's "One More Time" and a bunch of jams from sophomore drop Fist of God, including hit single "B.O.U.N.C.E.," a new dance anthem that commands everyone to bounce high and bounce low, and trust me, they do. The MSTRKRWD seemed like energy was dwindling, there wasn't much time for a beer or bite break before Deadmau5 took to the stage, with his signature mau5head intact. Three makeshift mau5heads jumped from the front row to the Canadian award-winning DJ's electro house, that made waves, allowing both crazy movement and down-tempo foot tapping.

You'd think three days of raging might take its toll on most electro heads, and it definitely does physically. But, the most amazing thing about electro platforms and fests that feature progressive electro is that it always leaves festies inspired to check out more music, new DJs and extra-fresh remixes. There was plenty of talk Sunday night of making the trip down to WMC and Ultra '10 in Miami, which had previously brought in about 80 percent of Perry's headlining electro artists. It's always great to find a rage stage to let go and dance, and dance we did. This Miami head hopes to see you all come March, but until then, get out there, support local DJs and continue surfing the net and trading tunes so you can keep those feet and feelings fueled.