By Brendan M. Gillen
6/14/00

Pitch'd is MT's weekly column devoted to Detroit's dance music deejays, producers, promoters and intelligent club programming. Our purpose is to acknowledge and support the Detroit scene(s), but to also respect those who wish to keep their efforts underground.

Check out the entire Detroit Electronic Music Festival schedule of performing artists.

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EVERYBODY’S ON THE GUEST LIST

The first Detroit Electronic Music Festival didn’t just make history with its attendance, but with the music, the people and the party. My parents’ generation may have had Woodstock, but we had this, and this was free. For everybody.

I saw children dancing to my favorite DJs, seas of people getting down with the Ren Cen as the backdrop and cops taking pictures for tourists in front of the DEMF TV display. As much amazing music as there was, it was the people who were the highlight, the smiling faces, the feeling of a true homecoming, the unity within the community. There was so much elation, so much celebration, as the history and future of Detroit electronic music were accurately told through thoughtfully prepared and inspired sets from all the participants. Through the size and diversity of the crowd, you could actually feel this music colliding with the Detroit mainstream. This was the vision of the innovators so long ago, but it finally happened. This was the psychic healing Detroit has needed for years.

DEMF HIGHLIGHTS

Saturday: Craig Taborn on the Main Stage taking new directions with electronic music and improvisation, newcomers Bill Van Loo and Dykehouse rocking the Underground Stage, the Tikiman show turning out to be the great Chain Reaction Basic Channel throwdown, Theo Parrish delivering pure sonic elation on the C-Pop Stage. The power of this event came together for me as I watched Stacey Pullen take the crowd to new heights.

Saturday night: There were so many choices, it was unbelievable. I saw all five Burden Brothers perform as Octave One, playing their remix of "Knights of the Jaguar" at the 430 West 10th Anniversary party for an enthusiastic crowd, then I went to the overstuffed Seventh City, a farewell party of sorts for Dan Bell (at least for the summer, he’s in Berlin) with highlights from John Tejada on the decks and Sean Rudiman live, and still another party was packed at Sharif’s.

Sunday: DBX giving it to ya raw, live, on the Main Stage, Kenny Dixon Jr. with Umar Bin Hassan (of the Last Poets) striking one of the deepest chords of the festival when he played Gil Scott-Heron’s "We Almost Lost Detroit," and just a short while later yet another bizarre combination with Slum Village doing the deepest truest Detroit hip hop, as Mayor Archer walked on stage and gave a speech, phew. The Underground Stage, from the sublime sets of Carlos Souffront to Spacelings & Bassheads (with a cameo set from Carl Craig), Adult., Godfather, Ectomorph, DJ Assault, was one of the most focused at the DEMF. The crowd reacted so strongly that they had to stop letting people into the underground area because they couldn’t fit another person in.

Monday: I barely had any energy left but there was so much music to see! Paris and Andy took over the Motor Stage as the Detroit Grand Pu Bahs gave new lessons in how to have fun. Monday was the day many of the originators got to play: Kevin Saunderson on the DEMF Stage, Shake dropping music science on the Underground Stage and proving you can’t keep a good man down, Derrick May with Umar Bin Hassan, giving the DEMF one of its most spiritual moments. Richie Hawtin closing out the DEMF with Deck Efx, and then the final speech of Carl Craig – it was too unbelievable that this actually happened.

You too can relive the DEMF, as most of the fest has been archived online at: www.groovetech.com/demf/mainb.html.

DEMF 2001

With the success of this year’s DEMF, we can’t help but think about what might happen next year. So how are they gonna top this one? Could they fit any more people into Hart Plaza? I doubt it, but they could get a sound system that would more accurately present the power of the music. With the success of this year’s event, we can expect many more visitors from around the globe. Kudos to Carl Craig for such a killer lineup this year, but where will next year take us? I look forward to the continuation of the celebration of Detroit music, and I hope to see more of the inspirations for Detroit techno and its progeny there, along with the current innovators who couldn’t be there this year, like Jeff Mills, Rob Hood, Jay Denham, Suburban Knight and the other obvious choices. For the inspiration side of things, I’d love to see some of the geniuses of Chicago included, perhaps a live show from Larry Heard or Lil’ Louis with a full band. Or special performances and interesting combinations, like getting George Clinton and Bernie Worrell on stage with Mad Mike on guitar. Perhaps a tribute to Ken Collier through music, or some MC work for the Electrifying Mojo. Who knows where the next year will take us, but it sure is a lot to look forward to.

Pitch’d is MT’s biweekly column devoted to Detroit’s BPM musiculture. Send info, releases and news to Pitch’d, c/o Brendan M. Gillen, PO Box 8298, Ann Arbor, MI 48107, or via e-mail.