There are so many awesome concerts coming up so I figured I’d highlight some of my picks. The Westcott Theater among others are setting the stage for some immensely famous acts. My main interest is electronic music so I’m sticking to that for now, and since Upstate New York is starting to seem like a destination for the genre why bother covering anything else? It’s also one of the most affordable places to catch shows. You won’t find anything much more than $55 (plus tax and fees of course). Unbeatable in my opinion.
The Shows: A unique, relative newcomer who has found massive fame and two established hitmakers.
I. AVICII at Main Street Armory in Rochester:
Young, self-made, Swedish DJ, producer and remix superstar with only a handful of original tracks and remixes. In fact, he was very recently ranked sixth DJ in the world (for 2011) according to DJ Mag’s Top 100. His song entitled Levels made AVICII (aka Tim Berg) an overnight standout artist of 2011. In my opinion he is far superior to both Aoki and Guetta and most worth your hard-earned cash. In my last article I talked about the definition of the trance music genre, well Avicii is redefining it with each amazing track he either produces from scratch or remixes. And when I say remix I mean it in the best possible way–Avicii restructures every layer of a song and gives it his own unique uplifting and decidedly “happy” sound. It’s tough to describe, but I can’t listen to it without feeling great–the melancholy element of well-rounded trance songs (lyrics and melody) is replaced with bright, celebratory emotion. I can’t imagine not having fun at one of his shows.
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II. David Guetta at The Oncenter Convention Center:
Undoubtedly the king of the recent pop-electronic music frenzy. David Guetta is the number one ranked DJ in the world (for 2011) according to The Bible of electronic music, DJ Mag. While his music never did much for me he is loved by millions across the United States. It’s not surprising given his talent at producing club dance floor hits by combining his French electro roots with various American hip-hop and pop stars like Kid Cudi, The Black-Eyed Peas (a name I can’t believe I just allowed myself to mention–I HATE them.) and Nicki Minaj. I give Guetta endless credit for easing the transition of electronic music onto U.S. radio stations (and sadly, ringtones) and into nightlife scenes all over the country. Someone had to do it. Anyway, I’ll probably still grab a ticket just to see him play–why not, right?
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III. Steve Aoki at The Westcott Theater:
Badass producer, DJ and (as I just found out) son of the late Benihana founder Rocky Aoki. Steve Aoki is famous as the founder of record label Dim Mak and by association with other musicians whose work he remixes. He has been in several bands (mostly hardcore) and Dim Mak, which was founded in ’96 has released music by the likes of MSTRKRFT, The Bloody Beetroots, Scanners, Mystery Jets and others. If you’re suddenly confused don’t worry–most of the artists on Dim Mak is more or less untouched by those less familiar with electronic music. Most of it is also far “grimier” (only way to describe it) than the mainstream. It is often hard electro crossed with hardcore band type vocals–by that I mean screaming (though not always). It’s not for everyone. Because Aoki’s studio albums are usually not too remarkable his show in ‘Cuse will be made up of songs from his artists and remixes of various pop club hits. Don’t get me wrong, it’s going to be a hell of a show–and a happy (though aggressive) medium between pop “catchiness” and electro pretension.
$30.
The Westcott Theater – Click here for directions
Sunday, April 22nd. Doors at 8:00 p.m. Buy Tickets Now!
© 2012, Michael Rotella. All rights reserved.
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