LA WeeklyBy Roselle Chen
HARD Summer Fest
Los Angeles State Historic Park
8/6/2011
Guys in rice picker hats and Jabbawockeez masks, and girls in booty shorts, sports bras and furry boots filtered into sunlit, grassy Los Angeles State Historic Park Saturday for HARD Summer Music Festival.
30,000 people were in attendance, so perhaps one shouldn't be surprised there were some problems. According to the public information officer for LAPD, 17 people were arrested, 16 of those on felony charges for narcotics and one for robbery. Also, of the thirty people who required medical attention, about half of those had to be sent to the hospital.
Gaslamp Killer, Odd Future, Skrillex and Chromeo reviews below this picture of two attendees, selected at random.
Credit: Photo by Roselle Chen
Gaslamp Killer
A large crowd sat as if at a giant picnic, waiting for Gaslamp Killer to start at the HARD Stage. As the curly red haired, mustachioed DJ got started just after six, someone shouted, “Kill it Gaslamp!”
He proceeded to mix in everything from “Paranoid,” “I Am the Walrus,” “All Along the Watch Tower,” “Are You That Somebody?” and “Double Rainbow” into his glitch and dubstep set.
“If you ain't bouncing you need to bounce to this, bitch,” he said, swinging his wild hair, going into rhythmic convulsions and occasionally mopping his face with a purple towel.
After a while the crowd's enthusiasm matched his, and folks began waving their arms in the air.
A group of guys got impatient, chanting “Wolf Gang, Wolf Gang, Wolf Gang,” during Gaslamp's set. “Guess what? It's not time yet,” he said, adding: “I'm a be real. I'm waiting for these motherfuckers too.”
Odd Future
Credit: Timothy Norris
Finally it was time, and Odd Future's female member Syd tha Kid climbed to the stage, with a smile that filled her whole face. “What's up?” she said.
The crowd went nuts. Left Brain and Hodgy Beats, aka MellowHype, came in and started with “64.” “Knock, knock! Delivery, I'm the rhetorician/ Body decomposition, ripping through your rhythm…”
Tyler, the Creator, foot still broken, soon hobbled on stage and joined the rest of his crew. “My foot fucked,” he said. Sometimes sitting on a stool and sometimes limping around on one foot, his performance was definitely memorable. Fans knew all the lyrics to the songs and they sang along reverently.
“You got some big fuckin' titties,” he said to one girl. “You got a fucked up hair cut,” he said to another.
Whatever you may think about Odd Future, they're definitely intriguing to watch live. Tyler referenced his MTV VMA nomination for best new artist, as well as for video of the year for “Yonkers.”
“All you motherfuckers gonna vote for me at the VMA's or I'm gonna kill your family,” he said.
Still, he admitted that he was sick of performing the song. “I hate doing this, but you gotta do what you gotta do,” he said. “Put your middle fingers up in the motherfucking air.”
Odd Future finished with “Radicals,” the crowd chanting, “Kill people, burn shit, fuck school.”
Chromeo and Skrillex reviews below.
Chromeo
Credit: Timothy Norris
Electrofunk duo Chromeo performed at the HARD Stage around 10:30 p.m. with their three lovely backup singers emulating Robert Palmer girls. They performed on their trademark keyboards and synthesizers propped by mannequin legs.
With Dave 1 on guitar and vocals and P-Thugg on keyboards and talkbox, they opened with “Don't Turn the Lights On.” The stage pulsed light each time for the hook, momentarily blinding those in the front. The audience enjoyed the cheerful, infectious music. People were spread out, shimmying along to their Melbourne shuffles.
The duo performed “Tenderoni” to cheers and “Fancy Footwork” to even louder cheers. “Rest in peace, Nate Dogg,” said Dave 1. “Who else is gonna say that at HARD Fest except for yours truly?” He then thanked the crowd, calling them “gangsta” and asking them to put their peace signs in the air.
He then shouted out his brother A-Trak, of disco house duo Duck Sauce, who was performing next on the HARD Stage.
Skrillex
Credit: Timothy Norris
Skrillex was the last act on the HARDER Stage and his fans were rabid. Most people I talked to throughout the night said they came for the 23-year-old dubstep producer. I got smacked in the face trying to get out of the crowded stage area because people were throwing their hands in the air to the beat.
The energy was alive and aggressive, matching his monster-like beats. Highlights included his remix of Benny Benassi's “Cinema” and La Roux's “In For The Kill.” It seemed as if every girl screamed at the top of their lungs the words to the former track: “You are a cinema, I could watch you forever. Action, thriller, I could watch you forever.”
Skrillex's set also included “My Name is Skrillex,” a Nero and Skrillex remix of “Promises,” “Kill Everybody,” “All I Ask Of You,” “Rock 'N' Roll,” “Scary Monsters And Nice Sprites,” as well as Ludacris's “Move Bitch” and DJ Kool's “Let Me Clear My Throat.”
“This is the best welcome home party I've ever had,” said Skrillex, who's been touring for four months. He told the guys to put their ladies on their shoulders, and they obliged.
Odd Future, Chromeo, and Skrillex set lists below.
Odd Future set list:
1. MellowHype – 64
2. Domo Genesis, ft. Tyler, the Creator – Rolling Papers
3. Mike G – Forest Green
4. Tyler, the Creator – Tron Cat
5. MellowHype – I Got a Gun (You Better Run)
6. Domo Genesis, ft. Hodgy Beats – Tang Golf
7. Tyler the Creator, ft. Hodgy Beats – French
8. Mike G – Everything That's Yours
9. Tyler, the Creator – Splatter
10. Domo Genesis, ft. Hodgy Beats – Steamroller
11. Mellowhype, ft. Mike G – Loaded
12. Tyler, the Creator, ft. Jasper Dolphin and Taco – Bitch Suck Dick
13. (NEW SONG THAT I DIDN'T WRITE DOWN THE LYRICS QUICKLY ENOUGH TO)
14. Tyler, the Creator – Yonkers
15. Mellowhype ft. Tyler the Creator – Fuck the Police
16. Tyler, the Creator – Radicals
Chromeo set list:
1. Don't Turn The Lights On
2. I'm Not Contagious
3. Outta Sight
4. Tenderoni
5. Call Me Up
6. Hot Mess
7. Waiting 4 U
8. Bonafied Lovin'
9. When The Night Falls
10. So Gangsta
11. Momma's Boy
12. Fancy Footwork
13. Night By Night
14. Needy Girl
Skrillex set list, more or less:
1. Promises
2. Cinema (Benny Benassi)
3. In For The Kill (La Roux)
4. My Name is Skrillex
5. Kill Everybody
6. Move Bitch, Ludacris
7. Let Me Clear My Throat, DJ Kool
8. All I Ask of You
9. Rock N' Roll
10. Rudeboy Bass
11. One More Chance, Jackson 5
12. Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites
13. Cinema (Benny Benassi)
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