Ben Watt – The Festival Highlight
Electric Zoo succeeded in dispelling any anxiety that lingered after the failures of Minitek (an earlier attempt at a dance festival in Sept 2008 that was riddled with problems). In comparison, Electric Zoo could not put a foot wrong. The weather was beautiful and the venue perfect for a diverse crowd of music lovers ready to party on into Labour Day. The bus from 125th street made transport to Randall Island a breeze and there were no hold ups at the ticket queues or the security check to dampen any party moods. Despite playing the headline acts relatively safe with David Guetta and Armin Van Buuren the overall line-up organised by Made Event represented a mixed bag of deejays from all angles of electronic music, from the notable Richie Hawtin to Deadmau5.
Responsible for the nights ‘Save the Cannibals’ in New York and ‘Sunday School for the Degenerates’ in Miami, Made Event are not shy to putting on a good party. At the Zoo, the sunshine alone could have put a smile on the biggest critics face and after basking by the school buses whilst listening to the banging beats of Paco Osuna at the Sunday Hilltop tent, I drifted down to the Mainstage. For me, the highlight of the two day bonanza was Ben Watt, the head honcho of Buzzin Fly who early on played a nice reworking of the 1998 ‘Everything But the Girl’ track ‘Five Fathoms’ which with its line ‘I walk the city late at night’ vocally echoed the dusky New York backdrop . There were dozens of smiling and happy faces and a growing crowd as the sun set to Sunshine Anderson’s ‘Heard it all Before’ – a gorgeous festival moment (listen to the Ben Watt version here, I have just ordered my copy!). Watt’s set was under-attended; I fear because many fell for the big-name draw of Roger Sanchez. Luciano and Hawtin generated just as much buzz as Sanchez; however this time their sets fully met everyone’s expectations.
Being lucky enough to blag a VIP band it was interesting to see what $140 per ticket would get you, aside from elevated toilets with a large mirror, some comfy chairs and an overpriced cash bar, the ticket seemed pretty steep. Nevertheless, chilling on the bleachers whilst listening to the likes of Kaskade and later on Armin van Buuren was a nice bonus. Despite selling out the venue, the space never felt like it was at its capacity, and the close proximity of the four tents allowed some easy music hopping to sample the array of deejays from ATB at the riverside arena to the fantastic king of techno Richie Hawtin who kept the Hilltop tent bouncing from start to finish. After a lovely 2 day festival, my only gripe worth mentioning was the $9 beer tokens, city prices are rarely welcomed.
