Re: Definition Night Two: Dubstep and livetronica reign at Cervantes' - 10/09/10
The New Deal
The New Deal • MartyParty • Orchard Lounge • Raw Russ • DJ Rootz
Future Rock • The Floozies • Tokimonsta • Sonkin
10.9.10 | Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom/The Other Side
Dubstep is here to stay -- at least for a while -- and last night at Cervantes' Masterpiece Ballroom, several of the musicians there showcased the range and variety in style of this relatively new sub-genre of electronica, while also bringing the jazz and the funk and pushing boundaries. Headliners New Deal, whose livetronica skills show up the more heavy-hitting Infected Mushroom and STS9, rocked the party as soon as they took the stage -- but first, the Floozies, Tokimonsta and Sonkin warmed up the venue.
The Floozies kicked off the evening at the Other Side stage; this Lawrence, Kansas-based duo (brothers Matt and Mark Hill) played a drum set (Mark) and guitar, keys, bass and live looping (Matt). The Floozies play funk, mixed and matched with hip-hop, electro and dub, sometimes mixing a flamenco-style guitar line with deep bass and high hats, or high chimes like a toy piano mixed with low, wobbly bass lines. 
Courtesy of the Floozies' MySpace page.
The brothers introduced a couple of songs to the crowd, including "Afrofunk Sexplosion" and "Crunch Bait." Overall, their set comprised a heavily funk-influenced dub set, and they even threw in the playful synth lines from Men at Work's "You Can Dance If You Want To." The set was mellow and lighthearted, yet completely danceable, and I'm looking forward to see what these creative siblings continue to do with their talent.
Boulder-based DJ Rootz was packing the dance floor next door at Cervantes with his utterly unique blend of hip-hop, electro and whatever the hell else he feels like spinning into the mix. As I walked back over to the ballroom, I heard some of the nastiest, dirtiest drum-and-bass I've heard live in a long time -- exactly the type of track I thought Dieselboy would be throwing down at his Skylab appearance a couple of weeks ago.
Complete with nightmarish croaks and growls, unholy bass and frantic drums, it sent the audience into a frenzy, trying to dance quickly enough to catch up to the crazy tempo. He tweaked this into a full spin of the Beastie Boys' "Sabotage," dropping in extra beats and bass here and there to increase the energy of the track.
This led into some hard techno, with Rootz clearly enjoying himself behind the equipment, then a synthy disco-house number. It was all over the place as a set, but Rootz's mixes are tight and the overall integrity of his set remained solid, as evidenced by the number of bodies who didn't care what he was playing as long as he didn't stop.
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