Renegade Lights: Chi-Town Edition was an immense success. Held at Transamoeba Studios in Chicago, our Rapture party came on with a slow build, then broke free of its mooring and ascended to the sky. Granted, we all descended to terra firma once again around dawn, but the space between lift-off and return was quite the rocket ride. As with all good moon shots, we came back changed.
Spacewülf started the liftoff sequence with hot, solar flared grooves created from deft finger work. The man also rocks a mean fedora.
Raja The Resident Alien brought his unique rhythmic propulsion machine to life and set the pace for the rest of the event. I love Raja’s winding, twisting beats.
Anon Day set up, turned on and ignited the place! Take Hendrix, get him drunk in a hot tub with Prince on the set of Sesame Street and you have some small idea of how hugely Anon Day rocks.
Mend released delicious soundscapes and aethereal beats from the otherworldly realm beyond the gravity well of our planet. A gorgeous spectacle of sound.
I had a stellar time cruising outer space in my Wolf Interval set. It went off perfectly and sounded fantastic on the giant system. All the star-shining dancers made me very happy.
Nonagon grabbed the hip-hop drive, wobbled it until it squealed, and then made for his own galaxy. I love it when we play back to back, no matter which order. We’re different stylistically, but dancers get hot, hit the floor and the juice carries over.
Jeekoos dubstepped all over the galactic plane with heavy, muscular beats and tightly integrated bass. The dancing continued. The stars gave way to day’s new edge.
Sadly, Implex Grace was not able to play at the night’s tail. I’ve long been an admirer of Michael Perry Goodman’s sonic river of dreams, and was thrilled at the prospect of experiencing the live journey. Next time, comrade. In the interim I’ll just have to keep listening.
Visual decadence was created by Mattbot and Nathan, and turned great performances by all musicians into truly compelling experiences. No Renegade Lights event is complete without masterful photon slingers such as these.
Edible Alchemy Foods Co-Op delivered incredible sustenance over the course of the evening, matched in their fervor only by the powerful slingers of spirits, Whiskey Alliance. Catalyst Sound strapped down one of the largest and best sounding systems I have ever had the joy of sending signal through.
Wonderfully open city, fantastic cultural events and nightlife, performing music for and with amazing new friends: I could easily still be in Chi-Town. In fact, while I am typing these words post-rocketship here in San Francisco, I’m honestly still back in Chicago.
Tags: anon day, catalyst sound, chicago, edible alchemy, implex grace, jeekoos, mend, nonagon, raja the resident alien, spacewülf, transamoeba studios, whiskey alliance, wolf interval
