Author: SarahBeth
Date: 08-08-01 12:34
Area:One Festival - Tweeter Center - Tinley Park, IL July 25, 2001
Main Stage Performers: Nelly Furtado, The Roots, Incubus, Outkast, Moby
DJs: John Curley, The Innovators, Rinocerose, Carl Cox, The Orb, Paul Oakenfold
I wasn't sure what to expect from a concert such as this. The performers all seemed very diverse, and it was hard to imagine what kind of crowd this festival would attract. However, everything fell nicely into place, and I was pleased with the general outcome. Personally, I was there to hear the DJs. I had never seen Oakenfold before, so that was the clincher. I would have even paid the $60 just to see him. I suppose a lot of people weren't too happy with the ticket prices. But considering the number of musicians that were there I thought it was reasonable. We arrived at the festival a little late thinking that the concert would run well into the night. Too bad it ended at 11. First things first... we headed straight for the DJ tent where Carl Cox had just begun his set. We missed Nelly Furtado, John Curley, The Innovators, and Rinocerose, so I am unable to comment. I was very impressed by Carl Cox's performance. The reaction from the crowd was pretty intense. He sure had them dancing! The best part of the tent was definitely the sound. We're talking about bass that forced your body to move. The sound was amazing. Props to Ford or whoever was responsible. My complaints about the tent are few, but crucial. First of all, the tent was way too small. And despite efforts to air condition the tent, it was really hot. They had a lot of cool lights, but the fact that it was the middle of the afternoon sort of ruined the whole effect. There was a line just to get into the tent, which wasn't too bad at first but a half hour before Oakenfold went on it got really long. They opened the back part of the tent to give access to outside. It was fenced in, forcing you to go through the line of course. But there you would find the smokers, more dancers, and those that just needed to breathe. If it wasn't for this opening I don't think I would have been able to handle the tent for too long. It was a nice touch, but again it was too small. I think that someone underestimated how many peolpe where there just to hear the DJs. The Orb sounded good. I'm not much of a fan, but they drew a large crowd. They only played for about a half hour. I think Carl Cox played a lot longer than he was supposed to. Then the master of DJs, Oakenfold, started his set. I personally thought he should have played the main stage since his audience was huge. He put on an amazing performance. I have never seen a performer control an audience that way before. He played a lot of new material. I have most of his cds, but I didn't recognize much. Although, I feel that new is always good. An Amazing performance! Now for the main satge... The Roots were the first performers that we heard. The sound during their set was pretty bad. I'm not sure if it was due to the equipment or what, but it was pretty muched ruined because of it. Incubus sounded pretty good. I'm not too familiar with their music. I only know that one played out song, which you bet they played again. They sounded pretty true to how they sound on their album. This day and age that is pretty rare. Outkast sounded good. They had a large audience, and also were true to their sound. To top of the night was Moby. I don't know about you, but when I see Moby I expect to see a multi-talented artist running around the stage playing all sorts of different insturments. But for the most part, he just ran around the stage. He did bang on the bongos every once in a while though. He did sing for most of his songs and sounded good. His back-up vocalist was amazing. Moby's ligts were pretty impressive. However, I can't understand how he can afford to have all these extravagant lights for his performance, yet have a small DJ tent. The sound during his set was good. He changed the way a lot of the songs sound on his cds, so that was refreshing. Finally, I would like to comment on the crowd. For the most part, the majority of attendants were young (late teens, early twenties). And they were all really great. Everyone was very friendly and considerate. And I will make an exception for the DJ tent. It was impossible not to trample on people in such a small space. But I met a lot of cool people there, and I was pleased with those that were there to share the Area:One experience. Oh, and before I forget, the booths that were set up around the theatre were also a nice touch. I wasn't able to play in the Intel booth, but I watched a few people mixing cds/records. I thought that was a neat idea. Well, I'm sorry that this review is so long, but I feel it is important to touch on every aspect of the concert. I would love to see this become an annual event (next year with a bigger tent), and I would also recommend it to anyone. Even if your only there to see one performer, there is still much to see and do. I suppose the diverse line-up of musicians guarenteed that there was something for everyone.
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