courtesy of MSO.

Guest reviewer Patrick Palafox attended the Kaskade show at Fur on Saturday. Here are some of his thoughts about it.*

I discovered why Kaskade calls himself that. His set was an endless shower of sound that poured with the strength of Niagara Falls. Before heading to the show, I did some intense research to find out which country each DJ on DJ Magazine’s Top 100 DJs of 2010 list is from. I found that only seven of the DJs are from the US. Kaskade, ranked number 35 out of 100 for the world, but is number one among DJs representing the home of the brave. At first I thought that this DJ list was about as useful as T-Rex arms, but then I discovered that this information is actually something you can use should you find yourself in a group conversation about DJs. You might hook up, because your knowledge is so vast. You’re welcome for that tip; now onto Kaskade’s set.

So, Ryan Raddon a/k/a Kaskade crashed in around 12:30 AM and made the club go wild for almost over three and a half hours. He stood in an elevated DJ booth with monitors on his left and right, and a bigger screen behind him above his head. Each monitor showed the image of this Illinois native having the most fun at work. Watching Kaskade spin** is like watching a kid finger paint for the first time. He was smiling, mixing, and singing along to the songs. Occasionally he would look over at the crowd and people would yell. In fact, I think people yelled for three and a half hours.

For the first hour and a half I noticed that Raddon was playing his stuff while mixing and matching other musicians’ as well. I want to point out that he did not just go up there and play his songs like you would hear them on an album. I am truly thankful for this. This is what makes going to see a DJ worth paying money for.*** When you see a DJ it’s like you are aware of where the sound came from and how he is changing it; you experience the music in a completely new way. For example, he mixed “Fire In Your New Shoes” which features vocals by Martina from Dragonette with the beat to “Dynasty”.**** The way he mixed it up, it tasted so good to my ears. I could have sworn I heard my ears slurp up the sound like spaghetti and go “Ahh!”. Another kick ass moment was when he mixed Underworld’s “Always Loved A Film” with some heavy house bass. He also rocked Cicada’s “The Things You Say.” I love these songs and knowing that Kaskade loves them too means that I have good taste.

Now, the second half of this early morning set consisted of the proven Kaskade formula of the sexy female vocalist paired with the glam electronic beat. He transitioned into this mellower mood gradually towards the end of the night, probably for the last forty minutes. The energy was so intense before he applied the formula. I was sure that there was no way the night could end. People were jumping so hard; I thought I saw the head fly off of a girl dancing in a cage; then all of the sudden he dropped “Move For Me,” which is a collaboration track he did with DeadMau5, and the mood flowed in a completely different direction. It was as if he reversed the flow magma back into a volcano. I noticed that the crowd was closing their eyes and raising their hands while their bodies swayed slightly from side to side. I made sure to look at my watch when he played “4AM”; it was actually 3:30 AM but who cares. The night ended with “I Remember” as the house lights lit up. Kaskade is a true Patriot and I am glad that I made clever use of his name as a metaphor.

* Patrick Palafox is a part-time blogger known as Chatty Pat and an open-mic comedian that goes by Pat E.P.

** I don’t know if he used vinyl that would enable me to use the term spin but humor me I need verbs.

*** Unlike the terrible experience I had watching Club 75 at Coachella. Their set was like being at a party where somebody got wasted and left their IPOD on shuffle; with odd silent segues in between each Dj’s top 25 most played playlists.

**** I stood right in front of Martina at the Dragonette concert at the Rock and Roll Hotel when she sang this song. It sounded just like it did on the Dynasty album. Kaskade mixed it totally different on Saturday, which goes back to my point, that a DJ is up there making something fresh with something you recognize.

Michael Darpino

Michael splits his free time between defending the little guy and championing the underdog. He has been haunting the concert halls, dive bars, and greasy spoons of DC for the last 16 years. His interests include live rock music, researching obscure military/political conflicts, and good hamburgers. He is a friendly grump, has wisdom beyond his years, and is on a life-long quest to attain music nirvana. Follow him on Twitter if you dare!