2/22/07
The Atlas crew went down to Bend, Oregon and played at the Grove last Saturday. This is the second time we’ve done this. The Bend Bulletin and the Source were kind enough to write us up AND print color photos of the crew! Ben Salmon at the Bulletin worked particularly hard on a two page article introducing Bendites to the crew and some of the styles of music that we play. The last time we played at the Grove there had been a huge show at the club the night before and all the regulars didn’t come back out for our Saturday night show. This time the restaurant side of the club was full when E3 started at 9:30pm and people started dancing right away. People responded especially well to the Balkan tracks E3 played, and the way people spontaneously broke into folk dancing and clapping made me think the music was causing them to access ancestral genetic memory. The dancing continued throughout the night with the dance floor growing and growing. E3, Anjali and I took turns, rotating every 45 minutes or so. The crowd was very enthusiastic and supportive throughout the night with many spontaneous bouts of screaming and shouting. Many people told us how happy they were that we had made the trip down and that they hope we come back. Chris and Erica at the Grove explained that our music was entirely new for their crowd, although local DJ Lacuna told me he will sometimes drop some Funk Carioca. I played a mix of Kuduro, Arabic squelch, reggaeton, Funk Carioca (lots of the metal variety), Bhangra, and Bhangra hip-hop mashups. Both Anjali and E3 were very complimentary about my second set so I can simultaneously feel good about that set, and wonder just how bad my last few months of sets have been in comparison. It was great to have so many people appreciate us for coming down to play our music. The Grove is hoping to have us come down every few months and we are looking forward to that as well. Thanks to my brother Dan and his wife Elizabeth for putting us up, and my sister Rebekah for driving me there and back. I even got to hike up Smith Rocks with my brother. I haven’t hiked there since the ’80s.
IK