Every couple months in Los Angeles, a few thousand people have a quaint get together titled simply, “HARD“. It is here were they are entranced by the finest envoy of eclectic electro this side of the Mississippi. Well, unless HARD is on rotation in New York.
The Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) Standard for portable ladders contains specific requirements designed to ensure worker safety when using portable ladders. #1926.1053(b)(4) States: Ladders shall be used only for the purpose for which they were designed. Shit! I swear, if any of you tell Skerrit Bwoy from Major Lazer that OSHA may frown upon his leaping through the air from said ladder and into the crotch area of his lady friend, I will turn this car around and no one will be getting a drop of MDMA. Not even you DJ Diplo.
I have photographed Steven Ellison, a.k.a Flying Lotus, 5 or 6 times in the past 2 years. It was during the first set of his which I photographed that I noticed Flying Lotus had certain, “tell”, as they so call it in poker. Just before the baseline is to drop through the floor, into the basement and most likely end up in the water table, he would pause as if floating Wylie Coyote style in mid air. Just hovering there above his Eve bitten clamshell which contains the soles of well worn Samiyam 8-bit beats and most likely photos of a black tee clad Thom Yorke.
The Hard Fest tour, which made is way through LA this past weekend, is at first glance another dance/electronic show with a killer line up. But it’s the little things that you can’t see behind the scenes which make this show a favorite for the performers and a pain in the ass for yours truly. There’s basically a media blackout. No cameras are allowed in the VIP, Artist Area, or on stage, and there no photo pit. Interviews are granted only if you can hunt them down. “Por que?” you say in a comically bad Gerard Depardieu accent. Well, it’s so the Rock stars can be Rock stars and don’t have to worry about the restraints of being politically correct. A time to relax and be amongst their peers and mingle with some early 80’s Madonna looking groupies.
A pupilometer is a device which is used by an ophthalmologist to test the response of a person’s pupil to visual stimuli. Ya know that hole in your eyeball that a friendly police officer tends to enjoy shining a light in when you’ve had 2 or 16 beers. It’s been determined that the amount of dilation of the pupil in the eye can be proportional to the amount of particular interest in a subject. The size of dilation indicates an increase in mental processes, but the speed of dilation can also be a sign of drug use or intoxication. I.e. Mr. Flashlight. HARD fest was this weekend in La-La land and I decided that this would be an opportune time to study this very phenomena my scientific self. But, with a camera flash. The following gallery I believe will duly support my early hypothesis: I believe the crowd will be very into the show and thus pupils will be dilated to reflect said peeked interest. Either that or as one police officer in attendance relayed to me, “These f#@king kids are whacked out of their GD minds”…
White Men Could Jump…Now Just Dubsteps. Once upon a time in jolly ol’ England, Gary McCann was a promising basketball star. Like all stars though, it eventually ran its course and sadly burned out. But, in its place, a ghost named “Caspa” was manifest and now bounces a different beat intent on dribbling your eardrums. While listening to this poltergeist murder the crowd at HARDfest this past weekend in Los Angeles, I could see that there was definitely no one reaching for a phone to call you know who.
This event has been CANCELLED! See official website for information.
Originally acknowledged for her fierce fashion sense and quirky stage presence (pre-Gaga, mind you. …Just sayin’.) M.I.A. now juggles a career as a Rockstar, dotting Mother, and political influencer; constantly bringing her ideas for positive global change to the forefront. Included within Time Magazine’s 2009 list of “World’s Most Influential People,” M.I.A. returns to the stage to do what she does best, Rock out! …While conveniently popping the cherry of the first HARD FEST LA. How inappropriate was that sentence? I liked it. M.I.A.’s 2010 national stage debut will be this Saturday, July 17th at the Los Angeles State Historic Park located in Downtown LA. The event is from 4pm-12am and tickets range between $50-$70 available online and at certain retail outlets (Complete list of dates and ticket outlets at HARDFEST.com). If you’re not close to The City of Angeles or are still using that whole “recession” thing as an excuse, A.) This is why you’re still a virgin. B.) You’re in luck as HARD FEST is streaming select artists from the LA and NYC event exclusively at redbullmusicacademyradio.com.