Electronica Hits the Highway
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Big Top, organized by a pair of old-school underground dance-music supporters, is being promoted in Chicago by the firmly establishment Jam Productions, while the Electric Highway tour–sponsored by BF Goodrich and Spin–has gone through the respected independent promoters at Innovations, who are also behind the popular local rave magazine Thousand Words. Depending on how you look at such things, either the street cred in both cases balances out the corporate interests or the corporate interests negate the street cred. But the fact remains that even at street level, electronica boosters are eager to run with the big boys of summer.
The Chicago kickoff is actually one of the smaller stops on the tour. It runs from 8 PM to 2 AM, with more production-oriented acts on the stage and DJs spinning from the balconies. Because of the limited time, a number of the tour’s most interesting performers are not on the Chicago bill, including drum ‘n’ bass heavies like Grooverider, Ed Rush, Trace and Nico, and techno pioneer Kevin Saunderson. Neither Aphex Twin nor van Dyk will drop in, and contrary to earlier plans, top local DJs won’t be included either. What remains is a still-large 14-act bill that squeezes in elder statesmen Moby and 808 State; a big “tribal” techno contingent that includes Loop Guru, BT, Banco de Gaia, Michael Dog, and Eat Static; a few unexceptional young acts like Empirion and Headrillaz; and, in a laudable nod to the music’s beginnings, Detroit techno avatars Juan Atkins and Derrick May.
Art accompanying story in printed newspaper (not available in this archive): Chad Sommer, Wade Elliott, and Bobby Villalon photo by Brad Miller.
