By far the hottest party I’ve seen yet at The Kinetic Playground! A stacked lineup heavy with electro-womp-womp, Savoy and Vibesquad threw it down like there was no tomorrow. My night started off with The Coop, organic yet electronic their instruments memorized the audience with ease. The chimes and conga drums were the highlight of their live performance. The Coop perfectly transitioned to our favorite Didgy Slacker who threw down some dirty mixes, rapping and even beat boxing followed by Gemini Club. To add the experience, artist John Franchi was posted up live painting to the music, while Adeline Kreis was making some of her famous funky colorful new era caps. Finally the long awaited Vibesqaud entered the main stage.His excitement filled the room as he drilled the audience into the floor with his grimey bass and dub heavy rhythms. The crowd went wild. Savoy blew everyone off their feet; from Boulder, Colorado these guys do it big with two dj’s and a live drummer. Their impressive house crescendo built up to an explosion of electro-dub step was unlike anything I’ve ever heard before. Savoy raged through The Kinetic Playground and took Chicago by storm. Big thumbs up to the crisp sound system at Kinetic, and intimate atmosphere and could’t have been a better venue to jump off these amazing artists. An epic show that will resonate with the already awesome reputation of the  playground for years to come.

Photos: Scott Bittinger

Review By: Shayna Gladstone

The Big Gigantic & Two Fresh Winter Tour

Saturday, February 27^th, a day to be remembered for all of those who attended the last day of the Big Gigantic and Two Fresh’s Winter tour at the Kinetic Playground in Chicago, IL.  With crowds constantly pouring in through the doors until it seemed like there was no room left for eager attendees, yet more kept coming.  A sea of happy faces mixed in with multi colored LED hula-hoop’s and the crowd bouncing like there was no tomorrow, it was easy to see how excited people were for the headliners.

With openers such as, The Malah, INDIGoSUN, J A S P E R, and GHETTO SEXUAL setting the stage for what was to come, the suspense and buildup were intense.  With the constant flow of music anywhere from jazzy/electro to dub step, all anyone seemed to want to do was dance and have a good time, and in this writers personal experience it succeeded.

What was to come was the much-anticipated moment of the night, Big Gigantic taking the stage, on lookers crowding to catch a glimpse of the duo, followed by an impressive array of lasers and lights to accompany the moment, it was impressive for both sight and sound.  The noise rattling hits of the drums, and the piercing saxophone made the experience one of a kind.  Its hard to find new, original musicianship in a world crowded with internet sensations, but this particular show was an excellent example of both.  With Two Fresh finishing up the night, followed by a collaboration from the two bands simultaneously, it was an exhilarating way to finish off a night of good music, with an excited group of people who refuse to just accept music that is thrown at them by popular culture.  This is a truly talented group of individuals who deserve to be heard.

Story By:  Chris Hemstreet

Check out the list of bands and their MySpace’s to hear more great music:

Big Gigantic: http://www.myspace.com/biggigantic

Two Fresh: http://www.myspace.com/twofreshbeats

The Malah: http://www.myspace.com/themalah

INDIGoSUN: http://www.myspace.com/underanindigosun

And a list of future events at the Kinetic Playground in Chicago, IL can be found at:

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000472704412&ref=ts

STAGE THAT ONCE HOSTED THE DEAD HOSTS PRE-PARTY FOR LONGTIME GARCIA COLLABORATOR

For three days in early 1969, the Grateful Dead graced Chicago’s original Kinetic Playground with their now-ubiquitous brand of jam-infused eclectic rock.  Shortly thereafter, Jerry Garcia began his decades-long collaboration with Mandolin impresario David Grisman, changing the face of The Dead’s music forever. Now, almost 40 years later, the new Kinetic Playground will participate in Grisman’s latest collaboration, the Chicago Bluegrass & Blues Festival.

On October 24th, the Kinetic Playground will host the first of two official Chicago Bluegrass & Blues Festival pre-parties, co-presented by Chicago music website FANFOUND.com and music promotion company, It’s Real Music.

The event will feature Chicago Bluegrass & Blues festival VIP package giveaways, and mark the first trip to Chicago for D.C’s newest “newgrass” sensations, the Junior League Band.  Supporting JLB on the bill will be an eclectic mix of Chicago artists, including soulful pianist Dylan Lloyd, melodic electro-punks Empra and Boom Alert, and Furious Frank’s hobocamp mud show, self-described as “Frank Zappa meets Herb Alpert in Texas.”

Doors are at 8pm, and tickets are $9, redeemable for a discount off of the Chicago Bluegrass & Blues Festival ticket price.

About the Chicago Bluegrass & Blues Festival:

On November 22nd, 2008, the Congress Theater will host the inaugural Chicago Bluegrass & Blues Festival (www.cbbfestival.com), featuring the David Grisman Quintet, The Avett Brothers, and 14 other leading Chicago and national acts. While rooted in the foot-stomping influences of bluegrass and blues, the Chicago Bluegrass & Blues Festival will transport the concertgoer through the genre-defying evolution of music today.  The one-day event, with music from noon ‘til midnight, will serve as a tribute to two schools of music that continue to shape and inspire contemporary rock, jamband, funk, folk, roots, Americana, and indie cultures, while allowing festivalgoers to save a heart.  A portion of each $31 ticket will be donated to the Saving tiny Hearts Society (www.savingtinyhearts.org), an non-profit organization that raises money for America’s #1 birth defect, congenital heart defects (CHD).