ARTS IO MONDAY, MAY 22, 2000 Rock and roll all night... KISS will be storming through the Pala of Auburn Hills this Wednesday an@ Thursday w/ Ted Nugent and Skid Row michigandaily.com/Ar Detroit hosts world's largest electronic music festival 'Mer de Noms' not Tool, but not bad. By Jason Birchmelor DIy Arts Writer After 15 years of lurking in the shadows, techno music will be recog- nized this weekend in the city where the music origi- nated. From Saturday after- noon until DEMF Monday night, Hart Plaza in Hart Plaza, Detroit d o w n t o w n May 27-29 Detroit will fea- ture four stages of continuous electronic music free of charge featuring over 70 artists along with plenty of non- musical enter- tainment. Titled The Detroit Electronic Music Festival, this Woodstock-scale event claims to be the world's largest festival of its kind. 'As the organization responsible for the unprecedented suc- cess of the city's annual jazz festival, Pop Cuiture Media expects up to one million people to descend on the downtown area alongside the river beneath the Renaissance Center. In addition to the marketing power of Pop Culture Media, Detroit legend Carl Craig will serve as the festival's artistic director. In addition to nearly every significant electronic musician in Detroit - and there are many - Craig has also booked international talent to bring eclecticism to the event. Techno artists dominate the line-up, along with some non-techno artists such as Mos Def and Detroit's most acknowledged radio DJ, Gary Chandler. Arguably the most recognized tech- no artist in the world, Richie Hawtin will close the festival on Monday night, preceded by Detroit legend Derrick May and Rolando, one of techno's rising stars. The highly respected group The Roots will head- line Saturday night with their rare style of live hip-hop. Another one of Detroit's rising stars, Stacey Pullen, will headline Friday night. While the idea of a huge festival with some of the world's best elec- tronic music artists free of charge will surely be fun for all, there is a deeper significance to this event. The festival signals the first time the city has rec- ognized the camp of world-renowned artists who call Detroit home. In the early '90s, many of Detroit's best tal- ents such as Derrick May and Stacey Pullen fled the city for Europe, where they were treated like superstars. Though some returned, others such as Jeff Mills remained, opting for a life where they were respected for their artistry. Once Detroit's most pop- ular DJ in the late '80s and now con- sidered the world's most popular tech- no artist, Mills announced his first Detroit appearance in years at St. Andrews Hall this past Thanksgiving weekend. Sadly, the performance was canceled due to a lack of ticket sales, illustrating exactly how little respect these artists receive in their home- Coesy fNovaute Headliner Richie Hawtin Is one of 70 artists performing at the festival town. "This festival is important for the city," Pullen explained. "The people of Detroit know about the music, but we aren't educated on the music. We don't have the media that we need to support the music. .If you don't have a magazine or radio and only one or two clubs, people aren't going to know about the music. It's really important for everybody that normally comes down for the ethnic festivals to be turned onto this music. It's Detroit music so it's time for a little educa- tion. Another interesting situation involves Detroit's enormous black community. Back in the mid to late '80s, an almost exclusively black clientele frequented the original tech- no clubs such as The Music Institute. To this day, many of the city's premier producers and DJs are black, yet white suburbanites comprise the majority of techno's audience. Pullen explained the strange racial divide: "I'm from the old school. I started Ding in 1985 and have been kicking it with guys like Derrick May See DEMF, Page 12 Every few years, a group of estab- lished musicians from various bands comes together to create an album of experimental music. From USA For Africa to Temple of the Dog, these side projects are often well received and Grade: B occasionally A Perfect aren't, but they never fail to cre- Cilde ate a buzz among Mer de Noms music fans and Virgn critics alike: The Reviewed by latest name to Day} Arts Wrier join these ranks is David Reamer A Perfect Circle, spearheaded by Tool's Maynard James Keenan and gui- tarist Billy Howerdel, who has worked with Tool, The Smashing Pumpkins, and Nine Inch Nails. The other mem- bers of the band, Troy Van Leeuwen, Josh Freese, and Paz Lenchantin, have numerous projects under their belts, including work with Failure, Guns N' Roses, Devo, and classical composition. "Mer de Noms," the group's first studio release, is intended to showcase the combined abilities of the band's eciectic cast. Maynard's lyrics and Howerdel's music provide a solid foun- dation for the other members to build upon, and their talents are up to the task. The band meshes seamlessly despite its diversity, and each member demon- strates his or her musical prowess throughout the course of the album. "Judith," the album's first single, is actually not quite representative of the overall sound of "Mer de Noms." The alternative radio hit is significantly faster than the rest of the album, and sounds more like Maynard's work with Tool. The rest of the record is made up of a variety of pensive tracks that refle Howerdel's musical preferences at expose Maynard's contemplative sid Songs like "Thinking of You" at "Sleeping Beauty" show a mark< departure from the dark themes of To and Nine Inch Nails. The one major downside to "Mer c Noms" is its pacing. The album is ve: slow, composed mostly of ballad-tyj songs. Maynard's voice adapts itsel prisingly well to A Perfect Cire e drann-oa nace. but lankthe nania and energy of his work with Tool. The rest of the band is similarly competent but lethargic, and as a result the album fails to engage the listener for its full 45- minute length. In the end, "Mer de Noms" will no doubt be held up to the standards of Tool. While Maynard James Keenan is not the band's only member, or even the mind behind the music, he is easi- ly the band's most visible membe~s such, "Mer de Noms" will be forever remembered as Maynard's experi- ment, whether it is judged good or bad. A Perfect Circle is not Tool, how- ever, and may disappoint fans that are expecting that same dark, heavy sound. "Mer de Noms" is a unique album made by outstanding musi- cians, and stands on it its own, regard- less of the names associated with REGISTRAR'S BULLETIN BOARD Due to the implementation of a new student administration system, touch-tone registra- tion, touch-tone grades, and address updates on Wolverine Access will not be available May 24 through June 4. During this time student records and student financial infor- mation cannot be updated. Updates will be processed beginning June 5. On June 51, students can resume drop and add for summer and fall using the Web at http://wolverineaccess.umich.edu (view student records, registration). Address update will also be available. 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