Mountain Oasis Electronic Music Summit
Asheville, N.C.
Oct. 26, 2013

I love you Asheville, but you're a weird fuckin' town. On Saturday, it took me 25 minutes to get from the press check-in to the U.S Cellular Center two blocks away because of some crazy, costumed bicyclists slow-rolling their way through the heart of downtown. (Missed a photoshoot because of it, too.) I was also distracted by a zombie flashmob (and a few years ago, I found myself in the middle of a Santa-clad flashmob in an Asheville hotel lobby). But this isn't about the oddities of a mountain town - it's about a music festival...

The inaugural Mountain Oasis Electronic Music Summit was held over a period of three days, but I was only able to get there on Saturday. With that being said, I was the most interested in that day's lineup - Nine Inch Nails, Zola Jesus and Bosnian Rainbows topped my list for the festival's shows, and it just so happened that they were all on the same day.

Here are my biggest takeaways from the festival and performances on Saturday:

THE MUSIC

* Nine Inch Nails' latest tour offers some revamped versions of classic tunes - they're more electronic than industrial grunge - and plenty of new material. Frontman Trent Reznor is an outstanding performer and as much as I wanted to love the show, every minute I stood and watched was taking away from my one-of-a-kind memories. In 2009, I watched NIN at Bonnaroo which, at the time, was their last scheduled U.S. performance. Reznor addressed the crowd that night and you could tell he did everything he could to feed off of every ounce of the crowd's energy and give everything he had back to us. The show ran until 3:15 a.m. as the band trashed instruments and left a path of destruction and awe with everyone who witnessed it. When I heard the band was going to play some more club shows after that, it took a little away from that "final" 'Roo show. When they hit the road again recently, it diminished my experience a bit more. When I watched them on Saturday, I thought, "They're so good, but nothing will ever match that late-night set when we all thought it was the last time we'd ever see them live." Did the band sound great? Yes. Stellar. But I have such a lofty reference point that anything I see from them after 2009 is destined to pale in comparison.

* Zola Jesus clearly doesn't get enough attention. Her performance at the Thomas Wolfe Auditorium with JG Thirwell was jaw-dropping and simply beautiful. Performing songs from Versions with a quartet of classic musicians, all focus was on her powerful vocals that far outshine those heard on the album. The arrangements were stripped-down, yet lush and full of spirit and emotion. I still regret leaving early to catch Gary Numan.

* Gary Numan is not the same guy I remember from the '80s. Sure, he still sings the electronic hit "Cars," but he's a lot closer to Reznor and NIN these days. Dressed in black, Numan thrashed around the stage while singing, screaming and generally riling up the crowd with a heavy-handed rock set.

* Bosnian Rainbows, featuring former Mars Volta guitarist Omar Rodríguez-López, kicked off my Saturday in style. The performance was a bit quirky but the music deserves a second listen. Teri Gender Bender, of Le Butcherettes (which also featured Rodríguez-López), strutted and danced her way around the stage, sometimes in staccato movements, which were almost distracting.

* Tara Busch sat inside the Diana Wortham Theatre providing a live soundtrack to an independent film. A unique performance where I focused on what she was doing with her Moog setup more than the movie itself. (Worth noting that Michelle Moog, daughter of Moog Music founder Bob, was in attendance.)

* Godspeed You! Black Emperer chased away plenty of audience members with its sonic assault. A video screen projected plenty of images above them while the band lost itself in instrumental warbles, ramblings and cacophonous curtains.

THE FESTIVAL
* No one is going to refer to MOEMS as the "Festival of Lights." I don't think I've ever been to a darker, dimmer group of performances visually than the ones I witnessed on Saturday. Bathed in blue, purple and red lights, each show was more difficult to see than the previous. Did someone forget to pay the electric bill or hook up a few white lights? Even from the front of the room, bands were often difficult to make out. For me, as a photographer and music fan, I enjoy the visual aspect of a performance as well as the audio portion. If I didn't want to see a band, I'd listen to the radio or an iPod. At one point someone asked me, "Did you see Chromatics? I heard the singer is cute, but I couldn't see a thing!"

* I understand fire codes and capacities, but if you are a fan of Animal Collective, there's a good chance you left Saturday night frustrated. All festival-goers were told to get to shows early in order to get a seat, and the AC show got packed early in the 2,400-person venue. A couple hundred people stood waiting in line when the doors were closed and no one else was allowed in.

* The distance between venues is definitely walkable when you've got the time for a stroll, and each location had its own vibe - some shows were even held in a movie theater. Going from the intimacy of an auditorium to the spacious expands of an arena in just a short walk provided interesting adjustments to sound and sights. I wouldn't recommend that anyone try to drive between spots...

* Parking was a struggle. I don't think I've ever been to a concert in Asheville where I could park within five blocks of the venue. If the U.S. Cellular Center - ExploreAsheville.com Arena and Thomas Wolfe Auditorium - fits roughly 10,000 people, you'd think there'd be enough parking relatively close by...

* Where's the food? Instead of going for the usual crap arena fare of a hotdog or pizza, I ventured out into the streets of Asheville to find ... a lot of wandering and walking. Most festivals include a guide to the food - even when there are no other options but the vendors on the festival grounds. I knew I didn't have time for a restaurant, but I struggled to find anything resembling a grab-and-go spot. I kept thinking, this is the perfect place for a bunch of food trucks, but didn't find one. With performances starting at 7 p.m., most people were probably smart enough to eat before they got there - but I spent my time searching for parking, remember?

For an inaugural festival, it wasn't bad, but I would have thought AC Entertainment would have learned a lot from MoogFest in previous years to have things more packed into the three-day festival. Limited panels/showcases/art installations and bands starting at 7 p.m. left me feeling like I was missing something during the day. It all makes me wonder what MoogFest will do next year, and what kinds of improvements MOEMS might make as well.

NIN setlist
Copy of A
Sanctified
1,000,000
Terrible Lie
March of the Pigs
Piggy
All Time Low
Disappointed
Came Back Haunted
Find My Way
The Frail
The Wretched
The Big Come Down
Survivalism
Burn
Even Deeper
Wish
The Hand That Feeds
Head Like a Hole
Hurt

Slideshow MountainFest 2013

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MountainFest 2013

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