Live from the Beehive

As drum machines replace drum sets, keyboards replace voices and my new laptop replaces my old Tascam 4-track, electronic music is in full swing. Whether it's an '80s revival or a Web 2.0 reflex, WIUX DJs have come to embrace the vocoder and love the robots. \nMore and more electronic music has been filling 100.3 FM recently. Promoters have been sending us new electronic bands and our DJs have been finding many themselves. What is the new fascination with electronic music? I'm not entirely sure, but I've jumped on the bandwagon and have been enjoying the ride.\nWho Needs a Band?\nFollowing the success of electro-duos like Daft Punk, solo artists like Mylo and many others, new electronic indie bands have been shrinking. Not in numbers, but in size.\nI remember when I first saw The Blow in Bloomington at the-now defunct-Church on Adams Street. There were just two people performing. Khaela Maricich and Jona Bechtolt (now known as YACHT) danced around on a dimly lit stage while their Mac iBook, sitting cautiously at their feet, pumped out 8-bit jams while they added their vocal soundtrack. \nAt first I didn't get it. Coming from a pretty rock n roll only background, I wanted to see multiple band members on their knees, screaming at each other, wailing on their instruments. I didn't get it then, but after seeing local performer, Totally Michael, I began to find out.\nTotally Michael is a local performer and musician who plays simple, fun songs off his computer accompanied by his voice and occasional guitar playing. His shows aren't just about watching his lanky short-short-clad body bounce around the stage; rather, it's more about crowd participation. Like a DJ, Totally Michael wants his audience to dance and have fun. The days of the mopey, depressed hipster are over. \nDance Parties\nShows are less about standing nowadays and more about dancing. Though I learned all my moves from the seventh-grade bar-mitzvah circuit, I enjoy getting down. It's a less embarrassing work out, after all, and dancing hard while watching the newest indie craze is like killing two birds with one stone. \nIn New York, they have MisShapes; in Chicago, Flosstradamus keeps it real, but in the Bee-Hive we have Electrocute. Hosted by DJ Flufftronix and held at The Hospital on South Walnut Street, Electrocute brings a combination of live electro-acts and DJs. \nThere's no pressure at these shows. It's not like my (or anyone I know for that matter) dance moves can impress. Rather, Electrocute is about having fun and dancing hard. With acts like Matt and Kim, Scream Club, Southside Will and, most recently Yip Yip (although that show was canceled because of snow), Electrocute brings all the electro goods home for your dancing pleasure. \nThe Laptop DJ\nIt's a trend that I can happily say I fell into. Also known as DJ DumpTruck, I use a program called Ableton Live to simulate DJing on my computer. Using a computer allows Laptoppers to loop, sample and alter songs at the click of a button-light speeds faster than their traditional counterparts. \nLaptoppers can beat match. In other words, songs flow seamlessly without fade outs, awkward transitions and often with the DJ's own flair. Like all music trends, Laptop DJing started in major cities internationally and spread its way through the country. Bloomington is, surprisingly, home to a few Laptoppers: DJ PumpkinPatch, my mentor, another friend of mine Paul, Flufftronix, and others. \nOn March 3, Bloomington folk will be graced with the presence of one of the world's most famous Laptop DJs. Girl Talk (aka Greg Gillis) is a biomedical engineer in Pittsburgh, Penn., who leads a double life. Pop-music aficionado and science freak combine on his album "Night Ripper," revealing a very untraditional sound. Without creating music in the traditional sense, Gillis uses hundreds of samples of pop songs to create his own barrage of dance music. \nGillis capitalizes on songs that we're all embarrassed to like, strips them of their irony and does so all very musically. Plus, audiophiles get a kick out of all the name-dropping (I can almost hear the hipsters pat themselves on the back every time Gillis lays out a new sample): Bow Wow, Dire Straits, Annie, Young Jeezy, Weezer, Three-Six Mafia, Kanye West, and The Cure are only a few of the many, many artists sampled on "Night Ripper."\nExpect all of those artists and more March 3 when Gillis spins the hard drives at the Buskirk-Chumley. The event is a concert, fashion show and most importantly a benefit for the World Health Organization. So check it out, WIUX 100.3 FM will be there.