Moogfest 2011, Day One -

Lucian Crockett: Moby took the stage for the third show of the night at the Asheville Civic Center Arena. Despite his subdued lifestyle and vegan diet, the guy is a rock star, and he commanded the attention of the crowd throughout the show. It was also refreshing to see an electronic artist that doesn’t sit behind his computer for their entire show. Moby is an amazing musician, which he showcased by jumping between the bongos, the electric guitar and the keys as he ran through a set of his biggest hits. He closed the show with a song he hadn’t played in the U.S. in 20 years, which he celebrated by taking his shirt off and standing on a box.

After Moby, TV On The Radio filled the final slot of the night and procured a solid turnout at the Civic Center despite their outcast status as a rock band at the electro-heavy festival. “Golden Age” generated a collective booty shake from the crowd, while their rendition of Fugazi’s “Waiting Room” turned up the weird with its distorted, driving riffs. “Repetition” and “Wolf Like Me” closed out the set, both of which had the crowd singing along as the band rocked away. “Satellite” was a beautiful nightcap for the first day of the festival, leaving the crowd to return to the mountain cold for the night and prepare for another great day of music on Saturday.

The attendance and the energy in the Civic Center was a bit underwhelming for the first night, especially with the big names kicking off the festival in that arena. Granted it was the first night of the festival, so fans may be saving their energy, but hopefully there will be more of a buzz in the air as people get settled in.

Allison Hussey:I wasn’t sure what to expect for my first Moogfest and my first trip to Asheville. I’d heard great things about both, but was eager to form my own opinion. I love it already. Tonight I’ll see Dan Deacon, Amon Tobin, The Flaming Lips and who knows what else. Last night set the bar high, but it doesn’t look like tonight will disappoint.

Holy Fuck had some of the best, most intense energy of Friday night’s performances. Band members thrashed around their respective synthesizers, guitars and drums, powering through their tight hour-long set and only occasionally pausing to slip in a “thank you.” The performance was a fierce yet controlled chaos, and the crowd was completely mesmerised. They were simply being smashed with sound and energy. The end of the band’s set required a moment to reflect and re-compose before moving on.

Later was Flying Lotus at Thomas Wolfe Auditorum. The line to get in was enormous, even when the venue was at capacity. Very, very few people were seated — most were on their feet dancing, and the whole crowd seemed to pulse and writhe as one entity along to Flying Lotus’ beats. The formal venue felt a little strange for such an offbeat crowd: there were hundreds of glow sticks tossed around by people painted or in costumes, some sort of spider web-looking material stretched around up front and even a light-up hula hoop. It was a no-holds-barred throwdown, and it was awesome.

The “OMG-1”: 2 iPads, 2 iPods, a Mac Mini and a Moog Little Phatty. The ultimate combination.

Joseph Chapman: There’s a ton of Moog gear up for demonstration this year. We started the day at the Moogaplex for a panel discussion and wound up spending most of our time playing with the Phatties, Voyagers and iPads loaded with the new Animoog app. Chromeo was easily the best show of the night — the borderline snow/‘wintry mix’ at the outdoor stage meant you only had to boogy harder to stay warm. UK’s Zomby brought massive old school dubstep to the Orange Peel. Some of the older folks working the photo pit seemed a little disappointed — Zomby was up onstage with only a laptop and a Heineken, and when he lit up a hand-rolled cigarette (contents: probably only 50% tobacco. That’s European EDM for you) it seemed like he was more likely checking his email than playing a set in front of 200 people.