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Seattlest has mastered the art of being in two places at once. Sasquatch took part of our attention for the long weekend, but we also managed to get ourselves to Detroit for Movement, Detroit's Electronic Music Festival (DEMF). Started in 2000, the festival has operated as a celebration of Detroit music culture, with a primary focus on techno. Seattlest has attended almost every year since the second, with this trip providing an annual highlight. In this season of festivals, there are some comparisons that can be drawn between this festival and other more local ones, so we'll recap the event while noting what makes this a uniquely Detroit event and those areas where local festivals could take inspiration. Since that could prove to be lengthy, we'll break this up into a series of posts. Hope you enjoy it.
Part I: The Festival
Movement started out in 2000 with a lot of surprise, since no one knew if such an event could be a success. Every year since there's been drama regarding who was organizing, what it would be called, where the money would come from, and if the festival was even going to happen. Seattlest can't really think of anything close locally other than the controversy over where the Pride parade should be held. Despite the drama, it's been successfully held every year, drawing thousands of people to downtown Detroit.
Generally, DEMF could be described as a lovechild of Bumbershoot and the Decibel Festival, with the former's scale and close confines, and the latter's techno leanings. Organized around four stages (one main, 2 tents, and one underground), Detroit's Hart Plaza operates as a perfect venue for this event, with the tall buildings surrounding the plaza on most sides, the Detroit River closing off the last.
In terms of operation, DEMF works like any other. Music all day, merch and festival food all over. One of the first things you notice about this merch is that it screams Detroit pride. Just about every booth is selling t-shirts emblazened with something Detroit related. For this there is no local equivalent. If you're at either of the above mentioned festivals, there won't be any chanting of "Seattle! Seattle!" This weekend is a moment of pride for the city, a chance for them to celebrate their legacy. Not from there? You're welcome to join in the fun (and your money is more than welcomed), but you can't help but to feel that it's not for you.
There were fewer vendors this year than in year's prior. It's not known whether this is due to the accelerated timeline for putting the festival together (Remember the aforementioned drama? This year's festival was put together in a little over 6 weeks.) One of the new rules was that booths this year couldn't have their own amplified sound. That removed a bit from the atmosphere since part of the fun of this festival was walking around hearing bits and pieces from the "unofficial" festival.
And who comes to the festival? Historically everyone. Detroit is known for its racial issues and lack of harmony (white flight, race riots, etc.), but in a case of music soothing the savage beast, everyone comes to the festival. That's shifted a bit in recent years with advent of charging, but it's still possible to see a extraordinarily wide demographic represented here. Toddlers dancing to techno? Got it. Senior citizens dancing to house? Got that too.
Other differences abound. Drinking? Actively encouraged, with no barriers or gates separating the drinkers from the non. Smoking? Everywhere. Indoors, outdoors, in between. It takes some getting used to, but ultimately was only a nuisance initially.
Overall the festival doesn't have a true Seattle equivalent. It is its own beast, which is as it should be, considering it's by, for, and about Detroit. Knowing the basics there, future posts will concern the music, non-festival antics to be had in Detroit, and how well we were represented by locals SunTzu Sound.
Pictures found on flickr using the "Movement" and "DEMF" tags. They each link to their respective albums.
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