Wavefront Music Festival Tue Jul 03 2012

Wavefront Music Fest, Day Two - Post-Storm Party

By Katie Karpowicz

(Photo by Steve Stearns)

Around noon on Sunday, I began gathering my things, getting dressed and watching the looming black clouds position themselves over the north side of the city. The second morning of a festival is always a little harder to find the motivation for and the daunting weather wasn't helping.

Still, the opportunity to see former LCD Soundsystem front man James Murphy behind the decks was enough to get me out of the house--after the storm had passed of course.

Danny Daze (Photo by Steve Stearns)

Well, that was a bust. The unexpected storms knocked out the early afternoon's block of performers. When I rolled up a little after 2pm the festival had just started letting attendees back on the grounds (which weathered the storm quite well, might I add). So Murphy's set was cut. A lot of people were disappointed. But when a day starts out on a low note, it can usually only go up from there.

Wavefront picked up its schedule right where it left off with the 3 o'clock performers hitting the stages right on time. In light of Muphy's absence, I decided to stick around and check out the following North Stage performer, Danny Daze, whom I knew little about. Remember what I said about only going up? Daze's set was drum and bass to the max, emphasis on the drum. While recent trends have lead producers to focus more on the melodic side of things, it was fun to hear someone with such an acute ear for rhythm.

As I mentioned in my review from the first day of the festival, house music seemed to struggle to gain recognition amongst fest goers on Saturday. However, Sunday was the day for house fans.

(Photo by Steve Stearns)

When I was able to muster the energy to make it down to the South Stage, which earned a reputation for being the "party stage" by the end of day one, it was already clear glitchy breakdowns, bleeps, bloops, womps and wobbles were going to be scarce. Scottish-born, London-dwelling DJ Chris Lake brought an excellent blend of European electro and American-bred house.

The decreased intensity in the tunes was a well-needed change in light of the 90-degree heat, relentless sun and mugginess left behind by the storm. Wavefronters danced the afternoon away. It wasn't until the sun began to set and the temperature started to cool down that things started heating up again.

Porn and Chicken (Photo by Steve Stearns)

Eric Prydz kicked off the night's events on the South Stage. Though the Swedish DJ has been spinning club hits (you've heard his track "Call On Me" before, trust me) since the early 2000s it was only recently that he began playing shows outside of Europe due to his notorious fear of flying.

(Photo by Steve Stearns)

Apparently, MSTRKRFT's go-go dancers were such a hit on Saturday that Sunday's artists were quick to get their own crews out and shaking it. A lovely touch. After making an appearance during Prydz's set the ladies returned for headliners' Duck Sauce.

Duck Sauce (Photo by Katie Karpowicz)

Just as I suspected, Duck Sauce's hour-long set flew by in a rush of dancing, quacking and fireworks watching. When respective electro masters Armand Van Helden and A-Trak got together to form their super duo, every body knew that no dance floor was safe. I don't think any body expected how saturated they'd become with their first single "Barbara Streisand" would have though.

A-Trak of Duck Sauce (Photo by Katie Karpowicz)

With just an hour left to party, the crowd donned the fistfuls of rubber duck bills thrown from the stage, a gigantic duck was pumped full of air and positioned at the center of the stage and we all got down. Between dropping house beats and mugging for the camera, the two were a blast to watch. I mentioned this in my review of day one, but the fireworks show that closed out the night was, I think, the best way to end out a music-filled day on the beach.

Welp, year one Wavefront Music Festival is a wrap. When I learned how many festivals Chicago would be host to this summer, my biggest fear was that they'd fail to maintain any sense of uniqueness. Wavefront has done just the opposite of that. With a prime location and unparrelled attention to house and techno music, it's (hopefully) carved out a permanent spot for itself on Chicago's summer calendar.

(Photo by Katie Karpowicz)