Weekly Hornet

Issue date: 10/3/07 Section: Entertainment

The road to rehab seemed to have formed at the gates of Exposition Park in Los Angeles, last Saturday.

Dim Mak Records and Stake production's Second Annual Neighborhood Festival kicked off with people of all sizes, shapes, colors, and "it" scene attire coming to together for one of the biggest dance parties of that week.

A crowd of 6,000 was in attendance for this dance trend that has seemed to be the new gathering of Los Angeles. A mix of indie, hip-hop, freestyle and avant-garde dance. It is spreading from coast to coast and starting to take over the MTV airwaves.

Once people got past security, which was abundantly staffed, there seemed to be an almost territorial line of distinction to those who were loaded and those who were trying to get there.

It's odd, one would think with so many boys dressed like girls the fights would be minimal, but one would be wrong. The lines for drinks were long and the gated drinking area prevented the audience from watching the main stage.

Neophytes to the dance scene, which has been gaining notoriety since 2002, watched sets by key players in the scene.

DJ AM, Adam Goldstein, got the crowd started by pumping Justice over the PA, then transitioned to Daft Punk, and so on.

This is a time to realize that the art of spinning records and marketing oneself is a new type of business that is making itself huge. It is apparent that he is not just another tabloid celebrity, but a new hip industry heavyweight.

Chromeo, who seemed to be a new cable music network favorite, got the crowd excited.

It was hard not to become intoxicated by their song "Mamma's boy" or one of the remixes they committed to. Spank Rock, with Santo Gold and Amanda Blank, made the energy of hip-hop elevate.

During parts of their set it seemed their energy was glowing more than the lights. They had an energy that followed them off the stage.

Mickey Avalon was a harder act to sell. Not for the fans that talked about his set all through the night, but for newbies of his talent. His style, along with many others on the list such as Har Mar Superstar or any of their openers, was a treat to anyone broadening their music collection.

Avalon, almost narcissistic in his lyrics, pulled off a great performance when he had the crowd chant the words to "Jane Fonda."

The Faint pulled off a stage performance to show why they were the headliners of the show.

The main stage wasn't the only highlight of the night. The VIP area boasted its standard fare of Cinespace regulars and chances to dance with members of the various performances acts. But in the pretentious crowd back stage, style mattered more than a name on the line up.

Aaron Lacrate and Stretch Armstrong had the crowd ready to keep the party going on behind the scenes. It was almost a different festival if one was wearing the green bracelet. The only question is, is it ever possible to sit still when 1980s Michael Jackson is played on the dance floor?

The other DJ tents across the tracks were a non-stop whirlwind of dance tunes that kept bodies rhythmically losing control. It was close to a modern day rave. The only thing missing was the ecstasy. Although glow sticks did made an appearance.

This was an opportunity that could be missed because of the location. Royal Rumble, Skeet Skeet and Them Jeans, the latter DJ sets kept the patrons satisfied until it was finished.

"Very minimally. I am just like any of those kids out there," said Steve Aoki, one of the festivals coordinators and performers, when asked what he felt his contribution to this generation is musically.

All in all with just a few roadblocks at this year's Neighborhood Festival it really does dictate the saying, "if we can dance together, we can live together."

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