Review/Photos: Julio Iniguez
Jujubeats Festival featuring
Z TripAugust 1, 2009
Oak Canyon Ranch
A few miles east of the Circle of Orange, through a slender dirt path, we are led by security guards with flashlights to what is a temporary parking lot. Driving further down on windy roads we see the lights. 12:30 AM, deep in the forest, the night is young. Lights are flashing and beats are bumping as a few thousand people dance and party the night away, old school rave style. No lines or hassles to get in. We are finally in the full splendor of this year's
Jujubeats Festival. Four stages adorn the canyon complete with lights, lasers, DJ's and, of course, kids of all ages getting down.
We headed over to the Flower Power Garden, where we arrived just in time to catch Z Trip jump on the decks. Acclaimed as the "Godfather of Mash-ups" by some, Z Trip proceeds to do what he does best: rock the heads off anyone within earshot. He was the captain of a musical journey that made pit stops in the lands of Dubstep, Reggae, Old School Jams, Hip-Hop and Techno. The speakers pumped out hits from artists like Michael Jackson, Daft Punk, Phil Collins, M.I.A., Wolmother, MSTRKRFT, Bloody Beetroots, Naughty by Nature and Weezy.
The man left no stone unturned as he entertained the masses with fun and familiar tunes all jumbled up into an ear candy treat. Along with his Serato turntables and effects processor, Z Trip uses a MPC sampler (which he uses to add percussive fills to his mixes) to make songs that thump, bump THAT much harder, all executed flawlessly and skillfully. As his set continued, people seemed to get closer to the stage and stuck to Z Trip's grooves as the sounds that bled from
Donald Glaude's stage became louder and louder. People cheered throughout and willingly took the musical journey that Z Trip led from past to present to those future sounds that kept the vibe alive.
For a smaller event in comparison to the huge raves L.A. has been throwing down lately,
Jujubeats put on quite a spectacle with fire dancers and plenty of lights and go-go dancers to keep those in attendance in sensory overload. The overall vibe at the place was peaceful and positive and I was surprised by the lack of candy kids with beads up to their shoulders. Light shows were in full effect but more so than, say, the beaded necklaces with pacifiers. The festival was a well planned and executed event with an awesome line up that included the
Glitch Mob,
Donald Glaude,
DJ Heather,
DJ Dan, and
Bassnectar.
Photos: Joe McQuillen
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