Crystal Machine
Originally from Las Vegas, Crystal Method are one of the best selling electronica outfits in the US and whilst not a household name they regularly feature on film soundtracks and television. The duo of Ken Jordan and Scott Kirkland have been doing this for some 16 years now but despite that they look a little out of place up on the stage surrounded by banks of keyboards and synths.
It’s a slow start to the set with even the front rows of the large crowd finding it hard to get into. Fortunately things pick up after a couple of tracks and they start to get into their groove. The front rows start moving and most on the periphery are dancing as Crystal Method throw a succession of heavy dance beats and samples at them.
There is little crowd interaction, Jordan and Kirkland spending most of the set huddled over their equipment amongst sporadic clouds of smoke. The beats are infectious and relentless and by the end they have pretty much the whole tent moving. Mid afternoon on an overcast Saturday isn’t the best time to experience Crystal Method I should imagine but they do their job well enough and the crowd love it. What more do you need?