Seoul World DJ Festival: Just Gettin' It!

I'm sure you've all heard the expression, "When it rains, it pours."  And, as much as I'd love for that to be an apt description of my experience with music happenings in Seoul, a gurgling water fountain may be an image more analogous to my situation.  Nevertheless, I do believe in counting my blessings. 

I learned of the four-day Seoul World DJ Festival in early March, from posters plastered virtually everywhere my gaze could wander.  I thought to myself, then, that I had no excuse not to attend the event.  After all, it would help to momentarily appease my hearty craving for live music and potentially lead me to other means for getting my fix. 

Thus, a month later, the shining day of the Festival arrived, and it was simply sweltering.  It was the hottest day of the new season, and folks were just everywhere too.  My friends and I had to struggle just to keep our wits about us.  The trains were crowded, there was an impenetrable hoard at Cheonggye Stream protesting American beef, and I was almost forced to snatch somebody's child at a Baskin Robbins! 

Ok the Canuck, the Leprechaun, Jordan, Dave, Justin, and I met up with some other festivitizers as we eased on down the road to the Festival site at the Nanji Area of Han River Park. Our heat-induced gravity gradually lightened as we found ourselves scrambling across the freeway, climbing a steep hill to hop a fence onto an overpass, and passing by families in the campground that were cooking out and having fun.  Of course, the cool night air helped to alleviate our mood as well.   

As we approached the tents that dotted the periphery of the Festival, some of the group broke off and head directly to the main stage.  Three of us, however, remained behind, drawn to the oh-so-sweet machinations of Sonyeon like moths to a raging inferno.  That night a deejay saved my life.  And, you have no idea how punished behind it I feel for not having recorded more of that momentous occasion.  To this day, I watch the three short clips I have with, no doubt, the same fondness my father experiences when he views photos of himself with hair and a waistline.

Later, (after a lesser deejay had taken Sonyeon's place) we paid entry to the main stage just as The Cornelius Group, an amazingly versatile ensemble, was finishing their set.  I had heard only snippets of their performance; however, they created enough magic that I cannot but honor them.  Their “good” was simply splendid!  On the other hand, I found that the lesser parts of their program seemed too common a sound for so capable a group.  

What followed The Cornelius Group was a non-stop, hype-serving set relay.  I have no idea how long Oriental Funk Stew with Honey J, JAIEN, and Beejay were on stage, or when they switched positions.  I was simply a slave to the music. 

I did manage to snap out of my trance when Seero and DJ Stereo set up for their bit.  One held a stoic expression, while the other sported a knowing smirk.  Both took me to places I thought I had grown too old to visit.  And, they gave until it hurt.

Finally, before Jordan and I decided to call it quits and embark upon a very expensive cab ride home, the unsettling Rabbit in the Moon pounced into the spotlight.  Hey, if I had a habit that required pharmacological savvy, I probably would have been more willing to remain and bask in their (his?) dark, psychedelic spectacle.   Alas, all good things must come to an end.