Electric Frog Street Carnival @ Studio Warehouse 01/08/2010

Despite initial sound issues this year’s Electric Frog micro-festival offers Glasgow the opportunity to mix the old with the new, the well established with fresh local talent and more prominently forced half of Glasgow to wake up on a Monday with more than just a fuzzy head.
Handpicked local darlings such as Billy Woods (Supermax), Craig Moogrooves (Kitty Kat Klub) and Simon Cordiner (Melting Pot) who have established themselves with their respective club nights play a great mix of 80’s disco in the Street Party Room, managing to keep the damp weather at bay.

Leave it to Glasgow’s loved purveyors of punk disco Optimo then to convince 80’s seminal post punk operatives Liquid Liquid out of retirement and back on stage. Optimo who took their name from Liquid Liquid’s eponymous song and EP of the same name, warm the crowd with their infectious brand of electro tricks before the seminal New York punks take the stage. Tearing through a crowd-pleasing back catalogue of hits such as ‘Bellhead’ and ‘Dig We Must’ showcase the groups funk, dub and reggae inspired disco at its best. A short interruption to the set, due to issues with the monitors, prompts lead singer Sal Principato to promise the crowd he would continue to sing, even if he didn’t know what he was singing. The band then lurch into the xylophone and bass laden ‘Optimo’ and ‘Cavern’ which have the crowd foaming at the mouth.

The next live set comes from German duo Alter Ego who, after a minor glitch, launch into ‘Jolly Joker’ forcing the Optimo tent to raise their hands in the air and dance until their feet bleed. Roman and Jorn who have dedicated themselves to techno, electro and pop over the years are alluring to watch, twisting and turning a dazzling display of knobs and buttons in what seems to be a frugal manner to produce some catchy techno hooks. Tracks such as ‘Why Not’, ‘Tubeaction’ and ‘Beat the Bush’ produce such an almighty clang that the whole tent reverberates with every simulated electronic beat. However, it was the duo’s hit ‘Joker’ that literally has people running towards the stage to dance.

Felix da Housecat, who plays his set to a somewhat sweaty crowd in the Sensu Warehouse, normally reserved for raves and art exhibitions, proves to be a crowd pleaser. The legendary Chicago producer plays an upbeat set full of classic house gems.
Headliners Simian Mobile Disco closes proceedings to a packed out Optimo Marque. The production and remix team comprised of James Ford and Jas Shaw, originally of indie outfit Simian, play a blistering live set of electro-house hits. Playing with a mountain of technical gear that saw the pair switched from playing laptops to keyboards with a fair amount of switches being fondled in between. Taking a diverse mix of tracks from albums Attack Decay Sustain Release and Temporary Pleasure the pair manage to reduce the Glasgow crowd to a sweaty pulp. Sing along tracks such as ‘Hustler’, ‘It’s the Beat’ and ‘I Believe’ have the crowd crooning the lyrics at a deafening roar. While electro-house fuelled hits such as ‘Tits and Acid’ and ‘Audicity of Huge’ prove the London duo as one of the most interesting acts of the moment.

Shaw says he feels tracks from upcoming album Delicacies & Delicatessen gained a popular reaction from the Glasgow crowd. The album sees the pair leaning towards their more techno-based influences is to feature tracks named after popular food dishes from around the globe.

Graffiti art, face painting and space reserved for installations prove the Electric Frog, in it’s more popular second year, has more to offer than just sizzling beats. It can be difficult to get a good few hundred Glaswegian punters dancing, especially outside in the drizzle on a Sunday afternoon, but the Frog succeeds in a grand fashion. Spectacular.
Word: Angela Canavan
Pics: Zul Bhatia and Anita Russo (as labeled)


























