Under Control: Adam Freeland at the Avalon
"We are all affecting the world every moment, whether we mean to or not. Our actions and states of mind matter, because we are so deeply interconnected with one another."
-Ram Dass
It’s true, you know.
The things we do and the choices we make have an impact. They spin our lives in new directions, open our eyes to things we may have missed in the past, and inspire our hearts and minds towards endless discoveries.
And for those of us who landed in the right place and time (specifically, the Avalon in Hollywood on Friday night), the connections ran through speaker wires, rattling floorboards, and mysterious mannequin parts dangling from the ceiling.
Beneath them, the incomparable Adam Freeland.
If you haven’t seen this guy perform, there’s nothing like it. He amplifies the art of musical selection and crowd control to places that the dial refuses to turn. He places strategic snippets of his classics beneath layers of other songs, ammunition for the battlefield below as partygoers battle with their brains as they try to make sense of it all. It’s sensory overload in every sense of the word, and if you scatter your attention too far, you’ll miss something great.
“You’ve got to keep the balance between the old shit and the new shit,” he said after the show. “It’s hard to find good new music that I want to DJ. There are a lot of bands I like and a lot of new music I like, but to find stuff that I like for my sets, it’s really hard work.”
I couldn’t tell you how many people showed up because of Freeland and how many just because it’s their regular Friday night destination, but I can say that there were many new fans spilling out on to Vine Street once the show had ended.
Fortunately, if you missed the DJ set of the year to date, you’ve got another chance right around the corner to see a variation. And you can join Sinning in LA as we journey to this year’s Lightning in a Bottle festival.
“I love The Do LaB,” said Freeland. “I met them all at Burning Man a few years ago and we just became good friends. I played the last Lightning in a Bottle in Santa Barbara and it was epic. It’s really about a community of people.”
It’s a bunch of Burning Man people, but they’re all really good people.
“It’s a big community of people too. It’s unusual to have such a big, tight, bunch of heads. It’s a different kind of vibe than Hollywood on a Friday night.”
The music ranged from classics like “Burn the Clock” to songs created for last year’s COPE album, such as “Under Control” and “Morning Sun”. There were songs from labelmate Alex Metric (his remix of the Beastie Boys’ “Sabotage” engaged even the most casual of hipsters) and a wild mashup of Freeland’s “Hate” with The Prodigy’s “Take me to the Hospital”. He even played two new tracks.
“I’m not sure if we heard those,” said Duke DuRock.
“Oh, you heard them,” replied Freeland. “They were the best two. That’s how you tell.”
We stood outside after his set and talked about what the next week held. Here’s a guy wearing an arm band that says “Art’s Fun” on it, a windbreaker with Apple keyboard letters attached to the chest that spelled “BANG” and a blue plastic watch which may or may not have worked. He spoke confidently, with an energy that transcended the jetlag that comes with flying thousands of miles from his native UK. Clearly the crowds provide an infusion of the stuff.
“I’m going to Kansas City after this and then we’re going camping for a couple of days. We’re going to chill,” he said.
After that, it’s off to Lightning in a Bottle.
“The LiB crowd likes it a bit slower and grimy and sexy. I’m booked to play more uptempo stuff, and I’m going to go for the whole thing and just hang out,” he said.
It’s like Burning Man without the hassle. Without the dust.
He also shared an affinity for the Joshua Tree National Park, and we spoke about the recent Joshua Tree Music Festival that we had just been media sponsors of.
“I’ve got to get booked for that next year. I love it out there,” he said.
He mentioned visiting the studio where James Lavelle and Josh Homme (among others) recorded the UNKLE masterpiece War Stories. “I’d love to record an album out there,” he said. “Something happens when you’re in that part of the world. It’s one of my favorite places in the world and I’ve had the privilege of traveling quite a bit.”
It’s only two hours from here and it’s amazing how many LA people don’t know about it. You’ve got one of the best places on Earth two hours from your door and you should be going there, camping under a rock.
Where you should be going camping is the Lightning in a Bottle Festival, where you can see Adam Freeland and a host of others. And you don’t have to wait much longer, either. It’s a place where the connected spirits of like-minded people will come together to create something beautiful and inspirational. Something you won’t want to miss.
Any last words, Adam?
“Thank you for sinning,” he said to you, our reader. “It’s a great city to do it in. I’m off to do it now.”
Photos by: Upperhands, Evan Shafran and Alex Storch
Video by: Alex Storch
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