HARD HAUNTED MANSION – REVIEW

Halloween was last night and so was the much anticipated HARD Haunted Mansion featuring headliners Underworld. I wasn’t fortunate enough to score tix to last night’s show but I did gain access to Saturday night’s festivities. I’ve been covering HARD’s events for over 3 years now. Besides covering their shows for my own sites, I’ve covered HARD events for LA Weekly, Campus Circle, Loudvine.com, and more. You would think they would show me some love or at least treat me with some respect by now, but apparently not.

I was on my way to see one of my favorite live DJ acts, Crookers (who followed Diplo, because Mr. Oizo couldn’t make it). I get into the photo pit and the security guards tell me to wait on the side until Crookers came on. After about 5 minutes some fat, bald biker looking dude, rocking some stupid pointy beard and a earpiece rolls up on me claiming to be the “head of security.” Dude looked like he should be working at Guitar Center or playing in a Metallica cover band. He says “get the fuck out of here or I’m gonna rip that photo pass off your shirt.” He wouldn’t give me an explanation but forced me to leave. He didn’t ASK me to leave, just yelled at me and acted like he was gonna beat me up. What the fuck? They asked me to come out and cover the event, then they treat me like shit when I try to take photos of their recycled, mislabeled acts. REALLY?!! So like many of you proclaimed after HARD Summer was canceled last year, I think this will be my last HARD Fest.

CLICK HERE FOR PICS

MOST INFLUENTIAL DANCE ARTISTS #7: UNDERWORLD

If you have been coming to Golden Bloggen for a while, you know how much I love my countdowns. This week we will be counting down the Most Influential Dance Acts. You can’t deny the impact dance music has had on pop music in the U.S. over the past couple of years with dance artists like Crookers, David Guetta, and Benny Benassi crossing over to the mainstream. So I will be acknowledging the Top 7 acts who were instrumental in being the dance sound to the masses in the states.

I’m starting off the countdown with Underworld. These guys have been around since the late 80’s but their track “Born Slippy” from the Trainspotting soundtrack really put them on the map in 1996. Electronic music was not getting a lot of spin on U.S. mainstream radio in the mid-90’s, so when “Born Slippy” broke thru it had a lot of people wondering “what the hell is this sound?” They haven’t really gained the success in the U.S. as most of the other bands on this list but these guys are still rocking to this day and are a very in-demand live act.

Underworld – Born Slippy

Underworld – Two Months Off

Underworld – Crocodile