Detour Giveaway: One More Chance To Win Tickets!

1. As someone who pines for the popularity of musical Girl/Boy duos like The Carpenters and The Captain and Tennille to come back, it’s easy to appreciate Bitter:Sweet’s stuff. Their album, “Drama”, and its title track are the things that trip-hop, poppy dreams are made of and singer Shana Halligan with composer Kiran Shahani have hit a sweet spot in the realm.

2. Bitter:Sweet’s songs are the type of music that should always be played outdoors. Hot and heady L.A. afternoons and evenings are the perfect stage for lyrical and lilting melodies, which Bitter:Sweet has in spades. And while the end of September slowly creeps into the city, I think the season might have one more warm night in it. One last chance for a close your eyes and listen moment at the steps of the Hall of Justice.

3. Yeah, I’ll write you three paragraphs about the day/night. I’ll probably take photos.

The Submarines are the band I’m looking most forward to seeing. After being a music nut for years and years, I’ve been able to hone my ego-meter to a very fine calibration. Most bands drive the needle on that meter way into the red with their insincere, trite, melodramatic drivel. But the Submarines strike me as a more laid back, feel good, making-music-‘cause-it-comes-naturally kind of group.

I’d love to see them at the Detour festival to experience them on a big stage. The festival atmosphere is fun, but I’m not very into standing in the hot sun and dust of most outdoor events like this. Luckily, this one takes place in the fall, on concrete, in the shade of buildings. I’m also not big into the whole “driving” thing and this is a great opportunity for me to see a bunch of bands at once, and get there stress-free on my trusty bicycle.

Additionally, I agree to write three paragraphs about my experience of the festival for your blog. I will take excellent photos and provide them to you for use on your blog.

1. Write a paragraph about your favorite band on the lineup.

Cut Copy has kept my mood up with since their last album Bright Like Neon Love. The music reminds me of New Order and much of the memerable acts of the new wave era and my other fav. band The Rapture. The songs on the new album are still dancable but lyricaly well done where some bands lack one or both.

2. Write a paragraph about why you want to see them at Detour.

I would love to see Cut Copy (as well as the Presets) at Detour because I have yet seen them live and to be able to see them live in the middle of my favorite city Downtown LA would be a major treat. Plus I would be able to take the train in, drink as much as I want and take the train home and not worry about making friends with the center divider on the Pasadena freeway.

3./4. Agree to write 3 paragraphs afterward about your experiences at the show. We will be using these for our wrap-up post.

I’m not a writer but I will do my best to get some great coverage of the show and take as many good pixs as my cam can get on a charge.

Bike Girl is looking forward to shaking her behind (toned from her month of car-free living) to the Rock and Roll music of Shiny Toy Guns. Everyone loves a home-town band, and Bike Girl is no exception. She’s hoping the nights continue to get longer and longer so maximum darkness will be in effect during the band’s relatively early set.

In the life of a strong-female-protagonist, there is little time to simply let loose and Rock Out. The Detour Festival is one of those times when even Bike Girl lets down her guard and gets on her Groove. Bike Girl will provide a unique perspective in her follow up blog because she will not have to waste valuable blog time talking about how much of a pain the parking situation was. She can focus on the Rock and the Roll.

In exchange for free passage for her and her Significant Other, Bike Girl agrees to compose a witty blog post for your weblog. Accompanying photos will be included.

-bike girl bikegirlblog.blogspot.com

1. I was thrilled to see my favorite Aussie duo, The Presets on the 2008 Detour lineup. I’ve been listening to the Presets since 2004, shortly after they first hit the airwaves in Australia with the smooth summer-groove “Girl and the Sea”. The Presets are a step closer to real DJs. Their music is built up from the basic tenets of commercial dance music, from Green Velvet to Felix da Housecat to the Chemical Brothers to Prodigy, and into that base they inject dirty guitars, sleaziness, and unadulterated energy.
2. I look forward to experiencing The Presets at Detour tomorrow night because the show is in my neighborhood, on my street and I’ll be there with someone I truly care for. For me, sharing music and the “music experience” has more of a lasting impact.
3. Of course I agree to submit photos and a three paragraphs summary about my experience of the festival for your blog.

See you there! Monica D.

Para One has been rockin’ my world all year! I stumbled onto the French DJ/producer one day listening to French hip hop group TTC and have been addicted ever since.Whether its producing beats for TTC, remixing tracks by Block Party, MSTRKRFT,or Daft Punk(seriously, if you haven’t heard Para One’s remix of “The Prime Time of Your Life” then you need to apologize to your ears. RIGHT NOW!!!) or throwing down jams from his 2006 album, Epiphanie, Para One is becoming one of the French Electro Scene’s brightest stars. I’ll definitely be shakin’ it cross the dancefloor during Para One’s set Saturday!

Sandwiched between awesome acts like Datarock, Hercules& Love Affair and Cut Copy, Para One has put himself in the meat of things.I’ve been looking forward to this sweet foursome for a long time now and its going to be really hard to tear myself away from one set to get to the next! This is dance party heaven for this music snob!!!! There’s also the possible of meeting My Future Ex-Wife during one of these amazing sets. I bought the perfect Ringpop last night at the cornerstore just for the occasion!!! Saturaday is a win-win situation for me!!

The better question is why wouldn’t I want to blog about my first experience at the Detour Festival and take pics???? This part seems like a no-brainer to me!!!!

Eager to fight off the muscular atrophy which has no doubt set-in after another sedentary week at my desk in my very grey office in the very grey Glendale, I look forward to scootching down to the Detour festival tomorrow for some great music and great dancing. Relatively new to most of the bands in the killer line-up, I’m finding difficulty picking my favorite, but am quite partial to Datarock. Since my introduction to them last year, they’ve been making me smile and inspiring the random in-car flailings every time I hear them. You know when you’re stopped at a red light look at the car next to you and catch the girl in it busting the worst dance moves ever? Yeah, that’s me, rocking out to Datarock. Really. Ask my friends: I have no rhythm. Yet, I’m still so excited to break out some shopping cart, mowing the lawn or throwing the dice to “Fa Fa Fa”, “Computer Camp Love” or “I Used to Dance with My Daddy”. And you thought only white boys used those moves…

I can’t imagine a better place for a dance party than downtown LA. How can you beat enjoying the enviable Los Angeles fall weather surrounded by other amazing Angelinos and totally awesome music? It seems possible that the organizers of Detour have done the impossible: put together the perfect music event. The only question now: which fabulous band to see each hour?

Of course I’d love to write about the actual show afterwards, and provide photographic evidence of all the awesomeness.