MOLI VIEW™

There was a period in my life where Memorial Day meant one thing to me: three solid days of rain, politics and BPMs.

Fortunately, those days are over as Movement: Detroit's Electronic Music Festival seems to have finally found its footing. Established as the "DEMF" in 2000 by controversial promoter Carol Marvin, the huge three-day-long event burned through four producers and endured four name changes before finally landing in the capable hands of local electronic music promotion company, Paxahau. This Memorial Day weekend, even the weather cooperated as over 90 artists and half a million people descended on Hart Plaza in downtown Detroit for one of the biggest electronic music events in the western hemisphere.

Of course, the bummer is that, thanks to those pirates at the City of Detroit and various external complications, the once free event now costs $40 a pop for admission. A lot of the diversity (both racially and age-wise) is gone from the DEMF, which now attracts, predominantly, white 20-somethings. That said, it's still a spectacular event. And, with Paxahau in charge, the talent roster (which appeared on five continuously operating stages) was outstanding.

Moby headlined the first night, spinning just a killing DJ set as smoke tumbled from a fog machine behind him on the main stage. The "bowl," Hart Plaza's coliseum-style cement bleacher area, was packed to the brim with thousands of revelers as the Mobe-ster (decked out in a black hoodie with "Detroit" emblazoned across the front) played the crowd like a fiddle. In the past, it's unlikely that an artist like Moby would have taken the top slot (mostly reserved for Detroit legends like Derrick May and Juan Atkins). But with the festival patronage being what it is these days, a more commercial act is a much better fit than it used to be. With his lively and diverse set, and his natural flair for drama, Moby proved to be a perfect choice.

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