Camp Bisco Day Two: Major Lazer, Diplo and Bisco at night

These Day Two updates are coming to you live from an NY Thruway Rest Stop the morning after my first all-nighter at Camp Bisco 2010.

• First set I caught for the day was Major Lazer on the second stage. I would've loved to catch the Wu Massacre (Method Man, Ghostface and Raekwon) on the main stage earlier in the day but the commute/day of work kept me from what seemed like a well received set. I was definitely interested to see Major Lazer though because all I knew of them was 1) they were a suggested act on the recent UU Juice Jam survey and 2) they had sweet merchandise.




• After reviewing my photos I finally put it together that Major Lazer is the brainchild of Diplo (along with fellow DJ/Producer Switch). The act's set definitely reflects a DJ mentality -- non-stop music, lots of hyping the crowd and beats made for moving. To provide a little entertainment, MC Skerrit Bwoy joins in costumed as Major Lazer. I'm not sure what he adds besides being the live visuals and hyping the crowd becuase he didn't do much (if any) MC'ing. Skerrit Boy did do a great job of energizing the crowd however and he proved to be damn good dancer. Within the first three songs of the set, Skerrit Bwoy had jumped into the crowd, bent over his fly girl for some grinding and whipped out a bottle of Hennessy. I don't know how well the act would go over at SU (not to any fault of the music itself), but at this festival Major Lazer really got the crowd going and had a fun set.




• Next stop was Diplo for a twilight set at the "Dance Tent." (Cut me a break, I drove 6+hrs and slept for maybe 5 at this point in the festival. I was OK with passing on sets two and three of six from The Disco Biscuits). If Caribou had done admirable work in the tent on Night One, Diplo was the reason the tent was created on Night Two. Folks coming from a Biscuits' set that went long (*shocker*) sprinted to fill the tent right as Diplo took the stage. It felt like a city dance club rather than a large tent in the middle of really rural Upstate New York. Diplo's solo set did it for me more than the Major Lazer one earlier for the simple fact that you can really appreciate his production/remixing skills more without your focus being split with the hype of Skerrit Bwoy. There's a reason Diplo has worked with M.I.A., LaRoux and Robyn. He creates an incredibly intimate dance atmosphere condusive to some dancing in the dark (and I would  never intend for that phrase to be associated with Springsteen). UU may want to consider bringing him rather than Major Lazer, though Diplo is tailor-made for the underground and maybe not an outdoor festival stage.




• Day Two had the same great festival atmosphere of Day One. Body paint seemed to have a rise in stock from the first day, but the same communal passion for that relaxed, high school party in the woods setting came through. At night you can see campers shooting off fireworks, playing flashlight tag or offerring beer (among other things) to anyone who passed by their tents. The morning after is filled with a wave of people who get up for a 5 a.m. sunrise and then dead silence until the more collegiate weekend group of 11 a.m. and after risers. At any point of the day however, you can hear someone with a system pumping out dance music in the distance. I suppose it shows the one real benefit of holding your festival in the most remote, streetlight-less areas of New York. The party never truly needs to turn it down no matter what time of day.

Check out coverage of Camp Bisco Day One, Day Three and follow along on Twitter (or read the #Camp Bisco hashtag)