Carl Cox @ The Electric Factory.

Text by Fredric Fresh. Images by Teresa McCullough.

Before there was EDM, there was Carl Cox.

Some may call house and techno music too repetitive, but repetition can get deep. Always keeping an open mind, I was eager to check out Cox at The Electric Factory last Friday. My last Electric Factory adventure was to see School of Seven Bells. Always considered one of Philly’s top rock venues, I was pretty much blown away by the slick Vegas-like transformation for the Carl Cox show.

Don’t let the laser lights, gigantic LEDs on stage and beefed up sound system fool you. They’ve brought the look of Vegas to you, minus 87 percent of the douche. This crowd was legit. They were there to vibe out. Hometown hero Josh Wink and Nic Fanciulli set the tone for the night. Not too hot, not too heavy. Both had great sets to get you ready for perhaps one of the most legendary figures in electronic music. (Side note: if you really want to take it deep check out Cox’s  Fantazia mixes.)

It takes a minute for the vibe to build, but when it’s there, it’s there. There were a few people fronting like it was Ibiza, but they were quickly lost in the shadows of the dance floor. Cox did his job throughly. He kept everyone moving.

Not to keep mentioning the crowd, but they are a huge part of what makes any concert experience memorable. I couldn’t help having flashbacks (no pun intended) to one of the East Coast’s first all drum and bass parties, Sutpen’s Jungle, held at the Electric Factory. It was a different time. Electronic music was still pretty fringe. The word “rave” was dirty. The crowd didn’t care. They went to Sutpen’s to dance all night and vibe out. Fast forward to 2014. Different crowd, same vibe. In a changing landscape, where electronic music has become somewhat of a mainstream staple, drawing extreme love and hate from all, it’s awesome to remember that “rave” comes in more flavors than just neon lemon-lime.