It was billed as the largest open-air festival in the Northeast, but "hottest" would probably be closer to the mark. Saturday's 6th Element Chapter 7 all-day rave on New York's Randall's Island didn't lack for memorable musical and stage moments: Perry Farrell shook his bite-sized butt and made monkey faces, Rabbit in the Moon's Steve "Bunny" McClure with his infamous light-bulb suit, and Afrika Bambaataa, as always, showed everyone how it's done. But despite all that, it was the blazing, inescapable sun made the biggest impression on the day's crowd.

The field was flat, with not much shade to hide under as the temperatures soared into the high nineties. The only places were one could get away from the sun were the tented areas for the House and Bass stages. Signs posted throughout the festival grounds urged people to drink water, but the long lines at the free tanker truck suggested few rave-goers needed such reminders (or wanted to fork over three bucks for a bottle at the concession booths).

Thankfully, there was plenty of music to help distract from the heat, at least for short bursts of time. The music was spread out across five stages, each with its own unique theme. In addition to the aforementioned House and Bass stages, there was the "trance" stage, dubbed Chill Out City, and a main stage with elaborate white vinyl fabric stretched over the proscenium and a DJ booth set to the side. The fifth stage was a plush tent with a bar, video hookah and lovely couches, but that was backstage access only.

The first performers of the day, who came on at 2 p.m., played to sparse crowds. Start Sound Orchestra were tight, lush and textured, creating a well-balanced aural landscape. It was a pity that so few got to enjoy them. Spitfire was playing the first set at the Bass house and had the misfortune of having the generator blow. It was a while before it was up and running again. Another mishap occurred with Mixmaster Morris. Apparently his vinyl sat for thirty-six hours at Heathrow Airport after he flew out because the delivery company couldn't figure how to get to Randall's Island from the airport to deliver his discs. Luckily, they showed up just as he was walking to the Chill Out City Stage.

Almost all the DJs shared the same body language: the shoulder jerking, head-bobbing, foot-tapping and intense gaze of the transfixed. Perry Farrell played his set at the intimate Chill Out City stage in the late afternoon, at which time the crowd had thickened a bit. He smiled at the audience, made faces, wiggled his body, acknowledged his fans and had a good time. "I just admire the sound so much," he enthused after his set when asked about his decision to play DJ. "I wanted to find out how they made those sounds, and be involved in making new sounds."

Other standouts included Afrika Bambaataa, whose DJ set combined old school tunes with modern beats; the orchestral sounds of Hybrid; India Drop's cool trance; Medicine Drum's Eastern rhythms, which combined electro-violin, conga drums, programming and quasi-Arabic vocal stylings; and Tony Humphries, who pumped out disco, complete with smoke machines. Best of all was Florida duo Rabbit in the Moon, who bounced between aggressive electronica to poignant, evocative piano-laced music and were not afraid to use the human voice.

But it was Sandra Collins, widely regarded as one of America's leading trance DJs, who best summed up the universal charge of the day's eclectic mix of music. "As soon as I get up on the decks, it's fuel," she said after a set in which she created a sound that washed over the muggy crowd like a waterfall. "Up there it's better than anything."

PJ GACH
(June 13, 2000)