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I went to the WWE matches in Kansas City on Saturday night (11/28/15).

Growing up, attending wrestling matches was one of my favorite hobbies. Before I started going to concerts, it was the big thing to do for me. The energy of being at a live event is unlike anything you would ever imagine from watching wrestling on TV. It is a very unique, surreal experience.

My first match was the pay-per-view Over the Edge, in 1999. Tragically, wrestler Owen Hart fell to his death from the rafters of Kemper Arena after his harness malfunctioned. The crowds also used to be a lot rougher back in the day. There was almost more fighting in the stands than in the ring. Back in 1999, people behind me got arrested for fighting about Stone Cold versus the Undertaker. You went to jail for your love of the Undertaker? I wonder how they feel now? Most likely still proud and still in jail.

While crowds are calmer and more family friendly these days, the furious anger of the fans was still palpable. On Saturday, the most heat from the crowd was directed towards the heel Bo Dallas. His “motivational speaking” on the mic really got the crowd riled up. Bo skillfully antagonized the crowd, “If you’re in need of a hero, raise your hand in the air. If your hand isn’t in the air, you are a liar!” He even took time out during the match to take a victory lap around the ring even though he was being beaten. Bo’s unwavering positive attitude mixed with the crowd’s seething hate was a sight to behold.

In-person, the matches have a completely different feel than the over-the-top bombast you hear from the commentary on TV. The crowds never know what matches or wrestlers are coming up next, so the excitement is genuine and infectious. There is no commentary piped into the crowd during matches. A lot of the crowd stands up for the entrances and then sits down for the matches. The crowd intensely watches the matches, awaiting the next move. It makes for an oddly calming experience.

It’s the subtle things about live events that make the most impact sometimes. The most vocal man in the crowd was the older black man in his 70s, seated next to me. When a wrestler would hit a big move, he would yell, “Dummy! You should have expected that! You should have seen it coming!” When Alberto Del Rio slammed Neville into the steel stairs, the man exclaimed, “Those stairs don’t budge an inch!” I could also hear the ref talking to the wrestlers. When Bo Dallas dragged Zack Ryder out of the ring, the ref pleaded with Bo, “Bring it back inside the ring, Bo! Are you not hearing these things?”

I took a 15 year break from seeing matches live and then got back into it in November of last year. Attending wrestling matches is one of the ultimate nostalgia trips for me. If you were ever into it, you go to a match and you know what to look for and what you would like to see. Kane’s side slam and chokeslam Saturday night were so old school, they should have been sponsored by Surge, Gushers and LA Gear.

However, something isn’t purely nostalgic when it’s right there in front of you, live, laying the smackdown in front of your face. Pro wrestling is staged and fake, but it is all about real athleticism. If I tried any of those moves, I would surely bleed sadness and failure all over the sqaured circle. Wrestling matches can be a glorious trashy, joyous thing.

One thing I learned from watching so much wrestling back in the day is that it’s not so bad to outsize yourself. Why not bring some overblown energy and joy into someone’s day? As you plod through your boring modern hellscape of a day, why not amp it up a little bit? Beast it hardcore! Like the Macho Man once said, “I’m 1000 percent, that’s way better than 100 percent.”

McClain and Electronic Music: A Short History.

I am an old raver!!! Get off of my lawn!!!!! Dance music is all about joy.

Moby was my first electronica show/rave. I went with my mom back in July of 2002. It was at City Market. Trance master Paul Oakenfold opened. I had just had my hip rotated, so I had a walker. Ravin’ with a walker. Kids these days don’t know nuthin’ about nuthin’!!!

Moby crowd. City Market, Kansas City. 7/12/2002.

This was Moby’s first big hit, back in 1990, “Go.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxIxmMcAFLQ

Here is a long, classic goa trance (inspired by India trance) mix from Oakenfold recorded back in 1994:

Going to France for the first time (2001) also really got me into dance music. That summer, everyone was still bumping Daft Punk “Discovery.” Clubbing til sunrise or on the beach to the cheesy French disco ish jams. It is epic for sure. It was wafting out of every window. Here’s the (kinda cheesy/very French) classy “Digital Love.”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxzBvqY5PP0 Also, every year summer anthems come out in France. I call it “Beach music.”

This was also a big time for chillout and acid jazz. St. Germain was one of my favorites. Here’s the excellent “So Flute.”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7YZqD7dZcQ The soloists improvised solos over the beats, which was/is really cool for electronica.

In terms of chillout, Etienne de Crecy was big in 2001 too (Very French sounding): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ve1kCq8Pma4

Zero 7 were also massive on the chill scene too. Here’s the 2001 classic “Destiny.”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INn1C6ImJKg

Photek was big on the drum & bass tip then too: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykALcAUWM-E

I used to listen to the BBC every week. House/new tune champion Pete Tong, the “Queen of Breaks” Annie Nightingale (She is also the longest running DJ on the BBC. She debuted in 1970), pop-dance-trance DJ Dave Pearce. Annie was one of my favorite interviews ever: https://mcclainjohnson.com/annienightingale/

Dave Pearce gave a nice perspective on dance music as well: https://mcclainjohnson.com/davepearce/

He would play trance and pop dance classics like this one from 1991: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xk8mm1Qmt-Y

My big first DJ interview was Florida breaks king DJ Icey: https://mcclainjohnson.com/dj-icey-interview/ Here’s an Icey track to give you an idea of what he does. Pop vocals on this one, rolling beats: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwanTSuXNCM Breaks was/is really big in New Orleans and I used to club hard in NOLA to breaks and drum and bass until the early morning.

The Plump Djs were big too: http://www.lunarmagazine.com/features/plumpdjs.php Here’s an older one from the Plump’s off of their terribly named/excellently named album Eargasm: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oah_pKcA4MQ

Underworld are my favorite band ever. They really have their own sound. This is one of my favorite songs of theirs, the joyful “Two Months Off.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyKeE3fBEsM

Old school vibes:
I have interviewed DJ Alfredo, who helped to get the Balearic/Ibiza sound going. Alfreo first came to Ibiza in 1976. https://mcclainjohnson.com/djalfredo/

I interviewed Danny Rampling, who helped launch the modern UK dance club scene around 1987. He helped make acid house popular. https://mcclainjohnson.com/dannyrampling/ “Success is measured by one’s daily actions. You achieve it by playing full out with passion, motivation, commitment. Once experienced, one likes to repeat the experience and build upon success. Success seldom comes without struggle, challenge, which makes it so enjoyable when it happens.”

My biggest DJ interview happened back in 2004, when I interviewed Oakenfold: http://www.lunarmagazine.com/features/oakenfold2004.php

I finally saw Kraftwerk live this year. It was their first KC performance in 45 years. It was my first sit down, 3D rave for old people. They were the first robots that were people. They were writing songs about computers in 1981. It was some of the first electronic music. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ybQWD6N6Zo