From The Crowd shares some our favorite past concert moments captured in video (albeit sometimes shakey and out of focus). Unlike some of our other scheduled features, these videos will be posted sporadically. Chances are you may have been in the audience, if so, please feel free to leave your remembrances in the comments.

If you spent time at La Fête de Marquette last weekend you know how much fun it was. Lots of international flavor and good times. Seeing Dengue Fever was the highlight of the festival for me. Here’s a chance to see what you missed or relive the experience…

Dengue Fever – “Seeing Hands” (La Fête de Marquette)

Related: 5 Questions with Dengue Fever
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Myspace: Dengue Fever
MP3: Dengue Fever – “Sober Drive”

Find more MP3′s at The Hype Machine or buy stuff from Strictly Discs | eMusic

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Previously: From The Crowd | Langhorne Slim – “Honey Pie”
Previously: From The Crowd | The Last Town Chorus – “Modern Love”
Previously: From The Crowd | Kathleen Edwards – “Scared At Night”
Previously: From The Crowd | Blueheels (Flaming Lips Cover)
Previously: From The Crowd | Man Man – “Engwish Bwudd”
Previously: From The Crowd | Jens Lekman – “A Higher Power”
Previously: From The Crowd | Fleet Foxes – “English House”
Previously: From The Crowd | Great Lake Swimmers – “The Partisan”
Previously: From The Crowd | Lewis & Clarke – “Before It Breaks You”
Previously: From The Crowd | Justin Townes Earle “Who Am I To Say”
Previously: From The Crowd | Jens Lekman – “The Opposite of Hallelujah”
Previously: From The Crowd | Mark Olson – “Blue”
Previously: From The Crowd | Bon Iver – “Skinny Love”
Previously: From The Crowd | The Whigs – “Get Off Of My Cloud”
Previously: From The Crowd | The National “Baby, We’ll Be Fine!”
Previously: From The Crowd | The Hold Steady “Chips Ahoy!”

If you’ve not yet made it over to La Fête de Marquette, please do so today. Another slew of great acts are set to perform today, including a can’t miss performance by Ivan Neville’s Dumpstaphunk. I checked out Brazzaville and Dengue Fever yesterday, had a blast, and by the looks of it so did everyone else around me.

Brazzaville [5:15 - 6:30]

Dengue Fever [7:15 - 8:30]

Please leave a comment telling us how much you loved Brazzavile + Dengue Fever. Who else did you see? Have you enjoyed the festival thus far? What artists have been your favorites? Did you eat one of those gyro wraps? Yum.

Previously: 5 Questions with Dengue Fever

Myspace: Brazzaville
Myspace: Dengue Fever
MP3: Dengue Fever – “Sober Drive”

Find more MP3′s at The Hype Machine or buy stuff from Strictly Discs | eMusic

Today marks the beginning of La Fête de Marquette here in Madison; three days of world music sure to turn you on to something you haven’t heard or seen before. One act I consider to be a can’t miss is Dengue Fever, who will take the state tomorrow at 7:15. I got in touch with drummer Paul Smith, who was kind enough to participate in our continuing 5 Questions with Muzzle of Bees feature.

Could you lend some information on the recording process of Venus On Earth? Where and how was it recorded, and were there any lessons learned towards future recording sessions?

We did most basics at our friends studio Phase Four (Jim Putnam’s place). We recorded to analog tape for the first time and really enjoyed it. We used our own studio, The Shoebox, for a lot of overdubs and mixing. I think the most important lesson on this session was learning to leave some space. Not that we will always do that but it really made a difference on this album.

I also want to commend you on having one of the most capturing album covers I’ve seen in some time. How did the album cover of Venus On Earth come about?

It started with the idea of Zac and Nimol on an old Pouch moped and went from there. Senon did the design with Zac looking over his shoulder. It was an attempt at something that would feel classic.

The internet has dramatically altered the way artists can reach an audience. With things like blogs/MySpace/etc, what are your thoughts on the power of the internet in terms of helping (or hurting) your music?

It has created a million different niche markets. People get to search out what they are into through all of these portals. It has a sense of adventure really, because you can sit down and go in search of almost anything and come across interesting things along the way. Bands now can get an audience without the old model of expensive marketing. There are draw backs but what’s the point since that page has already been turned?

Who are you currently listening to? We’re always looking to uncover new favorite artists, are there any band(s)/record(s) that you could recommend to our readers?

I have been listening to the Trojan Dub box set that came out recently. 50 tracks from the 70′s to the 80′s. Good stuff. There is also an album of good stuff from Nigeria called Nigeria 70-Lagos Jump.

You’ve played your share of clubs and festivals including an upcoming spot at Madison’s La Fete de Marquette. In terms of preference do you prefer indoor or outdoor venues and do you tailor your set list to the type of audience your playing to, perhaps a lot of first timers in a festival setting?

Indoor and outdoor have different vibes. It’s a bit like apples and oranges. If you are outside it’s probably a festival with people spread around more which can mean less concentrated energy coming back from the audience. In a club or theatre it’s more confined and seems to funnel the crowds energy right to the stage. There is always exceptions but it’s great to do both. Playing in the sun with great scenic backdrops is always a nice change of pace. Our set list is made up right before we go on so it can reflect the crowd’s energy. If it’s mellow we may start with something mellow and work our way up. If everyone is rarin’ to go then we start out with a rocker!

Myspace: Dengue Fever
MP3: Dengue Fever – “Sober Drive”

Find more MP3′s at The Hype Machine or buy stuff from Strictly Discs | eMusic