A Great Start To The New Year
While New Year's Eve in Chicago was pretty standard, and maybe even a bit ho-hum, New Year's Day night was sizzling as DJ Abel spun the New Year's Gay Party at Crobar. The Miami Maestro's high energy set was filled with fierce tribal and anthem goodies. And the sprinkling in of "oh-no-he-didn't-just-play-that!" classics brought smiles to all who were there celebrating the start of a new year. Hopefully this signals resurgence in Chicago's nightlife for the upcoming year.

Web Gems
Even though you may be holding a copy of BOI in your hands as you read this, most likely you spend plenty of time on your computer surfing the net. And not just for dates and quickie hook-ups. Two local DJs with web pages of note are Doug Brandt (www.djdougbrandt.com) and Greg Drescher (www.djgregdrescher.com ). Brandt is a resident DJ at Cocktail and has made quite a name for himself on the local house music scene. His web page is very cool looking and chock full of interesting info and music. Drescher recently launched his site with the help of local web developer Kris Wagner. Its sleek design is an attractive portal that allows visitors to get to know this talented DJ much better.

Forward Thinking
The last two Sundays of February at Crobar should be special with two of the biggest DJing names in the world manning the decks. On the 19th, the one and only Victor Calderone heats up the main floor with his signature sound while Chicago's own Chris Eterno spins the VIP Lounge. Then on the 26th, the man who has been dubbed the "greatest DJ in the world"- Junior Vasquez - visits Chicago for the first time in five years in support of his new mixed compilation CD, White Party 7 (Centaur Music). The CD has received critical acclaim as it storms up the charts and folks in the know say that Junior's recent live sets have been creative masterpieces. February may be a short month, but it will be a fun one.

Reviews A Collection of Really Good "Music"

Move Your Body: Ultimate Dance - Various Artists (Time Life).
This compilation CD is a pleasing stroll down dance music recent memory lane with songs such as Tamia's "Stranger In My House" and Sonique's "It Feels So Good." Old-school and new-school divas such as Crystal Waters, Deborah Cox, Melanie C and Danni Minogue join the likes of Sting, Alice Deejay, and Daniel Bedingfield on this 18-track collection of club hits.

Truly Madly Completely: The Best of Savage Garden Savage Garden (Sony).
Do you remember this Australian duo (Darren Hayes and Daniel Jones) who took the world by storm beginning in the late 1990s? You should because with more than 23 million albums sold before parting ways four years ago, they are one of the most successful duos in history with chart-topping songs such as "I Want You" and "Truly Madly Deeply." This 17-track "Best Of" collection also contains two brand new songs from Hayes, whose extraordinary voice still captivates.

"Music" Leela James (Warner Brothers)
This is a stunningly good collection of dance remixes of a ballad from James' debut album that will surely delight serious dance fans. The underlying song is top-notch, lamenting the fact that music just ain't what is used to be, and is re-worked for various styles of dance floors by the likes of Eddie Baez, Dave Hernandez, Richard Morel, and Simon Aston. While these are all fantastic efforts in their own right, I found the L.E.X. Back To House Mix to be the best among this very strong set.