House About Town & Home
Since dancing to some straight up house music isn't really a viable option on North Halsted Street, I recently went with friends to Zentra for their Friday night Jack party when Cajmere was spinning. It was a refreshingly mixed crowd on hand, and when Dajae stepped up to the mic and sang classics such as "Day by Day" and "Brighter Days" there was a sea of wide smiles. To top the night off, Cajmere rocked "Percolator" for the very appreciative crowd.

So pleased to be stimulated by house beats, my friends and I ventured over to an early session at Boom Boom Room the following Monday night with DJ Michael Serafini delivering an inspired set. Wow! The music was great and the crowd was friendly and freaky: just the way we like it.

The Ladies of Gay Days
Gay Days - the annual Orlando gathering of the various GLBT tribes - will occur June from the 1 ­ 4 with Gloria Gaynor & Kristine W as the featured entertainers during the circuit-styled One Mighty Weekend parfties. Official Hostess of One Mighty Weekend is none other than former Chicagoan Jessika Sterling, More info about these Gay Days Ladies can be found at JustCircuit.com.

Spotlight Dance Singles ­

"Faster Kill Pussycat" ­ Oakenfold featuring Brittany Murphy (Maverick)
Like other actresses, Murphy is giving singing a chance and makes her debut with Paul Oakenfold. There are six mixes of "Faster Kill Pussycat," including the electro-ish Vocal Mix, the hard trance Nat Monday Mix, and the vocal anthemic Eddie Baez Future Disco Mix, which will probably have the greatest Boystown appeal. My personal favorite is the Liam Shachar Mix with its ethereal house groove.

"Nice Day" ­ Persephone's Bees (Columbia)
There are ten remixes of this song, which in its original form is a fun infectious pop track. Of the "big room" versions, the Junior Vasquez Reconstruction Mix is the most interesting as he shows off his creativity with a dark and quirky presentation. Also of note is the funky deep house The Moves mix, the electro-tribal Wamdue mix, and the proggy Rob Rives mix.

Spotlight Compilation CD ­

House of Om: Colette & DJ Heather (Om)
The House of Om series gets better and better with each installment and they've hit a another home run slam with this new 2-cd set. Colette does the honors on CD1, following up her vocal artist album from last year with a silky smooth continuous mix full of light electro and acid house touches. She demonstrates that she is just as talented behind the decks as she is behind the mic. DJ Heather, a resident DJ at Fabric in London and here in Chicago at Smart Bar, guides CD2 as expertly as she does a dance floor. The mix is a tight cohesive blend of funky house tracks with some "boompty" thrown in for good measure. This House of Om release deserves to be added to the others that should already be in your collection.

 

DJ Plez is the Music Editor of ChicagoPride.com. He's a resident DJ at Cocktail and Cesar's and DJs throughout the Midwest, including at PUMP! in Milwaukee, WI.