Dimitri in the House
--
Legendary DJ of
the French Disco House movement, Dimitri from Paris, was at Sound-Bar
on September 5, and was in fine form. After a tremendous set
by the opening DJ, Dimitri eased the adoring crowd with a full
hour that never exceeded 120 bpm (beats per minute). Neither
dull nor boring, this deliberate pace was as sexy and groovy as
they come. Then he showed that he's more than just a DJ for the
lounge elite and blistered the dance floor with a surprising amount
of energy and peakish excitement in his track selections. All
in all, it was quite an interesting night with one of the more
popular global DJs around.
Scissor What?
In case you haven't
heard, the latest sensation on the live band front rocking both
gay and straight crowds alike is Scissor Sisters, a quintet out
of New York. I purposefully didn't listen to their new self-titled
CD (on Universal) before attending their recent show at the Metro
so as not to come with any preconceived notions about them, good
or bad. Well, I'll be playing that CD a ton now as I really did
like what I heard up on the Metro stage: an interestring mix of
genre-bending tracks that was somewhat rock, somewhat disco-y,
a bit punk-alternative, and some other descriptors I can't quite
put words to. This group has great energy and with several out
and proud gay members of the group, they have already connected
to the listening ear of the community that wants more than just
the latest dance remix heard on Queer As Folk. I'd suggest
that you not sleep on Scissor Sisters as I suspect they'll be
making their musical presence - and probably cultural presence
as well known for the foreseeable future.
Music Alert!
Joss Stone is a
blue-eyed English soul sister who last year wowed the world with
her debut CD Soul Sessions (S-Curve Records). Well,
she's back and coming on strong with her second effort Mind
Body & Soul, which just came out. If you appreciate
the likes of Angie Stone (no relation) and Jill Scott, Norah Jones
and Sarah MaLachlan, or Anita Baker and Betty Wright, then you'll
want to hitch a ride on the Joss Stone bandwagon.
For you dancing fools, the folks at Star 69 Records keep pumping out the product. A definite item on your shopping list should be the Star 69 Extended Mixes 4 CD which is in stores now. It's a compilation of full-length extended Star 69 mixes never before available on CD, featuring Amuka, Made By Monkeys, Peter Rauhofer, Presta & Stakey, Celeda, and more. While it's the perfect DJ tool, it's also a great buy for those wanting to hear new interpretation of some of the recent chart-toppers from Peter Rauhofer's label.
NYC Dispatch
Speaking of Mr.
Rauhofer, I had the opportunity to hear him spin at Roxy on a
recent trip to the Big Apple. Wow! What an incredibly great time
I had. The crowd at Roxy was stunningly beautiful and Rauhofer's
set was a demonstration of a DJ at the top of his game. He played
the newest and freshest tribal fare (Size Queen's "Tribal
Madness" and Calderone's smoldering remix of "Lola's
Theme") mixed with classic circuit tracks ("Meet Her
At The Love Parade" and Junior's "X '99"). He
also brought bright smiles to the older faces on the dance floor
with well-placed nuggets of foundation house music: Chicago and
New York/Jersey circa 1989. It's been a while since Rauhofer
has spun in Chicago. Hopefully the powers that be will work on
getting him here soon to treat us to a night of his dance music
mastery.
For a complete weekend of
NYC clubbing experience it was so nice to be in a city that
truly appreciates nightclubbing I started out on a Friday
night by checking out Susan Morabito at SBNY (aka Splash) with
her progressive underground, almost trancey at times, sound.
I actually prefer the former layout of this venue, but once all
the construction is complete, I'm sure it will still be a cool
place to party, dance and cruise. It was to the Avalon on Sunday
night for Chad Jack, where I got a better appreciation for why
folks are favorably comparing his style of DJing to that of Junior
Vasquez. He works hard in the booth to bring added dynamics and
complexity to his set, keeping the dance floor energized and engaged.
You'll surely be hearing more from him on the national scene.
Noir & Bleu
Montreal 2004
Since this is the
Black & Blue Montreal issue of Boi, let me comment on the
DJ line-up for the upcoming extravaganza, which is the largest
circuit party in North America: "ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!!!!!!"
I've felt for many years that the most sophisticated dance music
city in the world was not NYC, Miami, London, or Chicago, but
in fact was/is Montreal. The fact that they've put Chus &
Ceballos and Roger Sanchez on the bill for the Main Event brings
such a smile to my face as it is a testament to the importance
of music to this event, something that can not be said for most
circuit parties in the U.S. B&B has always striven to be
on the cutting edge of party production, both musically and visually.
The selection of the DJs is more about getting the best who will
challenge and excite the very sophisticated and knowledgeable
locals, not about getting all the pretty lowest common denominators
with mass appeal amongst the general American circuiteer crowd
whose dance music I.Q. is far from genius. And another unique
musical twist to Black & Blue: the liberal use of local Montreal
DJs to share prime slots on the events calendar with more familiar
names such as Victor Calderone, Mark Anthony, Manny Lehman, Gauthreaux,
Lauterstein, DeMarko, Andersen, and Prim. For those going to
Montreal this year for Black & Blue, let your mind, body,
and soul be open to a dance music smorgasbord unlike anything
you've experienced here in Chicago or at other circuit parties.
The organizers of B&B think outside the box, so you should
prepared to groove and dance outside the box.
DJ Plez is the Music
Editor of ChicagoPride.com. Read his current and archived Groove
Line articles at www.ChicagoPride.com.
