Sunday Night: Changes
and Status Quo
Well it looks
like the Frankie Knuckles era on Halsted Street has ended, at
least for now. Having the legendary DJ himself the Godfather
of House Music - spin every other Sunday night at Hydrate was
quite the treat to the ears and dancing feet to me and many of
Frankie's fans. It was actually somewhat revolutionary to have
his classic style of house music in a Boystown danceteria amidst
the normal circuit, tribal, and high energy/pop dance music fare.
Unfortunately, this revolution couldn't last. Let's hope that
Frankie will re-appear in the near future.
Also changing on Sundays is the downtown offering at Sound-Bar. Now when you head down to the corner of Ontario and Franklin to end the weekend, you'll be entering Y, the groovy lounge next door to Sound-Bar at 224 West Ontario. This place - a sister club to Sound-Bar - is gorgeous looking and way comfy with plenty of seating, a cozy dance floor, and a kicking sound system. Resident DJs Chris Eterno and Luis M will be providing the tunes and on occasion will be sharing the booth with guest DJs. Going forward, Sound-Bar will have monthly parties bringing in the biggest names and acts (see below for the Halloween weekend).
While there are changes happening in other parts of the city, the Weed Street District will be status quo on Sunday nights. Contrary to the rumor that was swirling a month ago, Crobar will be continuing with Glee Club, with a mixture of local and out-of town DJs. And around the corner at Zentra, the On The Down Low (OTDL) promotion probably the most consistently successful Sunday night party going on in Chicago - will continue to pack in the brothas who want their musical beats hip-hop oriented.
Forward Calendar:
Spooky Style
Halloween weekend
should be quite the spectacle this year. Of course there will
be plenty of festive parties and costume contests at most of the
bars and clubs as well as the Halloween Parade along Halsted Street
in Boystown, which kicks off at 8:00 pm. After the Parade, RuPaul
will be entertaining the folks at Crobar with DJ Tony Moran handling
the DJing duties. Over at Sound-Bar international superstar DJ
Peter Rauhofer will be manning the decks all night long for the
return of Pumpkinhead. It's been five years since Rauhofer
the man behind Club 69 and the Star 69 record label - was last
in town, so an early arrival at Sound-Bar is highly recommended
in order to avoid the lines.
"No Rain. No
Rainbow."
This is the
subtitle of an interesting web site, www.scottmontgomerymusic.com.
Mr. Montgomery is a unique Chicago musician who has produced
quite a library of music which you can access (listen to or download)
on his web site. He also dabbles in video with a couple of clips
which can be seen on the web site and that have also been distributed
locally. You can catch Scott performing live at Davenport's Caberet
Room, 1383 N. Milwaukee Ave. (Wicker Park) on Friday nights in
October at 10:30 pm.
Music Reviews
Everybody Loves A
Happy Ending
- Tears For Fears (Universal Music)
When I get into discussions with other folks over 30 years old
about the greatest pop albums from our youth, we inevitably get
around to talking about 1985's Songs From A Big Chair
by Tears For Fears. Their latest release, Everybody Loves
.. , may not make our lists for greatest CDs of our adult
lives, but the duo of Roland Orzibal and Curt Smith have produced
a real gem that will no doubt put smiles on many listeners' faces.
The music here is big and lush and sophisticated and most importantly,
accessible and inviting. This CD is well produced with a chorus
of real instruments creating and communicating moods and sophisticated
emotions. This CD here is a real winner! [Note: Tears For Fears
is on tour and will be in Chicago at The Vic, on November 1, 2004.]
Global Groove: The
Tour - mixed
by DJ DeMarko (Centaur)
The latest compilation to be released by Centaur in their Global
Groove series is The Tour, mixed by NYC's DJ DeMarko.
(DeMarko has an intersting link to Chicago as CircuitMOM is now
managing him.) This CD does a good job of capturing and presenting
the peak hour energy in a nightclub with popular tracks such as
"Dreams" by Kings of Tomorrow, "I Like It"
by Narcotic Thrust, and "Searching" by Offer Nissim
feat. Maya. The real peak of the CD is toward the end with a
terrific hard tribal house 1-2 punch of "Let Me Fix This"
by DJ Tomer and "House Is The Power" by Miami Connection.
This CD is not chock full of traditional diva vocal anthems,
but if you're looking for an energetic dance mix with strong beats
and a decent amount of lyrics to wrap you lips around, then The
Tour will suit your needs.
DJ Plez is the Music Editor
of ChicagoPride.com. He DJs throughout the Midwest and has a
residency at PUMP! in Milwaukee, WI.
