Esser & Datarock on stage together (rugbarn)

Hopefully you made it out Thursday & Friday. I did not, so we're heading right into what's happening this weekend:

Continue reading "the week in Dance w/ Showtrotta (part 2)"

DOWNLOAD: Tim Sweeney Live @ Sunday Best - August 16 (MP3)

Joakim

It's been a very exciting week in dance, with both Bassment Jaxx and Royksopp show announcements. Unfortunately we still have to wait a few months before those happen. In the meantime, here is what's going on this weekend:

Continue reading "the week in Dance w/ Showtrotta (part 2) (Joakim, Michna, Theo Parrish, Holy Ghost, Soul Bowl, the Drums & more) "

Pilooski @ the Scion Radio party @ Plan B - August 11, 2009

It's been an interesting week in dance so far. Tuesday night Pilooski was great, as expected, at the Scion party at Plan B. Unfortunately nearly everyone there was in "hang out & BS" mode instead of dancing. At any given time there was probably a maximum of 5 people dancing which was frustrating. You can lead a horse to water...I had an excellent time anyway and hopefully people will dance more when Pilooski is back here on September 26 (location tba).

Wednesday night at Le Poisson Rouge was the complete opposite. The Phenomenal Hand Clap Band opened for Friendly Fires and there was a pretty good amount of dancing going on during their set. Their sound is kind of like a blend of classic rock with hints of funk & soul which I'm not sure how I feel about yet. They were super enthusiastic and fun to watch though.

Unfortunately, immediately after their set, things started to go downhill. Set-up and sound check for Friendly Fires was over an hour and I was standing next to a very drunk & annoying girl (not to be confused with the one at Thursday's show) and matching friend. Despite the extensive set-up, when Friendly Fires finally started the sound was not great! The vocals sounded off to begin with and lead vocalist Ed McFarlane's habit of intermittently pulling the mic away from his mouth as he sings (which usually is not a problem) sounded like a cd skipping at times because the band was so loud. The band's addition of a little horn section to the mix was interesting at first, but ultimately seemed unnecessary most of the time. Removed from these couple of things everything else was typically awesome Friendly Fires. Everyone was dancing away, but I couldn't really get into it after the hour+ wait.

Hopefully things will be better this Saturday (8/15), but before we get into that...last Saturday was the Brooklyn Electronic Music Festival (BEMF). This was my first time going to the festival, which is now in its second year. Heading there after Dark Disco in the Park, I arrived at the Old American Can Factory around 8 to see a decent-sized crowd hanging out in the courtyard. There was a nice set-up of food vendors in the back, opposite the main stage, a bar down a little alleyway, and a second stage indoors. Nobody was really dancing when I got there as Jupiter One's set had just ended, but within a few minutes that changed when OCD Automatic went on, playing a nice little mix of some electro favorites (like Mylo, which I haven't heard out in ages).

At this point I was still exploring the space and getting my bearings...when I went inside and saw Plant Music's Kap10Kurt was on I was really excited as I've come very close but have never actually succeeded in seeing one of his sets. Unfortunately this time was no different since he was done by the time I figured out the bar/drink tickets situation and got back to the stage.

Young Love (who I've seen before and am not a fan of) was on the main stage and I was beginning to realize that forgetting to print out the schedule of performers was not the best move. I spent most of the night scurrying inside and outside to see who was on and hit a lull pretty early on where I didn't like the acts on either stage for a while.

Thankfully around 10, Free Blood (who I had never seen before) went on. I really enjoyed the live guitar over the electronics in the background and Madeline and John have a really good dynamic.

From there things really heated up. JDH & Dave P were deejaying when Shy Child soundchecked over them pretty loudly (which I thought was really rude at first, until I realized that's how pretty much everyone was doing it the entire night). Thankfully JDH & Dave P were able to resume where they left off after Shy Child's set, bringing the packed courtyard's dancing to a frenzied pace by the time the Juan Maclean went on.

At that point I was exhausted and wasn't really looking forward to their set, since the last time I saw the Juan Maclean back in October I did not enjoy their performance at all. The only reason I stuck around was to see how the show would compare to that performance. As soon as they began I was glad I decided to stay.

From the get-go I could tell it was going to be a totally different show. All the somber, underwhelming slow disco jams were gone, and Nancy Whang wasn't straining her vocals this time. Juan and the band played track after upbeat track including newer ones like "One Day" and "Happy House" (which you can see videos of, along with the Juan Maclean tour dates here) and oldies but goodies like "Give Me Every Little Thing". The whole set was very lively & bouncy and everything sounded great (from the synths to the drums to...the theramin) as the modern disco's vibes permeated the crowd. The crowd was accordingly losing it, and it was the most wild Juan Maclean show I have ever been to. It was a great ending to BEMF (for me...the festival went on for hours more, but I was done for the night).

This weekend there is no rain in sight and there are plenty of opportunities to dance outside! Make the most of this good weather (though there are some indoor events too), starting with Saturday (8/15):

Continue reading "the week in Dance w/ Showtrotta (part 2)"

DOWNLOAD: Dirty Sound System - Summer Tape 2009 (MP3)

Dirty Sound System

It's been a while since I was this excited about a weekend, dance-wise. One of the many reasons why is Dirty Sound System is coming to New York this Saturday (8/1). According to their website, the French duo of Clovis Goux & Guillaume Sorge...

...spin everything from house, electro free jazz to spacey disco, acid house, krautrock, sunshine pop, folk, rythm'n'blues, music soundtracks... it depends on how far the dancefloor is ready to go.

Info on the party they are deejaying on Saturday night below, plus download their Summer Tape 2009 at the top of this post and some mixes by Prince Language's (who is also deejaying the party) here. Also, be sure to check out Dirty Sound System's latest release Dirty French Psychedelics (available at Turntable Lab and on iTunes).

continued below...

Continue reading "the week in Dance w/ Showtrotta (part 2) (Dirty Sound System, Plant Music, Ete D'amour, Sunday Best, APW & more)"

DOWNLOAD: Luke Solomon - Live at Sunday Best, 6/7/09 (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Ghislain Poirier - In the Mix on Sinden's Kiss FM radio show 5/21/09 (MP3)

Tyler Askew & crowd @ Loving Day Flagship Celebration - 6/7/09 (Willie Davis)

I haven't been out dancing yet this week, but still have plenty to tell you about last weekend, specifically Sunday and how it's turning into my favorite day to get down. Things began a little out of the ordinary, trekking over to 23rd and the FDR for the Loving Day celebration (of the Supreme Court case Loving v. Virginia which legalized interracial marriage in the US, which happened not too long ago in 1967!). The vibe was great - everyone just looked happy and was hanging out. Unfortunately not many were dancing to the great soulful, jazzy, housey set Tyler Askew was playing. I'm going to blame it on the massive line that had formed for the free BBQ being given out. In any case, I got down with a small group of strangers and learned more about Loving v Virginia which you can do here as well as learn about throwing your own Loving Day celebration.

Luke Solomon @ Sunday Best @ the BKLYN Yard - June 7, 2009 (cloud_city)

From there things picked up in terms of dancing. I headed down to the Gowanus yet again for Sunday Best. It was slightly less packed than it was for Mr. Scruff - still quite a crowd. I'm not sure how they did it, but food & drink lines were pretty much nonexistent and the bathroom one is still there, but much shorter. There were all the makings of a great Sunday as Luke Solomon started his set around 7, following through with 2 great hours of an interesting blend of house, soul, techno, and even hints of tech-house that had the tiny dancefloor overflowing with people. You can download his set at the top of this post, and check out other past sets from Sunday Best here, or better yet, subscribe to the podcast via iTunes or RSS.

I was perfectly happy by the end of Sunday Best and could have just gone home...but the Lower East Side is just so close thanks to the F-train, so I headed to the Rivington Hotel for Été d'Amour with Tony Humphries. The penthouse was packed with people dancing when I arrived, as it had been for Dimitri's set the weekend prior. Unfortunately it didn't last long. After hanging out on the roof for an hour or so it dawned on me that I couldn't hear the music at all. The sound only improved slightly one flight down, and by the time I was back on the main penthouse level I realized something was very wrong. The volume was way down thanks to someone complaining...so frustrating as Tony's set was great, just not loud enough! I've been assured that this week things will be under control for Stretch Armstrong's set, but more on that in a bit. First here is what's going on Saturday (6/13):

Continue reading "the week in Dance w/ Showtrotta (part 2) "

DOWNLOAD: Damian Lazarus - Dr. Whiskers Theme (MP3)

Pilooski @ Mutek in Montreal - May 28, 2009 (Thesorus)

No dancefloor destruction to report yet, but that will definitely be changing this weekend. There's so much good stuff headed our way, starting with...

Continue reading "the week in Dance w/ Showtrotta (part 2) "

by Showtrotta

Cut Copy @ Webster Hall - September 21, 2008 (more by Kyle Dean Reinford)

Thursday I hit Santos for one of the Ete d'Amour parties I'd been looking forward to since the initial schedule was announced - Busy P & DJ Mehdi. Having seen Busy P and DJ Mehdi spin on multiple occasions, plus months of anticipation, still did not prepare me for Thursday night. Their sets crushed my expectations, going far beyond what I imagined. From the super fresh, to 'oldies but goodies', their individual sets had it all, but the real magic happened when the pair shared deejay duties - trading off every other track for one of the most unique, highly danceable, fun sets I've experienced this year. You can read more about the night here.

I really didn't want to do it (especially with Sinden deejaying at Love on Saturday - anyone go? how was it?), but I took the next two nights off from dancing. Then Sunday night I ventured out earlier than I've gotten used to, to see the Presets and Cut Copy at Webster Hall. The Presets took the stage around 9, beginning their set with "Talk Like That" with Kim's thunderous drumming reminding me of Soulwax's show at Irving Plaza last month for just a fleeting second. Much to the crowd's delight, he and Julian delivered about an hour of pounding (in a good way) dance music, most of which even I (not the biggest Presets fan) was able to enjoy.

Around 10:30 Cut Copy began what was to be an hour long, electrifying set with "Visions" followed by "Nobody Lost, Nobody Found" - the two songs that begin their most recent album In Ghost Colours. From there they played plenty of material from both that album as well as Bright Like Neon Love, whipping the crowd into a frenzy that resulted in happy faces and a bouncy Webster Hall floor as everyone jumped with glee to the Australian trio's upbeat tracks. You can check out the rest of what they played as well as some more great photos here.

As great as I always feel after dancing around at a Cut Copy show, there is something really beautiful and poignant about some of their lyrics that always seem to make the experience more emotionally involving than a straight-up, banging deejay set. One very poignant moment during the show, probably lost to those unaware of her passing, was the band's dedication of their last song, "Hearts on Fire" to Nagi (Noda), the young Japanese director responsible for the music video (the last she worked on) for that song. While I only recently became familiar with her work, it's always sad to see someone so young and creative leave our world so quickly...

As is basically the norm at this point, we're in for another very eventful weekend dance-wise in New York. Things get started tonight (Thursday, Sept 25th), with quite a bit going on from which to choose:

Continue reading "a Cut Copy/Presets review & the Thursday night in Dance"

Midnight Juggernauts @ Le Poisson Rouge - September 13, 2008 (CRED)

Last week/weekend in dance was one of the best I've had in a long time.

Thursday night at Santos, Cassius' Boombass played a more mellow set compared to the Cassius set from '02 that I remember so fondly. It picked up at times, but around 3:30 when the music took a retro turn with Pump Up the Jam and This is Acid, I headed home.

Friday I found myself last minute at Été d'Amour's party on the Mini Rooftop which wound up being awesome. From there I headed to Robot Rock where I couldn't tell if Linus Loves set was just ok, or if I was just having trouble shifting gears from Trevor's funkier style to Linus' more straight-up electro.

Saturday night I witnessed the best performance yet from Midnight Juggernauts. I think it all boils down to the soundsystem. Though the Bowery Ballroom show was better than seeing them at the cavernous Terminal Five, I thought the Midnight Juggernauts' spacey, guitar-driven, electro-peppered tracks found their perfect balance thanks to Le Poisson Rouge's impeccable soundsystem. I didn't have the best spot either. I watched the the show from a spot off-center, to the immediate right of the stage. All of the more subtle, electronic loveliness, previously obliterated at Terminal Five, and overshadowed slightly less at Bowery Ballroom, fully came through, delighting the audience with the electro-space sound that brilliantly shines through on Dystopia.

Sometimes it's better to quit while you're ahead, but instead of heading home after the great Midnight Juggernauts show, I headed to APT to see Kaos. His set was a nice mix of modern and classic disco I've come to expect from him, but the place was DEAD, especially for a Saturday night.

Sunday marked the great end to a nearly flawless weekend in dance. Holy Ghost started things off on the mellow/discoey side at the Yard, followed by a great set by Stretch Armstrong. He played a great mix of literally everything, a lot of which I wasn't familiar with along with some current tracks I love (the Boys Noize Happy Birthday remix of Cut Copy's Lights and Music). Unfortunately it was early, and daylight and nobody (myself included, despite almost doing it multiple times) had the nerve to hit the floor. Once Feadz began his set people gradually started getting up to dance. Going in I had absolutely no idea what to expect from Feadz. I don't like Uffie so I never really took the time to check out Feadz extensively. It became apparent almost immediately that I had been missing out. A set that began with a hip hop track quickly moved from genre to genre, touching on techno, house, b-more, and everything in between without a single misstep. The young Frenchman treated the now packed floor to a nearly 2-hour set that was as bouncey as he was, bopping up & down as he scurried between the decks.

I never made it to Minitek over the weekend, but I heard it didn't all go as planned.

A week like that is going to be hard to top, but before we get into that, we have a contest! We have 5 copies of the deluxe, double-CD edition of the Chemical Brothers' Brotherhood to give away. Details on how to win are at the bottom of this post, under all the Friday night events....

Continue reading "the Friday night in Dance w/ Showtrotta"

Santos Party House now has tickets on Ticketweb. That includes the upcoming Black Kids show. A full listing of upcoming events at Santos is below...

Continue reading "Supermayer, Busy P, DJ Medhi, Moby, Free Blood, Black Kids & other Santos Party House events - some with advanced tix"