the week in Dance w/ Showtrotta
DOWNLOAD: Jody Wisternoff – Way Out There, 1/20/09 (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Jody Wisternoff – Way Out There, 12/16/08 (MP3)
Housemeister @ Bowery Ballroom – January 24, 2009
I thought the Valerie Collective at Webster Hall last Friday would be nearly impossible to top, but Saturday proved different. The typically rocking Bowery Ballroom had gone rave for the night. Bowery’s usual head-nodding, foot tapping crowd was nowhere in sight and upon entering the front of the sparsely filled ballroom it was like seeing a mirage: a range of people from teens to late 30’s, wearing everything from brightly colored shorts and tights, tie dyed capes, matching striped hoodies, and nylon LA Gear Jumpsuits…all getting down (on a much too well lit, and nowhere close to being crowded dancefloor) just minutes into the evening! In addition to the crowd seeming very rave-ready to begin with, Housemeister played an absolutely great opening set…very techy/techno-ey in the vein of Boys Noize and totally fresh. He included many of his own remixes, a lot of tracks I didn’t know, and some great current stuff (aka Oizo’s “Positif”) that had everyone accordingly losing it: Vous êtes des animaux indeed.
You could tell the crowd was eagerly anticipating Modeselektor‘s set by their hysterical reaction to Gernot Bronsert & Sebastian Szary’s brief visits to the stage to show support for Housemeister prior to their set. By the time Modeselektor finally did take the stage (just before midnight), the crowd went absolutely berserk as they opened with “The Dark Side Of The Sun”. As the show progressed the pair’s energy and antics only fueled the crowd further in much the same way as the past two times I saw them. Modeselektor’s lip syncing to their remix of Bjork’s “Dull Flame of Desire” garnered a great reaction from the crowd as did track after track which included one of my favorites, “2000007” (featuring French rap group TTC) among others.
Modeselektor @ Bowery Ballroom – January 24, 2009 (more by Zach Dilgard)
By the last 20 minutes of the set everyone was in an absolute frenzy that seemed to be at its peak, at which point Modeselektor voiced a robotic sounding request for champagne – the show was far from over. Moments later a very pleasant hell broke loose as the crowd shifted forward in the hopes of being sprayed. The music and dancing continued on as this happened not once, but twice! The inflation of a huge ape balloon followed, as did the sudden and very unexpected presence of a man in a chicken suit along with a butcher (complete with a real pig’s head – ew!) who repeatedly showered the crowd and the stage with feathers. Modeselektor’s excellent show ended infinitely more fun and bizzarely than it had started.
As much fun as I had, I didn’t really get to bask in the Modeselektor afterglow as I was racing down to Santos in the hopes of catching Tortured Soul perform at Mister Saturday Night. Thankfully I managed to get there, check my coat, find my friends, and only miss the first two songs of their performance. After witnessing a great show from them last March, but being too exhausted to actually dance, it was awesome to finally see the three-piece, live Brooklyn house band again. They were in top form and had everyone in Santos’ packed, main room was getting down from the second they dropped “Fall In Love” early in their set, right until the very end. The dancing didn’t stop there as Eamon Harkin and Justin Carter seamlessly eased into their set with Metro Area‘s “Caught Up” just as Tortured Soul finished and proceeded to keep everyone moving with a great mix of melodic and danceable tunes. Both the upstairs & downstairs of Santos were as packed as ever with people who were there to dance…and Mister Saturday Night proved to be an excellent new way to do it.
Unfortunately this is the first weekend since it started that no Mr. Saturday Night party is happening, but there are many other excellent ways to get down this weekend & get started next week. Here’s what’s happening starting with Saturday (1/31)…
A few of my favorite New York party-ers are getting together for Play Hard Social Club. Meanred have a proven track record of throwing amazing parties, Bruno & Blair have locked in the disco with People Don’t Dance No More, plus you’ve got Finger On the Pulse on top of that. Should be serious fun!
“In the USA, our puritanical past typically leads to shame about partying. “Work Hard”… a value system that has been drilled in our heads since the Mayflower landed. For better or for worse, we push ourselves to grind. But remember this — for every yin, there is a yang. If we work hard, we play harder.
At PHSC we ask you to come into an unexpected space and shake off your history. Join us for a low-key warehouse kickback, rediscover this fine city of ours, meet the folks that make it special, linger in a lovingly-crafted cocktail, nod your head to the musical choices, slow yourself down enough to enjoy the moment. …and hit on the sexy lil thing next to you? Well yes, of course. That too. Make sure to say hello to your hosts, they love you. Tip your bartender, they’ll intoxicate you. Chat up the doorperson, they are the gatekeepers to your night.”
Make sure you RSVP!!
Some other things that look good, happening in Brooklyn:
It’s Mike Simonetti‘s (of Italians Do It Better) belated birthday and he is deejaying/celebrating along with a bunch of others at Savalas:
Be sure to check the Italians Do It Better blog for Mini Mixtape #1 and label news.
Not too far from Savalas a new, free party (Pulled Pork) is debuting at Cameo (The Lovin Cup Cafe) with Streetlab!:
There are also some options if you’d rather go to Manhattan.
Jody Wisternoff is at Sullivan Room. Download a couple of recent mixes from Jody at the top of this post. Tracklistings and party info below:
Advanced tickets available here.
Jody Wisternoff – Way Out There, 1/20/09 Tracklisting
01 Montauk – April ( Dana & Peders Vox Rmx )
02 Serafim – Is ( Sotus Bo Rmx )
03 Hideo Kabayashi – Chikuma
04 Gypsy – Funk De Fino ( Spirit Catcher Rmx )
05 Agoria – Diva Drive ( Fabrice Lig Rmx )
06 Kris Menace – Scaler
07 Filth & Splendour – The Argument
08 Guy J – Leave Me
09 Robert Babicz – Mystic Smile
10 Tom Middleton – Remember The Love ( Inst )
Jody Wisternoff – Way Out There, 12/16/08 Tracklisting
01 Marius Vareid – Skilme Planer
02 Nathan Drew Larsen – Boys Choir
03 Ladyhawke – Magic ( Cates & Dpl Bootleg )
04 Taras Von De Voord – Crepe Damour
05 Bob Marley – Is This Love ( Hernan Cerbellos Mix )
06 Who Made Who – Tv Friend ( Hot Chip Rmx )
07 Mike Monday – Stargirl ( Club Mix )
08 Marius Vareid – Tropisk Storm
09 Corrugated Tunnel – Attic House
10 Sudha – Leche ( Wow Rmx )
11 Casio Social Club – Count Your Lucky Stars
12 James Holden – Nothing ( Guy J Rmx )
…and Save the Cannibals continues with it’s second party in the series at Rebel:
Advanced tickets available here.
Here are some events heading into next week:
Sunday (2/1)
– Discotheque Sundays with Neil Aline is downstairs and free at Santos.
Monday (2/2)
– A special edition of Deep Space with Francois K is happening at Love.
Tuesday (2/3)
– See You Next Tuesday is happening at Santos.
Wednesday (2/4)
– Sammy Bananas‘ Player’s Club is happening at Pianos
– Cold Sweat at Happy Ending.
I’m not trying to make “weird” music videos the way I end this post every week…but a new one just came out a few days ago by Chicks on Speed for WhoMadeWho‘s “This Train”. The track was released digitally last week and will also be available on The Plot 7″ out March 6th. Also, WhoMadeWho remixed Chick’s On Speed’s track “Surfer Girl” last month, which is also currently available digitally. Check out the (NSFW) video below:
