Stephan Grondin & Vibe @ Stereo - June 23, 2007

You are forgiven if you arrive later in the evening (or early in the morning according to some) for parties at Stereo, but never if Stephan Grondin is the one warming up the dance floor for a great night of dancing.

One person dancing in the side lines of the dance floor, decoration imitating a forest above, lots of people walking to and from the smoking section, and a DJ that was ready to surprise the crowd in the tables. In a normal night music usually stays slow for a while, but Saturday was not normal night, not when you have the Luso-Canadian duo ready to rip you apart in the dance floor. Grondin probably was only waiting for the first person to move under the disco ball to release the energy in the making since his debut at Pacha the weekend before.

People only had a couple minutes to make themselves comfortable before the music literally exploded. Grondin had the compassion to maintain the volume down for a bit, again just enough time to grab your space in the dance floor. Those arriving at 3:00am might have gotten confused and worried because the party was already at full swing. The volume was too loud for a couple of minutes, something Grondin fixed right away, talk about being able to read the crowd and your own ears I guess.

Grondin brought tons of material with him, playing great tunes that were just too delicious not to digest. Dark tribal tunes made not for the gods, but for a hungry dance floor fed in a timely fashion. It was just unbelievable what he did, and it felt like everyone was just captivated by the music. Unlike other parties, where the whole crowd turns and face the DJ as if was Huitzilopochtli before a human sacrifice, everyone was just dancing, focused in the music, in themselves, in others, and in the blue elephants.

Transition? There was no transition, just a natural progression of the night. If wasn’t because the spot lights I wouldn’t have noticed Vibe had already taken control of the night. Grondin had pushed the envelop to the maximum, and was Vibe turn to followed and take it to the next level.

Vibe took Grondin’s challenge and transformed the night into a work of art, by ripping the original form apart, recreating the figure, destroying it again, adding new colours, dividing it into pieces and mix matching it upside down. Vibe was different than usual, he played harder and darker, the range of tribal tunes were fascinating, I believe he even flirted with some techno, but always returning to the dark side of the music. The music sounded more mature, and his talent and experience helped to put everyone where they belonged, in the dance floor.

I could go on and on but it would be useless, you had to experience this night to understand what I’m talking about. As far as I remember, only one song played by Grondin was repeated by Vibe, and it is one of my favourites tunes which I don‘t know the name - this tune just make the dance floor go wild, and both times it did the job.

The crowd was a happy bunch, with lots of charismatic attractive people, lots of newcomers, and I met several people from Ontario and British Columbia. Great dancers, good to see some old friends, and look at the beautiful bodies all around. Lasted the combination of Grondin and Vibe until probably 11:00am, left with zero energy, a destroyed body and with a smile in my face. Stayed a lit big longer downstairs, longer than I should but it was fun. I don’t think I’m allowed to say “Stereo you’ve done again”, my question actually is can another duo take this challenge now?