Richie Hawtin, Layo and Bushwaka, Gaiser and Maher Daniel @ Stereo - November 19, 2010

To go early in the morning or a bit after opening time? After a 5 hours long disco nap I decided it was wise to go earlier than I had already scheduled. By 3:30am I was already in and this is when my most expected moment at Stereo began. I’ve been dreaming in hearing Hawtin play at the temple for a while, specially since his amazing set at the Electric Zoo in NYC, and now I finally had the chance to witness a moment in history.

Gaiser, which by the way looks a lot like Richie from far away (same hair style) was continuing with the warm up set started by Maher. Music was cool, volume was still a bit low, but the crowd was already feeling it (more about the crowd later). It was a nice build up with fine techno and minimalist tunes. Live act was promised and this is exactly what Gaiser dished out, and man was he having fun up in the decks.

Stereo was already busy, but not overflowing as I have seen in other nights, which is a good thing because we don’t need sensitive fire marshals closing down the party. Do you want to see what a straight Stereo looks like? You missed it if you didn’t come to this party, it is a very different animal.

There was something else that was bugging me, and somehow I couldn’t put my finger on it, something was not right, and it wasn’t until the back speaker, from the right hand side facing the decks, came alive for a couple of seconds and everyone cheered to the pristine sound we were able to absorbed, this is when I figured out what was missing, and then silence from the back speaker once again.

Desperately I warned whoever I thought could do something about the situation with the speakers, yes speakers in plural because the left hand side one was also mute, actually this one was doing some cracking sounds. Naive for me to thing the technicians were not aware of the problem, I’m pretty sure they were doing everything in their power to rectify the issue, specially since this was a sold out night.

Richie took over at around 5:00am if not earlier, the crowd went wild, and started to spin good tunes, technically perfect, great techno house for the masses, but perhaps I got lost in his story telling. He was spinning, but I don’t know if he was having fun, but again I wonder if the fact he only have half of the power in hands affected the easy way the music flows from him, or perhaps it was only me experiencing this search for perfection. At the same time I must say he does know how to work the crowd, because with the push a button he can make the whole dance floor go wild, and he did just that several times during his set.

It was incredible to see one of my favourite deejays play in one of my favourite night clubs, and frustrating at the same time because I was not getting the real Stereo sound, I tried to shake those feelings off and let the music involve me, but it is Stereo’s fault that I’m actually able to recognize and notice when the sound is not right, if I was a newbie perhaps I wouldn’t had been able to tell the difference, and at this moment I wanted to be a newbie.

The dream to hear Richie Hawtin playing at Stereo is still alive and unfulfilled because it does not count to having him play only for 2 hours, and on top of that, only with half of the speakers. Note to Stereo: don’t bring Richie only for 2 hours, that is not a set, it is just teasing.

Richie finished his set, and it also meant the end of the night for those that had came out exclusively to see him, and somehow Stereo felt a bit more like Stereo again. I walked by the “bad” speakers and guess what? Magically they were working again. Big smile in my face even if Layo & Bushwacka were playing this kind of dark weird music in their first 30 minutes, but then holy macaroni, those boys exploded and they played one of the best Techno House set in the temple. It was just unbelievable what they were doing, and I feel sorry for those who left early and did not had a chance to hear these boys.

Confession of the day, I didn’t know who Layo & Bushwacka were until Friday night, now I want Stereo to bring them again and for an extended set, because they deserved to be showcased even more.

You might think I had a horrible night of partying, mostly due to the sound issue, but it is not true, it was great to see some friends I hadn’t seen in a long time, it was nice to finally hear Richie at Stereo, even if it was a half power, but mostly I’m so happy to have been introduced to this due that save the night musically speaking.

I was going to talk about the crowd, you know, those newbie’s that haven’t been Stereolized yet, the ones that pushed themselves around without using the Stereo etiquette, dropping water bottles and gum on the floor, and the same ones that create those pockets of people talking right in the middle of the dance floor, but I won’t bother, we all know what Stereo is, and one days all those people will learn, specially if they keep coming back.

Stereo, thanks for another incredible evening, and sorry about my rant, but you must admit it was pretty annoying not been able to hear the main musical guest at full capacity, and Richie I think you could had done better, but no worries I’m still your fan.