Disclaimer: shorter review than usual.
Let get to the point, and the first thing I have to say is how beautiful Stereo look with all those white/grey branches, crosses, church windows, little fire lamps, and everything else that was used as decor to dress up the place for Halloween. Stereo has even fixed the safety hazardous of the steps of the old metal stage in its new location. Finally, I guess I have to accept the fact the bar located in the dance floor area is not going anywhere - nevertheless I still don‘t like.
The Spaniard guest DJ, Oscar de Rivera, did one of the most gradual and perfect warm up sets I have seen so far at Stereo. Everything was perfect, the volume of the music, the chosen tunes, the speed in which it was delivered, and the progressive enthusiasm of the people created by all the aforementioned facts. Beautiful set and I think Oscar de Rivera deserves to be called back to be the main attraction of the nigh in a near future.
The Scareo theme was sufficient to make some people dress up for the occasion, but perhaps not as many as before. Nevertheless, I also recall in previous years, Stereo gave away prices for the best customs, which probably was an incentive for more people to dress up. The crowd was beautiful, mixed and happy, which is to be expected during Morales nights.
David Morales took over at around 5:00am and I think he gave us one of the most creative sets I have seen from him until now. I won’t go as far as to say it was his best set at the temple, but perhaps one of the most daring. He played all style of music, from his old classics, tribal, techno, vocals, reggae, minimal, French, Spanish, something I don’t recognize, and anything in between. If his mission is to make a global sound, well I think we hosted the musical planet during this night.
There were no speeches as far as I can recall, but there were many small pauses during the night. Again Stereo is a place where he can do whatever he wants, and probably this is why people keep coming back for more time after time, including me.
Fun night, and even if I say I might not go next time for his “la vie en stereo”, usually I always ended up going, because I don’t want to take a chance to miss the best night ever.
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Patrick Guay & Ana Paula @ Parking - October 20, 2007
First time I heard this girl spinning was back in August during Gay Pride in Montreal. Unfortunately due to other commitments, I didn’t get the chance to enjoy her performance for too long. I also missed her debut at Unity during the same week, when she replaced the diva Offer Nissim, and the reviews of the night were very positive. I’ve been reading about her thanks to my virtual friend Italo, and I became even more curious about this Brazilian jewel, since she was chosen to be one of “The Week” Rio resident DJ.
Arrived at Parking a little bit passed midnight, and this beautiful girl was already standing behind Patrick Guay getting ready for the beginning of her set. It looked like Patrick did an excellent job warming up the crowd, and even more surprising was the fact during his last song, she started to dance with him in the booth - talk about putting a smile in my face. Patrick gave her a big hug, the music stopped for 3 seconds and then the music started again. The song “Happy People” started to come out of the those speakers, and the electrifying energy of Ana Paula started to be felt in the entire club.
I had no idea this girl had so much energy, and on top of that she loves to interact with the crowd. What does she do next? She grabbed the divider in front of the booth, like trying to take it off, to be closer to the crowd, and thank you Parking for noticing because they removed the divider. Talk about making the people go wild in the club, I have only seen Danny Tenaglia do the same before.
Ana Paula’s performance was something out of this world. It was high energy from beginning to end, the crowd moved and moved, and cheered, and applaud, and most importantly danced to this delicious Tribal tunes she brought to the floor. The music was a selection of tunes we know and others that we really want to know more now. The combination of tribal, vocals, great energy, dancing DJ, good looking crowd, happy ambiance, sensual feeling, made this night one of the most enjoyable I’ve seen at this club so far.
I’m still cannot believe she kept the whole dance floor dancing at a super intensity level, during the whole time she was in charge of the decks. I was worried my legs would fell me, but fortunately they responded until the end. The lights came on at 3:30am but the music continued, until the security came to tell Ana Paula to shut the music down - time to say goodbye.
People didn’t want to leave, they were just there, standing, applauding and asking for more. I had the chance to thank her for such a great performance.
Thank you Parking for bringing this girl again to Montreal, and I hope it is not the last time. Unbelievable the number of people taking pictures of Ana Paula, and she always had this amazing smile for the photo up.
Some djs interact with the whole dance floor, Ana Paula interacts with the whole dance floor but if feels as if she is interacting just with you. Not sure about you, but I felt special - what a girl.
Arrived at Parking a little bit passed midnight, and this beautiful girl was already standing behind Patrick Guay getting ready for the beginning of her set. It looked like Patrick did an excellent job warming up the crowd, and even more surprising was the fact during his last song, she started to dance with him in the booth - talk about putting a smile in my face. Patrick gave her a big hug, the music stopped for 3 seconds and then the music started again. The song “Happy People” started to come out of the those speakers, and the electrifying energy of Ana Paula started to be felt in the entire club.
I had no idea this girl had so much energy, and on top of that she loves to interact with the crowd. What does she do next? She grabbed the divider in front of the booth, like trying to take it off, to be closer to the crowd, and thank you Parking for noticing because they removed the divider. Talk about making the people go wild in the club, I have only seen Danny Tenaglia do the same before.
Ana Paula’s performance was something out of this world. It was high energy from beginning to end, the crowd moved and moved, and cheered, and applaud, and most importantly danced to this delicious Tribal tunes she brought to the floor. The music was a selection of tunes we know and others that we really want to know more now. The combination of tribal, vocals, great energy, dancing DJ, good looking crowd, happy ambiance, sensual feeling, made this night one of the most enjoyable I’ve seen at this club so far.
I’m still cannot believe she kept the whole dance floor dancing at a super intensity level, during the whole time she was in charge of the decks. I was worried my legs would fell me, but fortunately they responded until the end. The lights came on at 3:30am but the music continued, until the security came to tell Ana Paula to shut the music down - time to say goodbye.
People didn’t want to leave, they were just there, standing, applauding and asking for more. I had the chance to thank her for such a great performance.
Thank you Parking for bringing this girl again to Montreal, and I hope it is not the last time. Unbelievable the number of people taking pictures of Ana Paula, and she always had this amazing smile for the photo up.
Some djs interact with the whole dance floor, Ana Paula interacts with the whole dance floor but if feels as if she is interacting just with you. Not sure about you, but I felt special - what a girl.
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
XL & Victor Calderone - Evolve @ Stereo - October 8, 2007
Stereo, I know it has been a long and hard journey, and during all these years, for better or worse, you have changed the lives of many people. Many structural changes have given a new life to the place. Love the new glass entrance, adore the new Stereo Bar, I can live with the new colours that replaced the underground feeling in the main bar downstairs. Interesting decoration right beside the security personal. Enjoy watching those lamps placed at the end of the two mezzanine areas. Never been upstairs in the VIP but I’m sure changes have also transformed that hidden place. I can even take the advertisement for whatever company you want to flash in the giant screen at the end of the dance floor, but I only ask one thing, and one thing only: Please get the BAR off the dance floor.
Taken from Stereo website and written by David Morales:
“Stereo to me is a musical haven.
Stereo to me is a place where one can just go and be whoever they want to be and dance the way that they want to dance.
Stereo to me is a place where people of any age and sexual genre can get together under one roof and be as one.
Stereo to me is a musical playground where a DJ can play whatever he or she wants and the audience enjoys it.
Stereo to me is an experience that’s all about … THE MUSIC!”
All about the music, which means is all about the dancers, and by placing the useless bar at the left hand side corner of the back stage, you have not only taken space away from the dancers, but also cut off the flow of the people. Now you have this empty area in front of the bar that used to be packed with people dancing.
Not only that, you had to move the big metal stage that used to be located where the new bar is, and placed right beside the speakers located in the right hand side to the entrance of the dance floor. Realizing the little steps, that take you up to the stage, were a safety hazard, two of the boxes had to be placed in front of the step to avoid people walking by it. Once again you have cut off the flow of the place. People walk around the sides to go to the back, now they have to either take the left hand side, creating much more traffic over that area, or go by the dancers inside the dance floor. Once again, please do us a favour and get the bar off the dance floor.
Welcoming music by XL, those happy tunes that make you just want to be under the disco ball, not that many people at the beginning, which is understandable, having Circus hosting the official recovery party with Peter Rauhofer in the other side of the street. Nevertheless nothing is official for me unless is Victor Calderone spinning my delicious way up to recovery, the day after the Black & Blue.
XL was perfect, great intro, giving us vocals which I knew I was not going to hear during the second part of the night. Moving not long after into the tribal tunes, and travelling into darker territories by the end, preparing the dance floor for a darker voyage with Victor.
“Transitions” started to play out of those monster speakers a little bit after 2:00am, the music went up and a fresh blow of air was felt, Victor Calderone had arrive but not too many realized it. Either Victor was too excited, or too confident the dance floor would take anything from him, he started to play a set that didn’t make sense, what happened after a great beginning I asked myself - it had gotten lost in music that was not making anyone happy. Everyone knows he has changed his style of music into a more minimal, techno and less tribal sounds. He doesn’t want to be known anymore as the gay DJ, but when you have a room full of queens that don’t want to be taken for granted, you must earn their spirit and will, and then move the dance floor to whatever place you want to go.
Tough crowd, but nobody better than a great DJ to show the dance floor who is in command, and a great DJ is the one that recognizes and listen what the dance floor is saying. The music was not happening, some people were just standing around, I was seriously scared people would start booing him right there - even I moved to the sidelines and stood around waiting for something to change - the more I looked at the dance floor the more worried I became.
Victor, Victor, Victor, I will never again doubt his talent. He went back into his roots and brought out his personal tribal army, he invited some of his vocals back, and the best of all, he made the dance floor go wild. It took him almost an hour (I think, just remember sometimes it feels as if time stops at Stereo) to make this change and shift the mood of the crowd, but once he did it there was no way back.
The energy lifted, the people danced, the music was perfect for the occasion, even the lights started to be part of the show, which until then had maintain a darker look of the room. Once the party got going, Victor slowly introduced us to his new image, into more techno grounds, into more minimal moves, into more variety, and guess what? The dance floor moved accordingly and with no hesitation.
It was around 5:00am when the place got an influx of people, and it got packed and hot, but not as hot as other occasions. Another mini-wave I think arrived at 8:00am which was around the time Circus closed its doors.
Victor even played some tunes that I heard the night before when D-Formation was spinning at the Black and Blue, don’t know the name of the track, but it felt just perfect at the time, and it was something I had never heard him play before. It was around 9:00am when I asked a friend from NYC how the night was so far, and he answered with "everything is just perfect".
Personally, I have to take my hat off for Victor. If had been perfect from beginning to end, it would had been the Victor that I know and expect, but this time around he took a party that was happening, mellowed it down, then lifted in a way not many would had been able to do it. At the end, Victor gave us what he wanted to give us, his music, it took him a little bit of work at the beginning, and he did it, but this is why he is not just a DJ, he is Victor Calderone.
Left around 10:30pm and got trapped downstairs by the sounds of Alain Jackinsky and Patrick Guay. Only had the chance to stay for Jackinsky set and let me tell you, it was fun and it was not just me that got trapped by his music.
Taken from Stereo website and written by David Morales:
“Stereo to me is a musical haven.
Stereo to me is a place where one can just go and be whoever they want to be and dance the way that they want to dance.
Stereo to me is a place where people of any age and sexual genre can get together under one roof and be as one.
Stereo to me is a musical playground where a DJ can play whatever he or she wants and the audience enjoys it.
Stereo to me is an experience that’s all about … THE MUSIC!”
All about the music, which means is all about the dancers, and by placing the useless bar at the left hand side corner of the back stage, you have not only taken space away from the dancers, but also cut off the flow of the people. Now you have this empty area in front of the bar that used to be packed with people dancing.
Not only that, you had to move the big metal stage that used to be located where the new bar is, and placed right beside the speakers located in the right hand side to the entrance of the dance floor. Realizing the little steps, that take you up to the stage, were a safety hazard, two of the boxes had to be placed in front of the step to avoid people walking by it. Once again you have cut off the flow of the place. People walk around the sides to go to the back, now they have to either take the left hand side, creating much more traffic over that area, or go by the dancers inside the dance floor. Once again, please do us a favour and get the bar off the dance floor.
Welcoming music by XL, those happy tunes that make you just want to be under the disco ball, not that many people at the beginning, which is understandable, having Circus hosting the official recovery party with Peter Rauhofer in the other side of the street. Nevertheless nothing is official for me unless is Victor Calderone spinning my delicious way up to recovery, the day after the Black & Blue.
XL was perfect, great intro, giving us vocals which I knew I was not going to hear during the second part of the night. Moving not long after into the tribal tunes, and travelling into darker territories by the end, preparing the dance floor for a darker voyage with Victor.
“Transitions” started to play out of those monster speakers a little bit after 2:00am, the music went up and a fresh blow of air was felt, Victor Calderone had arrive but not too many realized it. Either Victor was too excited, or too confident the dance floor would take anything from him, he started to play a set that didn’t make sense, what happened after a great beginning I asked myself - it had gotten lost in music that was not making anyone happy. Everyone knows he has changed his style of music into a more minimal, techno and less tribal sounds. He doesn’t want to be known anymore as the gay DJ, but when you have a room full of queens that don’t want to be taken for granted, you must earn their spirit and will, and then move the dance floor to whatever place you want to go.
Tough crowd, but nobody better than a great DJ to show the dance floor who is in command, and a great DJ is the one that recognizes and listen what the dance floor is saying. The music was not happening, some people were just standing around, I was seriously scared people would start booing him right there - even I moved to the sidelines and stood around waiting for something to change - the more I looked at the dance floor the more worried I became.
Victor, Victor, Victor, I will never again doubt his talent. He went back into his roots and brought out his personal tribal army, he invited some of his vocals back, and the best of all, he made the dance floor go wild. It took him almost an hour (I think, just remember sometimes it feels as if time stops at Stereo) to make this change and shift the mood of the crowd, but once he did it there was no way back.
The energy lifted, the people danced, the music was perfect for the occasion, even the lights started to be part of the show, which until then had maintain a darker look of the room. Once the party got going, Victor slowly introduced us to his new image, into more techno grounds, into more minimal moves, into more variety, and guess what? The dance floor moved accordingly and with no hesitation.
It was around 5:00am when the place got an influx of people, and it got packed and hot, but not as hot as other occasions. Another mini-wave I think arrived at 8:00am which was around the time Circus closed its doors.
Victor even played some tunes that I heard the night before when D-Formation was spinning at the Black and Blue, don’t know the name of the track, but it felt just perfect at the time, and it was something I had never heard him play before. It was around 9:00am when I asked a friend from NYC how the night was so far, and he answered with "everything is just perfect".
Personally, I have to take my hat off for Victor. If had been perfect from beginning to end, it would had been the Victor that I know and expect, but this time around he took a party that was happening, mellowed it down, then lifted in a way not many would had been able to do it. At the end, Victor gave us what he wanted to give us, his music, it took him a little bit of work at the beginning, and he did it, but this is why he is not just a DJ, he is Victor Calderone.
Left around 10:30pm and got trapped downstairs by the sounds of Alain Jackinsky and Patrick Guay. Only had the chance to stay for Jackinsky set and let me tell you, it was fun and it was not just me that got trapped by his music.
Monday, October 08, 2007
Black & Blue - Olympic Stadium - October 7, 2007
Not sure what is was, but this year I could feel the excitement about the Black & Blue. All the parties that I attended were great, Stephan Grondin at Parking on Friday night, Tracy Young at Unity on Saturday night, my friend’s house party on Sunday night, and finally it was time for the big party at the big “O“.
Didn‘t wait too long to get in, too bad I got there right at the time Stefané Lippé was finishing his set. Can the organizers next time set his play time right after Peter Rauhofer please? This way everyone will be able to hear what an incredible and fresh talent we have in Montreal.
It is always amazing to enter the big “O” when it is dressed up for a great party such as the Black & Blue, the lights, the sound, and specially the beautiful and peaceful people all over the place. I can see how first timers can get kind of intimidated or overwhelmed at first. Soon after you are already telling yourself this is not going to be your last time at this party.
Two rooms were set up, and no offences to the musical guest of the Alternator room, but I really don’t see the point of having two rooms for the Black & Blue. I can understand and support two rooms of equal size as they have at the Bal en Blanc, but in this case people didn’t even know where the other room was located.
Housegenerator Room: Stéfane Lippé, Antoine Clamaran (B&B 2006), Peter Rauhofer, Mark Anthony (B&B 2006) and D-Formation.
Alternator Room: Clubtrotter, Michael Kaiser, Gabriel & Dresden, Misstress Barbara and Robert de la Guathier.
Heard from different people Stéfane Lippé was great, I guess I’ll have to catch up with this tunes at Circus one of these days. Lippé definitely left the crowd ready for Antoine.
Loved Clamaran style, nice tunes, great vocals, some electro, and the most important thing the strong energy he was able to lift up from the dance floor - safe and lovely tribal tunes.
Peter Rauhofer was next in line, and once again he was able to keep me happy during his set. One of my friends doesn’t really like his style because he says it is very hard to be happy - kind of angry music. I kind of understood what he was saying, but I would disagree with him about the mad part. Didn’t get too crazy during the first part of his set, but loved the middle and the end. He showed some of his new stuff and brought back some known dancing tunes. Vocals mixed with dark tunes, and all of them enjoyable to my ears. Once again he has impressed me and made me want more of his music, different to what I thought in 2006.
Who doesn’t remember Plavalaguna’s performance in the movie “the Fifth Element“? Such an exquisite and dramatic presentation of the opera “Lucia di Lammermoor”, which then is spiced by moving into pop music. Bravo to the BBCM for recreating Plavalaguna’s act, this time using Dominic Lacasse, an acrobat which becomes a human flag surrounded by several drag queens, each one representing a different continent. It was magical, the music, the performers, and the fake snow falling from the ceiling.
Ten minutes later Mark Anthony was announced as the next DJ of the night. Personally, I was indifferent to his set - I danced but mostly used this time to socialize. Nothing against him, but I wouldn’t mind if he was dropped from the next Black & Blue line up. I know he is a respected DJ in Montreal, but I still have to hear a set I like from him.
Then we had a show of a Marilyn Manson look like - what a hell was that? Seriously, I should get partially refunded for what I had to endure during those minutes.
Nevertheless, my patience was rewarded by the next DJ - I had heard of him but never had the pleasure to see him in a club. D-Formation brought me to heaven and hell at the same time - is that possible?
D-Formation with its Progressive House type of music, started the set with a Sarah McLachlan song, and if my memory does not fail it was a remix of “Surrender”. Honestly, the times I had the chance to hear Progressive House (Deep Dish at the Bal en Blanc comes to my mind) there was so much I could take, but this guy was just outstanding, he made it easier and enjoyable to my ears. If someone made me dance like crazy, it was this Spaniard Dimas Carbajo with his seamless set. Before going to the Black & Blue I thought I would leave by the time D-Formation would start his set. I did leave by 10:30am not because the music was bad, but because he had drained all my energy. I have to say it was the surprise of the night.
If you haven’t done one Black & Blue yet, what are you waiting for?
Pictures by Indamix.ca and Ryan Lee Photographs.ws
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