Morales, Lio and Dice and Chus - those were the evenings I chose to celebrate Stereo 12th anniversary, all different and special at the same time, specially for me because nor days is rare I go out that often.
November 12:
Let me start with David Morales on Saturday night. I know Morales has returned to Stereo several times since the second reopening, unfortunately I was always away when he came to Stereo, so this was my first time seeing him again (if that makes sense).
Morales is a deejay that brings all types of dancers to the floor, and usually there is a constant wave of people coming and leaving. Depending on the evening and the mood, Morales might give you all sort of rhythms to dance, and I specially like when he brings out his divas.
The decor of the place was beautiful, and I understand it was whatever was left of the Halloween party, at the beginning I thought those red lamps reminded me a bit of tons of upside down leds Stereo had hang from the ceiling, until someone pointed out there were actually real candles, and this is when I noticed some of them had run their course. I must say, hell of a job to light up all those candles man.
Stereo was busy but not the busy I remember it gets with Morales, I wonder if the $45.00 cover charge also stop many party goers as it did some of my friends. Nevertheless, there was enough room to dance and if you wanted to find happy people in Montreal you just had to step on the dance floor, and the hit wave you feel when you arrive upstairs is a reminder it's party time.
Morales was feeling nostalgic because he was playing lots of his classics and at the end, or my end, he was spinning pure discoish music, back to the classic house, the one he loves so much. There was a moment when he was playing dark house music, all the lights at Stereo were turn off, only leaving the candles, and it stayed like that for a while, giving this extra underground feeling to the place.
By the time I left Morales was playing discoish music and having the time of his life. I won't say it was the best that I've seen of Morales but the important thing is I had fun, and please Stereo don't charge that much again next time he is in town, I want to see more people on the dance floor.
November 25:
Let's move on to Friday night, technically it was Saturday but you know how it is, and this when Carlo Lio decided to teach me a couple of things. I have become a fan of Carlo since I saw him opening for Dubfire a while back. Loved Dubfire but I thought Carlo Lio was better and since them I've been in love with Lio's music.
Don't ask me what changed, but this time Carlo Lio came strong, and just made me feel like the music existed in another planet again. It has been a while since I have felt that incredible loving feeling on the dance floor, don't know if it is because I've changed, got older and stuff, or if it is for other reasons. I must have to thank Carlo for making me feel like a dancer again.
Carlo played sexy dark and hard house music, one that I used to love and I had forgotten because deejays today have moved on to other styles. Do you remember what Victor Calderone used to play before his techy wavy days? Yes, that incredible sound that made some people miss their flights while at the infamous Black & Blue recovery parties at Stereo. The sound that the only option left was to scream and keep on dancing because it was so contagious, and believe me people, if Victor had continued playing and evolving this sound, what Carlo Lio played would had been a continuation of Victor's trip.
It was magical, technically flawless, lots of build ups and amazing ends, and the people were just beautiful. Imagine a wave moving toward the shore carrying everything and anything, this how the dance floor felt, moving like synchronized swimmers in a magical pool.
Stereo you need to move Carlo Lio to a Saturday night, he no longer belongs on a Friday night. If the boys get exposed to his style, you will have in your hands one of the most successful evenings at Stereo. I still can't believe how amazing Carlo played, loved it.
If you are wondering if i got to see Gaiser, the answer is yes, I actually got to Stereo half an hour before the end of his set, but unfortunately he is not my cup of tea.
December 3:
It was time for Loco Dice, I know he has been here before but I never had the chance to see him, and all my friends were warning me he was really Loco. Arrived by the end of Maher' set and people were excited and happy.
Is it techno? is it house? Loco just loves to mixed them both up and the result is a magical musical trip, and let me tell you, those crazy Tunisians really take seriously the fact Loco has a Tunisian background, flags and everything were present on the dance floor.
Talking about dance floor, people, people, people, can you please tell you girlfriends Stereo dance floor is not a place to park their bags. I really do not understand what you have to carry that is so important that you cannot leave it in your house or coat check. Stereo is where we go to have fun and dance, no need of carry bags. If you do carry bags, please do not put them down on the dance floor, because I will probably find it and accidentally jump on it breaking anything that you should have left home. Friends do not let them friends bring bags to Stereo.
Loco Dice is loco and the music was good, but I can't tell you why but during the first part of his set I felt as if there was something missing, not sure if it was because there was so much teasing, meaning lots of build ups but not too much ends, and perhaps this is what was driving me crazy. Don't take me wrong, the music was fantastic but I felt as if he could take us higher in this musical journey.
The place was busy with lots of people I haven't seen before, everyone looked as if they were having lots of fun, and this gives a special touch to the place. I kept seeing Tunisian flags, but no German flags, I wonder how Loco feels about that "patriotism".
Finally at around 7:00am Loco started to play a song that had some Spanish vocal talking about a "barrio" and holy cow the roof came down at that exact moment and I did not stop dancing until the time I left Stereo. It was just crazy, and even the volume went up because I could feel my heart vibrating at a higher intensity.
I can see how Loco was building up his set, I guess he was planning to stay late because he took his time to create a perfect atmosphere for the music he was playing. Was it techno? was it house? I just have to say it was a fun combination of great music that I wish I had started to hear when I got to Stereo. Perhaps next time I'll wait a bit longer to arrive, this way I will have the chance to enjoy his peak time.
Great evening at Stereo, and can't wait to see Loco Dice again.
December 11:
DJ Chus by himself at Stereo, that was something not to miss, specially since he was celebrating his birthday, and I was celebrating mine. I have seen Chus many times at Stereo and in other venues, and you really can't go wrong with him.
It was a last minute decision for me, because I was celebrating my birthday with some special friends, and next thing you know I was getting tickets and next thing you know it was 4:30am and I was walking up the stairs. I believe I did miss the warm up deejay, but no worries I was there to hear and feel Chus.
A-M-A-Z-I-N-G - That is what I can say about the whole evening, Chus was on fire and so was the dance floor, the quantity of good looking people at Stereo was just incredible. Don't take me wrong, I go for the music but it is always nice to have such a great quantity and quality of good looking crowd around.
The music was the best combination of house+tribal+plus-everything-chus-wanted-to-play for this birthday bash - it was just a perfect selection of tracks delivered in such a clean fashion, with an incredible mixing precision, and it was so good I just wanted to scream and dance. At one point Chus started to play the song from the Point Sisters "Automatic" and the crowd just went while, and you just had to look towards Chus to see he was having the time of his life.
The work down by the light guy was just fantastic, I just wanted more more and more.
I'm so happy I decided to go dancing this evening, because nobody should miss a party like this one.
Stereo, happy anniversary and thank you so much for everything you have done for me, so much music, so much fun, but most important is the musical education I have had so far and the incredible friendships I have created with my second family.
Happy Anniversary.
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