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I'm gonna echo Col's question about the track IDing. The only track I remembered, by name, is Are you Hungry? Kosheen minus the vocals. Surprised he did not play tunes from his most recognized compilations, something that Danny Tenaglia usually does.
The event in question. Got there around 2 and there was a small lineup. Got in once they rolled open the doors and think that got in time to the first/second track that the opener was playing. Tone Depth. First time listening and oh boy. This was really one of the highlights for me. Started mellow and slow and continued to build up his set through vocals. Towards the middle of the set, the drums started to bounce off the speakers. Started going mental at that point. It is believed in circles that if the opener does a good job, then the peak set DJ will follow suit. I counted on that. And that's what the crowd was in for. Tone Depth dropped the last couple tunes of his set to serve Digweed the crowd right where he could start from. Digweed came on around 4 45 and started in parsimony. Played a couple of classics (which again I'm unable to identify) but were all the same recognizable by the mélodies embedded upon them. Digweed was testing the crowd, not really going too hard. Building up his set, he played some of that newer, techier, and grittier stuff. Around 8am the basslines started to roll in and the melodies to flounder throughout the place. This was Digweed letting the crowd know that he would play it loud. And that's how he went, dark, spacey, sultry, and chuggy. For the next three hours or so he played something that other forum members have called unbelievable. That's what it was. Digweed at his finest. The technique was above par, mind-blowing. In one word, stellar. The last 1.5 - 2 hours he came back to the techy stuff. Enjoyable, more pleasure-to-the-ears kinda tunes. The show came to a halt at 1pm when there were at least 100 people still wanting more. 'One more track, one more track', the crowd chanted. Digweed did not agree but that did not stop the crowd from giving him a big round of applause for the set he had just played. It could not do less. There was no turkey but there was substance. This is a purveyour of Progressive House and that set was a testament to that.
John Digweed played what prog. was, is, and will be. The lesson will remain there. In days when progressive has become such a distorted word, it is all the more important for the still-standing, diehard exponents and connoisseurs to pass the message on. The movement is all alive and well and fame is not in our name.
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