When I first heard about the booking at This Is London I felt very cynical, due to several bad experiences I've had there; I vowed never to go back since October. After a few days I contemplated, and gave it some real thought, and finally came to the conclusion that this was where I wanted to be for the beginning of 2007. Something inside myself told me that this event would be BIG TINGS, that it would be a great party. I over-hyped it for weeks and even became over confident...but I just knew I wouldn't be let down. I had a vision that for once, TIL would have an after-hours vibe, especially after I had seen that 19+ was printed on the flyer (I don't recall ever seeing that, but correct me if I'm wrong.)
It was January 1st, 2007, and there was no where else I'd rather want to be.
To avoid a long lineup, I had planned to arrive at opening, but failed after pre-drinking and losing track of time. Fortunately I made it by 8:15 and was relieved to barely see a lineup. Either it was still too early for the partiers to arrive, or a good amount of them were already rocking it out inside. It was definately the latter. The door staff was very friendly and courteous, which completely shocked me. As I made my way in I felt a tingling sensation; I could not believe this was TIL. I looked around to recognize plenty of faces; the posh levels were at a minimum and the vibe was spot on what I expected; it was tres awesome. It only got packed around 11, and they made a smart move by opening the 2nd floor...but this was expected. What was with the really dark lighting? This was new to me...I guess they turned it down quite a few notches albeit the blinding, seizure lights were still active once in a while. I nearly bumped heads with someone once! lol. The easy solution is to close your eyes heh. It got a bit hot at some points, but a quick trip to relax upstairs cooled me down. I had a smirk on my face throughout the night; lots of fun moments, and classic cribby ridiculousness. I danced my ass off, and it was a good workout for my feet after a few weeks of absense from the dancefloor. As much as I wanted to stay the whole night (I REALLY wanted to catch Deko-ze's set), I left after Lawler's set, which came to an end at about 3:30.
Every set prior to Steve Lawler's was quite enjoyable. Carlo Lio made me groove as soon as I got my first drink...and not a single drop fell to the floor  . Manzone & Strong (I don't remember seeing Fab Strong on the decks though) came on next, and continued the flow with a good doseage of tunes. The word 'disappointed' was not in existence this whole night. I believe it was Nathan Barato who came on next, and once again opened up for Steve Lawler. It was a pleasure to see Nathan on the decks after a brief Toronto absense. I figured he'd bring a new ball game after dropping international sets, and I was definately impressed with his team of tunes. I didn't want to go nuts until Lawler came on...considering I had a LONG night to go, but I couldn't help myself. Thanks Nathan  . It's times like these that remind me how much I love house music...Barato dropped some sweet remix of Shannon - Let The Music Play which would fit perfectly into the beginning of Lawler's set.
That sneaky bastard Steve Lawler slyly came onto the stage behind the decks...and my anticipation was rising faster than a sketchbag's peak of highness. That asshole was planning something...his set was going to be 'hard mens'...the hardest! Lawler's one of the few deejays that can really surprise me. I didn't know what to expect...but apparently his set in Montreal the night before was slamming. I was hoping for some of that! Listen to this.... that ****** turned it up by 10 notches!!! He kicked my ass, destroyed my feet with his music, scratched me with his mixing, pulled me apart with his transitions, and kicked my ass again! His set took me on a journey: physically, spiritually, and sexually  . It's funny how easily he manipulated the crowd...he knows he owns us, and takes advantage of it. Starting with some deeper house and electro, cribby's electrosexuality started to peak, as he swaggered his legs, and snakily moved to those sexy beats. I had alot of fun doing this with Nikola lol <3. Somewhere along the way, Lawler decided to fuel me by playing some delicious electro and prog...and that's when I screamed!
Sebastien Leger & Chris Lake - Aqualight
I rushed to the front, and gave it my all...this tune was one of my recent favs, with a progressive melody that sounded like a carousel of dancing lights. Who says imagery can't have a sound? pfffft!  Lawler continued down this path, with some more 'playground' tunes. Why playground? Because Cribby pictured all of the tunes as warped up musical versions of different playground rides. He dropped a bunch of stuff that was new to me...and then I heard something familiar..and it was expected. I trainspotted this at the first second before the transition...and hastily awaited those portuguese lyrics..
numa dormente insonia
preparas a tua gloria
e que noite tu perdes...
Rodamaal - Insomnia (Ame Remix)
 . This couldn't get any better, but I was lying if I said it didn't. The journey continued into some more old school tunes...and then I heard something that was incredible! It was midway into his set, a proggy electro tune that sounded like the typical Lawler sound. I wish I knew the ID...but I went mental...and needed to rest right after. I went to look for my friend Kris to ask him if he heard that awesomness...but as soon as I went to the back to find him, Lawler dropped another bomb. No resting for my feet! It was his trademark song, and the perfect tune to mix into with the prior song. It continued my 'playground music' epiphany...as it was the original. It was that song with the sound sample of kids enjoying themselves in the playground. You ALL know the one..
Criss Source - Hugs 'N' Kisses
I LOVE dancing to this track!...and it was a shame Miluska wasn't there to share it with me...since it was our tune. But Lawler still wouldn't let me rest...he wanted to play another one of my older favourites right after. For fuck's sake!...
Pryda - Aftermath
 No need to explain this track...it's a muscial journey on it's own..and I can describe it in a whole essay lol. I needed to be sedated after this 20 minutes..I was soaked and couldn't catch my breath. After a good 15 minutes of bobbing my head and simple leg swagger and shoulder movements I headed back downstairs just in time. Lawler switched it up to some minimal/techno for a good while...and I heard some of my favourite wishy-washy-airy-light-headed tracks one after another:
Audion - Mouth To Mouth
Joris Voorn - MPX309
After a while he toned it down back to some deeper house...even prog-trance-ish material. His set was coming to an end..Fortunately before he did so, he dropped another one of his tunes that he played earlier this year.
Ernest Saint Laurent - Do Ya Dub
I was hoping he'd play it...and was surprised after he hadn't for most of his set. Such a summer song...everyone was grooving at the front for this long and sexy track. After a few more tunes, Steve Lawler concluded his set with
Djuma Soundsystem - Les Djinns (Trentemoller Remix)
which I thought was the best way to end the musical journey. At this point I was still awe struck, and couldn't even picture myself going anywhere else this night..Truly an awesome set...and a class act...
I had a blast partying with all my favourite people, and everywhere I looked, people were having as much of a good time as I was. This is start of a year that's going to be something great. I can't wait for it!
___________________
GWARTQZ!!!!
Last edited by Cribby on Jan-03-2007 at 21:48
|
