| avikonen |
Came in at 11:30 - Paolo spinning - he was playing loungy funky house but steadily up'ed the intensity. I found it a bit boring and made me want to sit. Bumped into AndyC who promotes this event for East Side Productions. Very nice guy. Told me Echomen go on at 12:30 and will play for 2 hours then Paolo comes back. Echomen go on and start right away hard - playing their signature drugged-out blend of disco vocals and dark throbbing prog. About half hour into their set, they were hit by all kinds of technical difficulties - songs would go down in volume, Anton Fielding of Echomen couldn't hear his mix through his cans properly, tracks not coming on right. They had to rebuild back their energy. It was tough for them. We left an hour into their set to meet friends at Spirit. I would DEFINITELY see Echomen again. I feel they had a stroke of bad luck but their style is one of a kind. I only wish they'd play at a different venue like Canal Room, Sullivan, or Spirit. Cellar bar is a strange animal. The crowd is very posh and a bit cold - a mix of midtown yuppies who go to be seen and music industry folks or wannabes. I would not go there alone - too intimidating. The drinks are really expensive ($11 for a rail vodka tonic!) Almost all the seats are bottle service and they enforce this. The only place to sit is on a bunch of mats on the stairs left of the booth which is uncomfortable and often crowded. I love the talent the promoters bring but I wish they'd pick a more vibe friendly venue. When we left, the place was crowded but there was still room inside. Outside, there was a group of 5 - 3 girls 2 guys. They were on the guestlist. The doorman would not let them in because he said the club was filled to capacity (BS!) I also suspect they got hassled because they didn't dress up. They definitely were there for the music - saw someone's record bag and they mentioned Echomen! I told them to go to Holden at Spirit if they got dicked. For me this is so disappointing because I was at Cellar 4 months ago and it was great! People were friendly. You could sit so long as no one bought the table. Vodka tonics were $9. EastSide is doing very well there but unfortunately the place is getting greedy and it's hurting the vibe.
The net net - Great DJ's. Need a better venue. Below are pics of Echomen and Cellar Bar.
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