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Review: Armand van Helden @ Pacha
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| DJ A.K |
As usual, an enormous review. Read it if you've got the time --- hopefully you'll find it interesting.
The Jump-Off
So we get there around 11:30-12:00 - very short and fast moving line. After getting in and going through the annoying basement, we get onto the floor and our ears are assaulted by some atrociously bad tracks, courtesy of the opener. Honestly, what was this guy thinking?!?! So we had a few drinks, stood around for a while and talked to a few random people. At first, I thought the crowd would be decent, as everyone was so well dressed... boy was that first impression incorrect! So many lame people were there that I found myself wishing that there were more FOBs and Guidos! Like, at many moments in the night I wanted to scream, "Stop facing away from the booth!", and, "If all of you want to grind, you all should have gone to a hip-hop event!".
So after a while we burrowed into the crowded dancefloor, which was considerably strange, as about half of the people were facing away from the booth. Even though by this point it was very crowded, some couples (there were a lot of couples) insisted on salsa dancing quickly, slamming in to the people around then as they spun around... There were a few good dancers though, and I endeavored to dance as well, but this was considerably difficult when you realize how bad the opener was.
Now, I have nothing against this guy, he actually looked pretty cool and seemed to be having a good time. But the fact is, he's an aweful DJ. He played 'Mylo - Drop the Pressure' twice... I don't personally like that track, but there are a few of us that do so I won't criticize it, but what I will criticize was the fact that this opener must have played 4 or 5 tracks that were clearly under 120 beats per minute --- I don't know what he expected the crowd to do!!! Also, this guy was trainwrecking so often that I couldn't handle it --- his beatmatching, in addition to his selection, was terrible. And to cap it all off, at one point in the night he played a less than memorable remix of 'Snoop Dogg - Drop it Like it's Hot'. Honestly, at this point I had to leave the dance floor.
The Party
So it was back to chillin' on the sidelines, since they hadn't opened up the upstairs level yet. Right before Armand got on, the opener dropped his first good track of the night, and finally the part got started! Armand gets on nonchalantly (as he is wont to do) and the crowd hardly reacts. I think, ' it!', get on the dancefloor, front and center, and start screaming and cheering, hoping to start a positive trend... nope, get salsa danced into from behind...
Well, Armand's set starts off pretty well, he starts playing in his usual style (a lot of vocal with long chillouts and short, intense periods of driving beats). Even though he was spinning really well, there still seemed something missing. Maybe I was still angry about the opener, or having trouble dealing with the crowd, which was completely drunk by now, something that led to a seemingly universal spilling of drinks that ended in a soakingly wet floor. There were some good moments though: Armand played a few really hot tracks that really kept people moving, and then all of a sudden mixed them into 'Goldfrapp - Number 1 (Steve Angelo Mix)'. That was definately the tune of the night, and when that dropped, I went crazy. Funny though, I seemed to be the only one within view that knew the words... what does that say about the crowd?
Anyway, he went on to play a few more good tracks, and he dropped what was, as far as I could tell, a new mix of 'Into Your Eyes', which is always fun to hear. Along with a point at which he mixed a few 80s melodies into a frighteningly hard house beat (in the Armand style - 30 or so seconds of 80s melody, 30 or so seconds of hard beat, 30 or so seconds of 80s meloday, etc.), the selection for the night was pretty damn good, and was a pleasure to listen to. Unfortunately, I was at a Dance Club, and I really wanted to dance and let go. The vibe was completely absent though, and, though I'm ashamed to say it, we left early around 4:30 or so. That'll have been only the 2nd club party this academic year that I've left before closing, so you know that there was something wrong.
Overview
Crowd: Terrible - I always thought that poor dress and bad attitude are correlated, boy was I wrong!
Venue: This was my first real party at Pacha, and I can't say I enjoyed the venue - I generally prefer the one huge open space condusive to concert-type parties (like 'Cro).
Opener: I want to know his name so I can avoid any partys that he DJs at... this guy doesn't have a clue.
Main Set: A good set overall, and with some wonderful moments, but Armand was definately much better @ Spirit way back in September.
Track of the Night: Goldfrapp - Number 1 (Steve Angello Mix)
Lesson Learned: Avoid people that are salsa dancing in a packed club.
Oh, one more thing... could someone ID the remix of 'The Number 2 Song' that Armand played? You know, that rather popular rock song that most people refer to as the "Woo-Hoo!" song. |
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| Shamez214 |
The opening DJ did kind of stink. But, he played a few breakbeat tracks, which makes me happy.
Armand was pretty dope, surprisingly. I didn't expect him to be. He played a lot of that Angello/Ingrosso style. Lot's of 80's remixes.
The crowd was horrendous. Saturday crowds, no matter where you are, suck. I've never been to a club on a Saturday where the crowd was cool.
I still love Pacha. I like Crobars large dance floor better, but everything else at Pacha is better. And they added these dope ass lights to the mirrors on the DJ booth. One of the coolest things I've ever seen. It was like they turned into TVs or something. Really nice. |
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| Jayoza |
the sounds is just amazing at pacha.. it doesent kill your ears its just perfect
but yeah i couldnt make it cause my friend didnt bring her id so she ruined the night for everybody ... no worries though we still had fun :) |
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| dizzydy |
| DJ A.K. summed it up pretty well, somewhat of a crappy night, actually was dissapointed by the sound system also, opening DJ was :o . I eventually turned into one of those people facing away from the booth (sorry DJ A.K) after being smacked from behind by a couple of people... eh all in all, it was much better than let's say, going to see Boris. |
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| Shamez214 |
| quote: | Originally posted by dizzydy
all in all, it was much better than let's say, going to see Boris. |
I must say... I don't know why Boris gets a bad rep. He plays good music and is a good DJ. It's just the crowd that sucks. And I bet the crowd at Crobar wasn't much worse than Pacha last night. |
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| DJ Eco |
| Boris plays the same progressive and dark tribal that some people on this forum like from other DJs... hell, for a good hour i heard him during the last time i heard him way back during the first time, he could compared to a dj remy set.... crowdd is ehhh but hey, where ARE there good crowds ne more? glad i didnt waste my time @ pacha last night, heard bad reviews |
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| Jayoza |
| yeah boris is sick.. why the hate ? |
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| DJ Eco |
| not to hate or anything but judging from the tracks listed on the tracklists on the various forums i checked... sounds like Armand's playing the same EVERY OTHER HOUSE/ELECTRO DJ IN THE ENTIRE WORLD is playing.... "i'm laying down that let's drunk and rave an orgy kind of vibe"???.... no more like "i'm ruining my name as being a pioneer in house and following the crowd of everyone that plays this same " |
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| Shamez214 |
| quote: | Originally posted by DJ Eco
Boris plays the same progressive and dark tribal that some people on this forum like from other DJs... hell, for a good hour i heard him during the last time i heard him way back during the first time, he could compared to a dj remy set.... crowdd is ehhh but hey, where ARE there good crowds ne more? glad i didnt waste my time @ pacha last night, heard bad reviews |
Exactly. I'll definitely admit... the Saturday Crobar corwd is horrible. But he's played good music whenever I've heard him. |
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| DJ Eco |
| his new CD is pretty sick... good track selection and flow, think ill see him around next timeee |
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| dizzydy |
| Sorry guys I was not speaking for everyone else with my comment about Boris, its just a personal preference, + the fact you can see Boris any weekend in NY = to my comment (partially to make me feel better about a subpar night) If you like him, more power to ya, I've enjoyed a couple of nights he played (WMC the night at Nocturnal was good) but I'd skip his sets any day to someone I don't see all the time, thats all |
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| Shamez214 |
| quote: | Originally posted by dizzydy
Sorry guys I was not speaking for everyone else with my comment about Boris, its just a personal preference, + the fact you can see Boris any weekend in NY = to my comment (partially to make me feel better about a subpar night) If you like him, more power to ya, I've enjoyed a couple of nights he played (WMC the night at Nocturnal was good) but I'd skip his sets any day to someone I don't see all the time, thats all |
;)
I understand. I was more commenting on the general perception of Boris. |
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