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Ni-Cd's Review: Claude Vonstroke @ Footwork
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| Ni-Cd |
oh so lazy to find the review thread...wonder if i'll get in crap for creating a whole new thread? have i taken my arrogance to an entire new level? Should i start an evil-thread EMPIRE?!!!??
It was at Beat's Ahoy 5 wherein I engaged in some ever-so deep conversation with one of the owners of Footwork, Steph (where later his business partner, Joel took to the decks to close the party on the upper floor!)--ah yes, back to our 'deep discussion'... here's a play by play...
Steph:
"Sheldon!!! You'll never guess who's coming in a couple weeks?!"
Sheldon:
*Bewildered but manages a completely interested half-drunken face of interest!*
Steph:
"Claude Effin Vonstroke man!"
Sheldon:
"Technooooooooooo!!!"
Steph:
"Damn right man--you gotta be there if you love tech-house...we had to pull some strings to get him here, and he's coming to the T.dot!!"
Immeidately I knew that if Steph was this excited about someone coming to spin, I'd have to be there. I quickly got the dates from him (June 8th) and then happily went about dancing around the boat for the rest of beats ahoy 5 (sic party btw, crazy ass review of that party coming...it's late, i know, but sue me).
So, without further delay, let me welcome you to:
You'll notice that in the little anecdote above, Steph told me that Vonstroke was coming June 8th, and then in the Ni-Cd-if-fied poster above, it says June 1st. That's because footwork played a dirty trick on me.
Leap and I had agreed that it was her weekend to go out, so I'd be home doing the manly house duties. You know, the lawn, weeding the garden, setting up a massive mural-board in the garage next to Johnny Action's super-hot sports bike, and drinking all sorts of carbonated alcholic beverages. Leap would go out to sample the finer life of house music at any of our select clubs. Then come Thursday, I get an email... 'CALENDAR CHANGE--VONSTROKE IS COMING TO FOOTWORK JUNE 1st!!' .... arg!!! So I write my laments online saying I wouldn't be able to make it... very unfortunate, as I heard that Claude Vonstroke KILLED it at DEMF (Detroit Electronic Music Festival). Ace told me that festival left many people DEMFstroyed. I believe it. So I opt this one out, sadly. Then I remember that each time I sit out someone I genuinely want to hear, I'm always disappointed I didn't try to make it work.
So Leap and I play rock-paper-scissors for a while, until I win. Ok, she lost count, and I made her so many caesars she didn't know what to do with herself. Then Johnny Action steps in and makes me a deal--he'll help out and let Leap and I go if they can go to Halliwell @ guv the following night. Giddy up! We're on!
So Leap and I have a rare date-night out together, and Claude Vonstroke is main focus. I found out later that Anthony Attalla would be closing the club, and Deko-Ze opening the joint. Things were lining up very nicely.
Friday rolls around, and Leap and I are BEAT from the week's activities and work. We are iffy if we want to haul our tired asses down to Footwork, but we remember some really good friends of ours are going to be there, and that nicks it for us. See, going to a club for us isn't only the killer music and good times, it is also a chance for us to visit with so many of the friends we've made through this scene. I personally was hyped, because I didn't really want to miss Claude, and having an extra reason to motivate me to make the hour drive was a welcome one.
As usual, we arrive early, and the club is empty! (just how I like it!!) We met up with a bunch of friends:
Lauren & Josh
(We actually met Lauren our first time to footwork...it was a school uniform theme night)
Leap was hyped to be there--chking in with the babysitter Johnny Action. Once we got there, we couldn't believe we considered staying in, it was so great to see our friends, and Deko-Ze was dropping some sic tribal beats that totally got me dancing right away.
Lyle showed up, acted a little surprised to see us, then said "I had a feeling you'd be coming!!" and to prove it, he gave me the turtle necklace around his neck. I had given him this weeks ago when he said he could get the clasp fixed! AWESOME guy for getting that fixed for me. Lyle is a promoter for footwork and plays a large part in why many people revisit that club week after week. He earnestly wants the patrons to have a good time in a fun and safe environment. The level of professionalism and positive energy he brings to bear, week after week, is a testament to his adoration to footwork and EDM. He's a damn good dancer too.
I have lots of turtle stuff, because in school people used to call me Sheldon the Turtle. Then I figured out it wasn't the most complimentary nick name, and dropped it prior to university, but the artifacts of the turtle years still hang around. I still have my teenage mutant ninja turtle fan club bandana. I even wear it sometimes. *sly sexy look*
Now I should mention at this point, that thanks to the efforts of some friends getting me some promo sets and tracks (Thanks JennyPie!) i had schooled myself on Claude Vonstroke and his sound. It was a very different sound than I was used to listening to on a regular basis, but really enjoyed its freshness, so I was well prepared for some of what Claude would be throwing at us.
I think it was at this point that I actually took a look around at the recently renovated Footwork club. All I can say is 'WOW'... I love how it seems toronto clubs are starting to develop more intimate areas within their clubs. No longer are they just open rooms, but now seating is being focused on, curtains being hung to divide areas. I thought the wall going up to divide the entrance from the main club area was brilliant; and now there's curtains along the way to further create what I'm wordily labelling as a layered 'intimacy effect' where you go from the outside of the club (cold, open) to the inside (smaller areas, cozy, separated). The new raised area where the coat check used to be is really nice, and gives the club a lot more space. The seating is welcome as well, more centralized, and a little more intimate between the seating areas. The wooden floor feels awesome below the feet. I disagree with needing it to be lighter; i think that just makes the wood look dirty all the time. The resonance from the floor is bound to help the sound as well. I agree with KevinT that I'd like to see the curtains come back to DJ booth to 'divide it from the main floor' more. It'd be cool to hang a curtain half way from the ceiling in front of the raised area and project some funky images onto it!! (a la Boa redux!). But I'm very happy where things are going there. Steph assures me that 'there's more to come!'
I headed to the booth to give my regards to opener, Deko-Ze
He packs so many different genres into each of his sets, and with near-flawless mixing too. In our circle of friends, he's the preferred DJ of all the locals, and I'm sure it is because of this flexibility he so adeptly shows. Me though? I love his tribal sets, through and through. If there was a deko-ze night where he was going to be playing an entire hour or more of tribal, I'd be there. With bells on. Possibly more.
The crowd was starting to fill in, and I was starting to meet more familiar faces...
Jen!
...and some new ones...
Had a great talk with this group; the dude on the left is Kyle, and had recognized me from the online reviews and made a point to say hi. I ended up hanging with this group for a while throughout the night--very high energy, positive and bright group. Kyle's bday is in two weeks (Film-->zone to celebrate). Might have to make that my return-to-zone day (ohhh zone...it's been sooo long...). The gals are fantastic dancers too, had a great time dancing it up with them.
Deko-Ze's set wrapped up, and it was time for CVS to hit the decks. Joel and Steph were very kind to let me stand behind the decks with leap to watch CVS in action...
The technology at use:
Three CDJs and two turn tables... CVS had all of them filled most of the night. I've heard that CVS is very experimental, and it looks like he pushed the equipment to the max.
The initial sound was edgy, dark and thumpin' hard. We were LOVIN' it behind the decks!
I saw Joel tweaking a setting on the amps behind the booth and asked him if he was the sound engineer for the club "A little bit of everything, really! Tonight, sure, I'm a sound engineer..." He looks HUGE in that picture--it's an optical illusion. Really ladies, I'm not that small. Really!
With all the lights going, it looked like NORAD was being controlled from those decks; and from the bombs dropping on the dance floor, it might as well have been. After meeting CVS briefly inbetween mixes, Leap and I headed out to the floor to catch the vibe.
To be honest, Claude Vonstroke doesn't really look like a DJ, let alone an underground one. I think if I met him on the street and he told me he was an electronica DJ, i'd think to myself 'sure, just like everyone in their brother wants to be a DJ these days.' So unassuming looking, but this man knows his way around the decks, and his sound is so different than anything you might have heard before, that you really do have to come to the club prepared to hear something different.
And I think that's what the trouble was.
On the floor, I heard completely mixed reviews. Everything from "This guy effing sucks balls" to "I can't wait for Anthony Attalla to get on the decks." I was despondent--how could these people not recognize the musical feast going on around us??
I should be clear here, his set wasn't 6 am at cozo pounding...it was a very different sound, and unless you are in the mood for it, I don't think you're going to enjoy dancing hard to it. I think that people were prepared to have a typical residents night at footwork with attalla pumping in (with the last minute date change) and then were shocked at the different sound assaulting their ears. Expectations can ruin everything. So, instead of sitting back, and taking in the new fresh sound, people were expressing their distress at not having dirty house thrown at them. Well, this is tech-house people, and welcome to it! Irritated, I headed to the washroom.
While washing up, I heard someone say 'ah, finally, it's so refreshing to hear this new sound...i'm really liking this'... several others piped up 'yeah, i'm really digging it too!' I was encouraged by this, and got the vibe back again and headed out to hear some more of the set.
Let me be honest, did every track move me? No--but that would be such in any set (well, except a tribal set)...not every track tickles my fancy... but over all, I was loving the sound that CVS was pumping out!
I talked it up with this guy:
Mr. Anderson! It's so rare to see him out, but always a pleasure because of the amount of experience and knowledge he brings to bear. I find myself always asking him a million questions while we are out about the scene, the music and the DJs. Craig described CVS's set as up and down, which I had to agree with. I didn't like it all, but that's what taste is all about; the overall sound I really enjoyed, and was soaking up the beats and unique flair that CVS was delivering.
Then CVS sealed it for me: He threw on The Whistler...which I had heard first in a Nathan Barato set....LOVE the track. Then I discovered that he's also the author of the track. Then to push it a bit further, he mixes in 'who's afraid of detroit' loops overtop of the track...it was pounding!! I was sold on Claude Vonstroke forever. Call me narrow, but I get hooked on people, even if they show only moments of brilliance; this guy was showing plenty. I found that when he started getting really 'bleepy bloopy' on me, it gave me a chance to rest, bob my head and relax a bit (and talk to Craig!).
So, my verdict on Claude Vonstroke --> 9/10. Very experimental, very unique sound, and knows his stuff. KNOWS it. Some weird stuff in there peeps. My condition: you have to be in the mood for this stuff. You need to be expecting to hear it. It's not your typical dirty house i can dance to anything the dj spins set. For some reason, the whole crowd being split on the set reminded me of JennyPie's comments about Lee Burridge. An acquired taste, perhaps?
Next up was Anthony Attalla. More tech-house madness, but guaranteed to be harder and more pounding than CVS over all. More techno-ee, less experimental...
I don't care what you say about Anthony Attalla, but one thing will always remain the same, his energy behind the decks is simply AWESOME.
I'm going to stick my neck out here a bit, but my one complaint about the resident DJs in Toronto is their lack of excitement behind the decks. They mostly don't transfer any energy to the crowd. They (might) smile, they might bob their head a little, but far too many of them are completely lost in their own world of mixing, looking so serious and enveloped. Well, whatever they gotta do right? But when a guy like Attalla comes in, and he's got this huge grin, his shoulders are rockin' to the beat, his head is thrashing a little, and when he lets a bomb go, he jumps a bit, you can't help but love it, EVEN if you hate the track he's dropping. That, my friends, are how babies are made. (sorry, I just HAD to throw a blades of glory quote in there).
we had to take a break and chill for a bit through Anthony's set--can't dance ALL night you know. Gotta save the quads!
Wonder if the injured hand gave Anthony any trouble on the decks?
One thing I can't stand is when people try and do group shots in the middle of the dance floor. I bet you can't stand that too. Dangit, I'm trying to dance! Take your picture somewhere else!!! so, being the hypocrite that I am, we took one:
Our good friends KevinT and Megann joined us at different times through the night, adding to the great vibe goin' on. I think it's great when friends arrive half way through the night to surprise you; one place that this is especially true of is Cozo--people arrive at all different hours, so you get so many new faces throughout the day. As KevinT said, he greased up a bit to get in, but yeah, the club was far from full, so I'm not sure why they were holding a line up (obviously to make it look a little busy, i guess?)
Michelle dancing it up hard to Attalla's beats
Josh nabs a promo CD from Attalla and gives his appreciation
It continually amazes me how girls dance with such fancy footwear; especially amazing given if you could see how kelly dances--it takes the difficulty score up huge. She said "oh, i have to tie my shoes" then showed those 2" bad babies that she's been dancing on all night--wowza! My recommendation is get some running shoes. When you're at the club, how many people are looking at your feet?---well, unless you put your foot up to tie your shoe, i guess.
At the end of Attalla's set, everyone clapped. I turned around and was surprised how empty it was; the little group of energetic dancers I had joined had provided so much vibe, I wasn't even aware of a lot of people leaving before close. These days, I rarely stay right until close (we all have stuff to do the next day, right?), so it was neat to get all the way to the end of Attalla's set. His set was definitely techy with some hard beats going on; i liked the majority of the tracks, getting more and more into tech-house lately--and as I said before, his energy is completely contagious.
I made sure I went up and introduced myself to Attalla after the set, saying how much his energy is appreciated. I walked in a conversation he was having with someone else... "no, seriously, i'm completely sober there--I've never been otherwise"...someone else says "really? sober?? at the zone?!" he's like "yeah man--know how i can do that ? Cause I'm behind the DJ booth, I'm protected!" hahaha, it was a funny conversation to drop in on.
We did our signature head shots at the end of the night...wow, we don't look too tired for 5 am!!
We saw a poster for Eddie @ Guvvy for that night on the way back to the car... (heard it was a sic party)
Then hit the car, threw in Claude Vonstroke's promo cd (Beware of the Bird) and headed home... and yes, that's Monster energy drink (necessary for that hour drive home after a long night of dancing).
The sunrise was beautiful... it definitely looked like it was going to be an awesome day to hang at the beach alllll day! I decided I'd be loading up some CVS onto my new Zen mp3 player!
-=The End=- |
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| magikb |
Your reviews always entertain me. ^5
:)
still upset I missed Attalla. |
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| Abercrombie |
| I like the pic with the can of Rockstar&Vodka from the lcbo |
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| m2j |
| quote: | Originally posted by Ni-Cd
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That is by far the coolest shirt ever. |
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| EvilTree |
| Yours and Cribster's reviews are always entertaining to read. Never fails to deliver :) |
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| Ni-Cd |
| quote: | Originally posted by m2j
That is by far the coolest shirt ever. |
Dude, the ladies love TMNT. (photoshop...honest...no really! I wouldn't wear my sacred TMNT shirts...they're in plastic, in my closet, near the transformers shrine) |
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| Djsketchbag |
| quote: | Originally posted by m2j
That is by far the coolest shirt ever. |
i have to agree ... great review btw i was gonan go to the june 8th show but i coudlen't make the 1st :'( |
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| SummerCallin |
ahahaha awesome review
It was good seein u and dancin it up wit u hun :)
-Geli |
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| Jem_hadar |
| quote: | Originally posted by magikb
still upset I missed Attalla. |
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| Ni-Cd |
| quote: | Originally posted by SummerCallin
It was good seein u and dancin it up wit u hun :)
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Geli!! Always a pleasure to dance it up with someone so full of smiles and energy!! :) Sorry for shuvin' the camera in your face. We'll have to get a picture sometime tho, even if its just for us. :D |
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| anthonyattalla |
sheldon it was fantastic to meet you finally. you either have a photographic memory or carry a notepad and pen! LOL! nice review!
AA |
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| Ni-Cd |
| quote: | Originally posted by anthonyattalla
sheldon it was fantastic to meet you finally. |
Thanks for the kind words Anthony! And dude, hearing Claude Vonstroke AND you on the same night was having our cake and eating it to. Thanks so much! I seriously gotta dl some of yo' sets man, cause they sure get me rockin'.
MagickB--Yeah, you missed out; and i haven't seen u in AGES either!!
Dance 2 da beat anyone? |
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