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Review: Steve Lawler at Circa (pg. 2)
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| musicsnob_NOT |
| quote: | Originally posted by Yohan
So here comes the rant from an incorrigible clubber :p
The lighting... OMG I wanted to throat punch whoever was doing the lighting. Constantly flashing lights even from the start. I do not need a fracking seizure. Key to good lighting IMO is to blend in with the music, but there was very little of that. |
Really? I mean really?
| quote: | Originally posted by Spam
Also, wtf with the weak-ass lighting? Not even ONE laser? Just a bunch of regular spot-lights swirling around and the occasional strobe-flash? Get REAL Circa. For a club that tries to be the big-club alternative to Guv, it sure strikes me as a giant, amateur, fail-fest.
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In the past for big parties (Tenaglia for example) they would ruin the entire vibe with the amount of lighting they had and used it totally wrong...it's probably repossessed now.
| quote: | Originally posted by darouge11
I remember going there 2 years ago and it actually was much more appealing to the eyes....but it was very dark for lawler, so I think it was ok |
I actually think the lighting was good for Lawler.
My Review
Button - Good
Nevio - Was hoping to once again hear a top notch absolutely awful, random, piece of set from him for nostalgia - Thank you sir, you delivered that x 1000
Lawler - I actually haven't been to a Lawler party in Toronto in over 2 years because I was tired of the clubs, music, crowd. I really liked his set...I think this is where music is moving towards (a blend of tribal, minimal, house, groovy bass lines. I remember thinking quite a few times that it was very much like a Ricardo/Luciano big party set but on steroids.
Moving the party into the Ballroom would have made the party even better.
Good Times. |
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| Jayx1 |
| quote: | Originally posted by Yohan
lol. wha? |
hehehe the money i owe u for the public big ups LOL |
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| samhouse |
I don't know...
i liked it.
Jeff you were killer at the start. love the flow!
Nevio.....honestly DJ Sakin - Protect your mind....Bad remix....even worse time to play it.
Lawler - One of the best i've seen from him. he was darker and grimier than any of the last 3 years i've seen him. Westworld ftw!!!! |
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| Sly_Guy |
it had been so long since I'd been out for a proper night, my review must be taken with a grain of salt.
Firstly, admittedly, I did not catch all of Jeff's set. I did catch the last hour or so, and I was suitably impressed. Jeff, bud, the development of your style never ceases to amaze. I hear a lot of boa, and sean miller sleaze influence in your tracks, but you manage to curb the edge off a little bit with a little more progressive elements. I know you can bang it out too, and there's a lot to be said for that, but IMO you fit the opener role very well regardless of who you're playing for.
Nevio, well, was nevio. We all know what he's capable of from his nights at sonic, and last night was no different. Gimmicky, with a mish-mash of house and trance elements, listening to his set was like dancing with two left feet. You just had no idea where he was going or what he was going for. Definitely not the warm up to Lawler that I, or most people would have wanted, but we all saw his name on the bill, and we all knew we'd have to tough it out for his set.
Lawler, played OK. Could have used a little more energy, because I managed to pull myself out of bed at noon, and for proper thumping house, that shouldn't happen until mid-afternoon at least. But far be it from me to complain, over the last year I've been stuck with buzz-saw hipster house at places like wrongbar, so Lawler could have played just about anything and I would have been happy to hear music instead of noise.
As for the setup, it was very clunky to have only a speaker stack at the front of the room, there were definitely dead spots in the sound towards the back.
The crowd was just fine. It's been a while since I've seen that many women at a house show, and although circa never got to the point of being uncomfortably packed, it seems as though the crowd was in quite a good mood, and those that were there, were there to stay.
It was also good to see a lot of the old faces, and meet some new ones as well. |
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| slingshot |
| quote: | Originally posted by Sly_Guy
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Ahh, boo. You were there too?!
I suck bigtime for not being able to make this party. |
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| rounder19 |
i only wish this set coulda been longer.....cant wait for wmc.....hopefully theres another viva cadenza party. lawler luciano and loco dice are on so much fire right now....the only downer to the night was that nevio character. really? i cant believe the he was playing. steve had to shut off the music for a second with a fake applause and then begin his set. oh well. lawler was well worth the drive over from detroit.
good to see you geoff! great meeting jackie and some of the other totas.
next time! |
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| DE. |
Kicked off 2010 with this NYD Event at Circa. I won't go on about the venue since that dysfunctional monolith of a club has been beaten to death already on this thread...but WHO CARES this is all about the MUSIC!!!!!
The Good: Jeff Button
Amazing opening set, I swear this guy gets better every time I see him. Started with his usual mellow vibe and built it up with flawless execution. Would have been a great opening set for Lawler...wish it could have been scheduled that way, that would be my ideal night...
The Bad: Nevio
Ok. My worst Buzz-kill of 2010, such a let down after Button. What was that, Trance??? Not terrible, but C'mon. This is Toronto 2010...
The Usual: Steve Lawler
I've seen Lawler many times, and this performance was right in the middle. Took a LONG time to get going, probably due to having to get back from our Trance-y Detour to where we left off after Button's set, but once it got settled it was a typical solid Lawler Toronto set with lots of Deep grooving bass. Not as hot as I've heard him in Miami, but much better than the last time I saw Lawler in Toronto at This is London. Good performance overall and got better as the night progressed.
A Decent night and a good way to kick-off the Twenty-Tens!!
DE. |
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| Knox |
| quote: | Originally posted by Yohan
I came for Lawler to bring it up to the next level. Instead, what I got was typical Comfort Zone/Gallery tech house stuff. Not what I wanted from Lawler. My excitement slowly faded away as I realized that oh well... it just not going to happen. No animalistic jungle fever ass shaking tribal. No bongos and drums beating my face like monkeys having frenetic sex.
I think in this case, Lawler knowing Toronto a little too well might be a disadvantage. Don't get me wrong. He played a very solid set, if you are into the Toronto sound. But if I wanted to hear Toronto tech house whatever, I'd go listen to Carlo Lio or other locals who can do the same thing.
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umm.... comparing Lawler to CZ/Gallery tech house... ya, no. We were at different parties then.
I'm trying to find his interview from either 2008/2009 where he says (please don't quote this word for word) but basically he is not a tribal dj anymore, and if you want drums leave it to Chus and Ceballos.
If someone can dig up that interview please post it in this review thread. |
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| Yohan |
| quote: | Originally posted by Knox
umm.... comparing Lawler to CZ/Gallery tech house... ya, no. We were at different parties then.
I'm trying to find his interview from either 2008/2009 where he says (please don't quote this word for word) but basically he is not a tribal dj anymore, and if you want drums leave it to Chus and Ceballos.
If someone can dig up that interview please post it in this review thread. |
meh. it's just my interpretation of things. and to me, his recent sets had a lot of drums...
like a good DJ does, he adjust his set for the crowd, but I would have liked more drums |
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| sticky_shoes |
My review of the night:
The venue was nice in my opinion. Apparently, it looked better before (i.e. set-up and lights). It's a shame it might be my first and last time coming to this club.
I didn't end up at Circa until almost 11, but was able to catch some of Jeff's set. I liked how the set was soooo groovy and sexy...loved it! As for Nevio...well, I could say that some of the people that loved trance, enjoyed parts of his set...lol! :p It was okay, but I was so anxious to hear Lawler, and didn't care for the last part of Nevio set. But I will agree that his latter part of set did not set-up well for Lawler's set.
I actually liked Lawler's set a lot. It was a well-balanced set with of course some tribal elements (hard bongo syncopated rhythms, and nice vibe/steel drum melodies). I guess some expected to hear darker, deeper tribal beats, but I guess you can't please everyone. Overall, it was a pretty good night! :) By the way, Lawler's set ended sometime before 5:30...anyone know why he started at 2ish instead of 1 a.m. as advertised?
| quote: | Originally posted by rounder19
good to see you geoff! great meeting jackie and some of the other totas.
next time! |
nice meeting you too ryan! :) |
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| jon jon |
| quote: | Originally posted by Knox
umm.... comparing Lawler to CZ/Gallery tech house... ya, no. We were at different parties then.
I'm trying to find his interview from either 2008/2009 where he says (please don't quote this word for word) but basically he is not a tribal dj anymore, and if you want drums leave it to Chus and Ceballos.
If someone can dig up that interview please post it in this review thread. |
lol what does a Lawler interview 2 years ago have to do w/ Yohan's review on the style of beats he played?
(honestly Lawler never did play iberican style C&C drums anyways, I always thought that quote made him look ignorant) |
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| jon jon |
| ps. sounds like Jeff killed it, see ya thurs guyyyy |
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