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Review: ((())) 11 yr anniv with Maher, Gaiser & Richie (Fri), Grondin + DJ VIBE (Sat)
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| The Highroller |
What an unbelievable weekend in Montreal.
Friday
I arrived at about 9pm on Saturday, relaxed a bit ate and had some drinks before going out to Stereo.
The M_NUS night on Friday night was the reason for which I decided to come to Montreal this past weekend. I arrived at the club at around 2am, and caught a bit of Maher Daniel. He played a good set, but he should have picked it up the pace earlier as it was getting a bit boring. Gaiser came on next, and predictably funked the place right up with his groovy, drugged out, heady beats. Although his sound is a bit passé, this guy has never disappointed, and continued this trend on Friday night. He played the best set of the night in my opinion. The only thing that was disappointing was the poor sound quality during his set.
In the last 20 minutes or so of his set, he toned it down a lot, which had the effect of people looking at the time, looking around and getting bored. It was at this point that I started smiling, because this is all part of the M_NUS show that I know too well. Whoever opens before Richie purposely bores the crowd right before he starts to create almost a sense of anxiety that Richie can toy with when he comes on. There was however a problem with this technique this time around...
Richie was pretty mediocre in my opinion. I know a lot of people seemed to have enjoyed him, but I've seen him at least 15 times in the last 8 years, and I know what he is capable of. He did not show his mastery on Friday night, which is a big part of the reason he is so popular. It seemed like he didn't care enough to showcase the amazing technical skills that he is known for. As a matter of fact, this is the 3rd disappointing set in a row I've seen from Richie and he's disappointed me.
That isn't to say his set was all bad. He did have a few epic moments, but in general it was boring, uninspired, and didn't really go anywhere. Also, it was pretty weak that he only played 2 hours. I left a little bit before his set was done because I had been up since 6am, and had a really crazy week at work.
Although this sounds like a negative review, I actually had an amazing time on Friday night. The place got PACKED when Richie came on, people were loving their lives, the crowd was young, fresh, smiling and up for it, with lots of beautiful women in attendance. This is a sharp contrast with the sausage fest that takes place in most Toronto clubs (especially afterhours).
For those complaining about the crowd on Friday, I think you're exaggerating. I found the crowd to be only a tiny bit less desirable than the normal Stereo crowd (which is still better than most other places I've been in the world), but it was nothing like when Lawler was there in June :nervous: . For the veteran partiers complaining about the new crowd at Stereo that bothers you, if you see something that you don't like, tell the person! Tell them that throwing things on the floor isn't the way it works at Stereo, and to have respect for the club. As someone said in another thread, this younger, newer crowd is necessary for the survival of Stereo. Without it, it will surely fail as they won't be able to fill their Friday nights, and as the older crowd retires, there will be no one to take their place. Instead of building animosity between the two crowds, why don't the older partiers show the new ones the way it's done in your club? Isn't the idea of Stereo that it is supposed to be accepting?
Saturday
I arrived about halfway through Grondin's set after a nice nap, and after about an hour I could tell that I was going to like this party better than the night before. I like techno as much as the next guy, but the music and crowd was more along the lines of what I expect when I come to Stereo. Everybody in the crowd was dancing and were responsive to the DJs. Considering that 95% of the parties at afterhours in Toronto are techno parties, it was very refreshing to feel a housier vibe, with people getting down and dancing (instead of techno-fist-pumping) like it was their last night on Earth. Gay, straight, woman or man, by the time Vibe was into his set, everybody was rocking the out.
Stephan Grondin never ceases to amaze me. I saw him the first time in 2006 for le Bal en Blanc, where he literally played the best set of the night. On that night, I remember being pissed that a resident was playing at 4am in the morning in the house room, but he just absolutely floored me. Stephan played a nice mix of tribal, house and vocals on Saturday that had the crowd moving very early in the night.
Nearing the end of Stephan's set, the place got really packed. Just as packed as the M_NUS night the night before which I was pretty surprised about. I wasn't expecting it to be that busy at all. Vibe came on at around 5am, and rewarded the mass of people who came to see him with the best set of the weekend. His first 45 minutes or so were a little slow, but he was just warming the crowd up. As his set went on, he slowly started to poke a few massive tracks in here and there, until his set became just a full on barrage. I've seen about 5 DJ Vibe sets before, 3 of which were disappointing, and 2 of which were "good". I do however have many DJ Vibe sets, and quite a few impressive ones, so I knew he was capable of so much more than the sets I had seen him play so far. And boy, did he ever prove me right on Saturday.
On Saturday night, Vibe played a set that tribal fans of old only dream of hearing in 2010. Even hearing older tribal sounds can be a bit boring because it's kind of played out, but Vibe brings a type of tribal, coupled with his mastery of Ableton that I haven't heard anywhere else. The theme of his set was a deep and and twisted tribal house sound, with busy and creative percussive drum patterns, with splashes of big house strings, and big house vocals. This is the kind of sound I have always craved hearing from Vibe, and he delivered close to one of the best sets I've heard at Stereo so far. It was also in the top 3 tribal sets I have ever heard (and I've heard many). His set had me dancing more than I have in quite a long time, and in a way that I had almost forgotten.
Getting back to his Ableton skills, wow. He isn't one of these clowns that use Ableton to make their life easier by avoiding mixing, and who use throwing in lame sound effects as an excuse for which to use the program as a crutch. Vibe would play a vocal from one classic house track, the melody from another, and a drum pattern that sounded like an army of people playing 12-piece drum sets simultaneously. He was working Ableton harder and more effectively than I've heard most other DJs ever use it. He was almost constantly mixing things in and out all night, bouncing up and down in the booth with a huge smile on his face.
Lastly, I found the crowd quite a bit more diverse on Saturday which is what I prefer. Even though more than half the party was gay, there were still surprisingly many cute girls present.
DJ Vibe @ Stereo is something I've always wanted to do, and now I can cross it off my list. Next is Calderone and Tenaglia.
As for the club and crowd itself, enough can't be said about it. The crowd is professional, with very little texting, camera use, or talking on the dancefloor. This especially surprised me during Richie's set because in any other place I've seen him, more than half the crowd has their cameras going. Maybe that's why he didn't play a good set because his ego didn't get stroked enough :stongue:
I love how people are there to get down, and aren't there to have a 45 minute BBM conversation on the dancefloor with their boyfriend/girlfriend.
People have respect for the club and other patrons. The floor both nights was surprisingly clean and clear, people apologized and mostly didn't ram into you as they tried to walk by.
The screens, and especially the new DJ booth are incredible. That DJ booth is one of the best DJ booths I have ever seen, and is way better than the older one.
The dancers had creative costumes, and were absolutely gorgeous (especially the one that was wearing the striped bathing suit with no skirt! :o)
The staff is friendly, is generally looking out for the safety of their patrons, and aren't there to hassle you.
Stereo is the best club in Canada, possibly in North America, and the 2nd best (and in some ways the best) club I've been to globally (and I've been to many of the worlds so-called best clubs). Keep doing what you're doing, and never go away! I hope this successful 11 year anniversary gives them the push they need by drawing in new crowds so the club can become even more successful.
Montreal is a beautiful city, and I fall in love with it more and more each time I visit. From now on, I will make a concerted effort to go to Stereo at least 3 times per year, because if I want to party properly, there is no place I would rather go (that's a reasonable distance away). |
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| rabbitjoker |
Nice review! Glad you had fun!
Grondin is great. I remember his epic Boa/Sonic sets. Toronto needs more house.
When was the last time Vibe played a late set (starting after 4 AM ) in Toronto? I guess we have to travel to Montreal for the late sets/early morning magic. |
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| Abercrombie |
| I was in Montreal too this weekend... but I went for chicks and football. |
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| jad |
| Nice review! Ahh if only Toronto had a club like Stereo.. A little change of scene would be nice. |
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| patpicos |
MTL was exactly what the doctor ordered! It is always a treat to go back home and have a wicked weekend (and mtl always delivers)
After seeing gaiser/hawtin in TO, i was stoked to see them at stereo (considering that im sick of going to FW...).
As I said on MTLTA, Richie was much better in MTL than toronto. He sounded like richie! (in TO, you'd never know richie was playing unless u went to the booth). Even tho he was better than toronto, he still wasnt the best ive seen (read: DEMF sets).
The sound issues during Gaiser and Richie were rather annoying tbh. Especially knowing how Stereo's soundsystem can knock you on your ass.
I absolutely love the lowered booth and the VJ setup. This is one thing toronto severely lacks is good VJ setups. Vibe@Mod club had a half decent one 2 years ago and thats about it. I like VJ's like Metropolis had for Villalobos a few years back
The highlight of Friday was Layo & Bushwacka!! Ive never been so blown away by DJ's i didnt know. My plan was to see Richie and Gaiser..then gtfo... Im so glad i stayed for L&B. They used every attendee as a puppet and played with them for a few hours. Ive never seen stereo errupt like this ever. I love those super large syren lights and at peak time, about a dozen were goin and the crowd was just going berzerk.
The most amazing thing about L&B was their use of the Soundsystem. After the soundsystem mess when Gaiser and Richie played, Stereo came back and went into overdrive. L&B were like kamikaze's with 7+ lives, builds with atomic bombs in repeat mode.
Re; crowd, while some pple were annoying, it was still better than toronto. I wish more of the gay crowd was around to clean out the abercrombie & fitch pple. During Richie's set, i found myself drifting away to the outskirts of the dance floor and finding my spot. At times I wanted to knock out some annoying bitches ...but held it together. I remember a cute blondie/white top/army hat getting really mad about the newbies and having no respect....I agree...but was a bit expected for this night.
Just gotta find ur spot i guess
Saturday:
I wish I had the energy to do a double header and check out vibe @ Stereo. I know how Stereo turns out when tribal is full on (think C&C before stereo burnt down) and this is something i wish to attend again. The habs game @ bell center + diner + rippers and too many drinks just killed me and I passed out...missing Stereo :(
Word of advice, Megabus SUCKS, sweatshop ing bus. Take greyhound or the train. |
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| patpicos |
| quote: | Originally posted by rabbitjoker
Nice review! Glad you had fun!
Grondin is great. I remember his epic Boa/Sonic sets. Toronto needs more house.
When was the last time Vibe played a late set (starting after 4 AM ) in Toronto? I guess we have to travel to Montreal for the late sets/early morning magic. |
when i got to the scene, i wish i understood "afterhours" more and I would have supported more the clubs like Boa/Sonic/System Soundbar. Toronto definitely lacks in that aspect.
Stereo ftw. Period. |
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| Abercrombie |
I really wanted to go out to one of these events, but was preoccupied. Great review though.
The Hyatt Regency was a steal at $85 via Priceline. |
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| london_ta |
| Dammit reading these reviews makes me want to stay in mtl friday to hit stereo. But seeing Martinez Bro's isn't that appealing to me. |
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| Knox |
With such a legendary weeked of musical bliss I needed to make a thread of its own. Each performance I heard, you could just tell that the DJ was there for business. (But who wouldn't be looking out at that beautiful club). Phrase of the weekend to get things started: “I’m going to Razzle Dazzle you guys.”
After the 4 ½ hour trip, relaxed, got ready, met up with friends....
It was off to the temple.
We arrived fairly early as I really wanted to make sure that I had the opportunity to catch each DJ that was on the bill. And I am certainly glad that I did, as the night meshed together so perfectly from start to finish. I had not seen the new booth set up before and I was impressed. Such a spacey look; and the mirrors just added to the visual enjoyment. Maher Daniel started off with a fun selection of groovy "techiness" and after about an hour or so into his set took it to the next level to get the party started. Glad I finally got to see Mr. Daniel play.
Next up was Gaiser, and man was I impressed with this guy. I have never had the chance to see him play before and I was not disappointed in the least. The crowd was bouncing and the beats were getting harder. So much fun.
And then Richie stepped on to the decks. I had prepared myself for whatever realm Mr. Hawtin decided to take us in, he defiantly did that for me. We got Hawtin Techno, hard, relentless and kept the party moving. As I didn’t think the party could start jumping any higher, Richie is running at a crisp low setting. Midway through the that same song; flick of the knob, and the bass just turns up notches, and to quote as Graham said in a previous thread, he turned the party into instant pandemonium. It was game on. (And those mirrors under the DJ booth just added to the eeriness of the techno). I really enjoyed the set a lot; but I have not seen Richie on countless occasions so I am not as accustomed to every angle he can take the crowd within his journey. I liked this direction he took, but can’t wait to see him again to see which way he’ll drive next.
When Layo and Bushwacka! came on, the darkness just went down even deeper into your stomach. The room turned into a completely different zone as the blue lights took over. Biggest regret of the weekend was leaving about 45 minute into their set as I just couldn’t stand anymore. So tired and needed my bed.
As many have said, the crowd wasn’t your typical Stereo crowd, but the music I had the pleasure of listening to cancelled that out for me as I was there to dance and I had no problem doing this. Such technical brilliance.
After a nice sleep, woke up at 2 to get ready for Round Two at the temple.
We walked in with ease as there was no line up. Heading up those stairs to the room hearing Stephan Grondin playing some diva tribal-esque house, I knew I was at “the Stereo”. The vibe from the partiers even walking up the stairs was the Saturday nights I was accustomed to. I was not 100% sure I was going to go this night, but now I'm glad I changed my mind.
DJ Vibe came on around 5?? with a beautiful build up that just lead into a slam fest of heavy beats. This was my third time seeing Vibe, and to be honest, I had gone into this party with low expectations, as the first two times I did not enjoy him. As the morning pushed forward, I am glad I gave him that third chance. We had tribal, drums, intense (but not overdone) build ups, bouncy fast techy beats, the room was on fire. The defining song for me was when he dropped “Definition”. This song is always the track that turns the party around for me; however I didn’t know how the party could turn around again as he was already eating up the dance floor. Well, he did flip it upside down; so this song will continue to be a party defining classic for me. So many characters throughout the night, and I just couldn’t get enough of it. The performers were back out for the morning session; full on sailor apparel; peering out at the crowd with their slinky moves, jamming to the thumping, drummy beats. To me the entertainment that Stereo offers to its patrons is what makes the night for me; making me feel like I’m at the party I will not want to leave. The one dancer with the gigantic blow up fish just added to that feeling; well prepared useful props FTW.
The adventure that DJ Vibe took us on the night was magical. He really made the crowd “Work”. Based on his performance that morning, I can now appreciate as to why many love him so much.
Lights came on, the dance floor was dwindling, applauses around, and he drops his one last track. Such a fun put a smile on your face ending to the day. Looking around and seeing everyone continue to dance because they just don’t want to leave the floor is simply
amazing to see.
Stereo, as I said to some of your staff this weekend; the professionalism within those four walls is something to be proud of, and truly I know you are. One of the best comments of the night as I’m getting my bag from coat check, which after looking where it should have been, I got worried, because it was going to be cold outside. The pleasant girl turns to me and says: “Don’t worry. I’ll find your bag and coat. This is Stereo.”
Amazing.
You take care of your customers, you entertain your customers, and you leave your customers wanting more. Every time I return to that sacred place, something always looks different, but with each change the feeling I get is always the same. Thank you.
This is ((())) |
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| AY STAR |
dam you guys give some intense full on detail reviews cheers
stereo sounds like a magical place i def gotta make it up there
and good to hear about how vibe played a stellar set, iam seeing him tomarrow with tenaglia and now iam even more pumped knowing he will bring the pain :eyes: |
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| Endgame |
| Its been years since I've read full reviews like this. Sounds like a crazy weekend - Thanks for sharing, guys! |
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| samhouse |
| quote: | Originally posted by The Highroller
What an unbelievable weekend in Montreal.
Friday
I arrived at about 9pm on Saturday, relaxed a bit ate and had some drinks before going out to Stereo.
The M_NUS night on Friday night was the reason for which I decided to come to Montreal this past weekend. I arrived at the club at around 2am, and caught a bit of Maher Daniel. He played a good set, but he should have picked it up the pace earlier as it was getting a bit boring. Gaiser came on next, and predictably funked the place right up with his groovy, drugged out, heady beats. Although his sound is a bit passé, this guy has never disappointed, and continued this trend on Friday night. He played the best set of the night in my opinion. The only thing that was disappointing was the poor sound quality during his set.
In the last 20 minutes or so of his set, he toned it down a lot, which had the effect of people looking at the time, looking around and getting bored. It was at this point that I started smiling, because this is all part of the M_NUS show that I know too well. Whoever opens before Richie purposely bores the crowd right before he starts to create almost a sense of anxiety that Richie can toy with when he comes on. There was however a problem with this technique this time around...
Richie was pretty mediocre in my opinion. I know a lot of people seemed to have enjoyed him, but I've seen him at least 15 times in the last 8 years, and I know what he is capable of. He did not show his mastery on Friday night, which is a big part of the reason he is so popular. It seemed like he didn't care enough to showcase the amazing technical skills that he is known for. As a matter of fact, this is the 3rd disappointing set in a row I've seen from Richie and he's disappointed me.
That isn't to say his set was all bad. He did have a few epic moments, but in general it was boring, uninspired, and didn't really go anywhere. Also, it was pretty weak that he only played 2 hours. I left a little bit before his set was done because I had been up since 6am, and had a really crazy week at work.
Although this sounds like a negative review, I actually had an amazing time on Friday night. The place got PACKED when Richie came on, people were loving their lives, the crowd was young, fresh, smiling and up for it, with lots of beautiful women in attendance. This is a sharp contrast with the sausage fest that takes place in most Toronto clubs (especially afterhours).
For those complaining about the crowd on Friday, I think you're exaggerating. I found the crowd to be only a tiny bit less desirable than the normal Stereo crowd (which is still better than most other places I've been in the world), but it was nothing like when Lawler was there in June :nervous: . For the veteran partiers complaining about the new crowd at Stereo that bothers you, if you see something that you don't like, tell the person! Tell them that throwing things on the floor isn't the way it works at Stereo, and to have respect for the club. As someone said in another thread, this younger, newer crowd is necessary for the survival of Stereo. Without it, it will surely fail as they won't be able to fill their Friday nights, and as the older crowd retires, there will be no one to take their place. Instead of building animosity between the two crowds, why don't the older partiers show the new ones the way it's done in your club? Isn't the idea of Stereo that it is supposed to be accepting?
Saturday
I arrived about halfway through Grondin's set after a nice nap, and after about an hour I could tell that I was going to like this party better than the night before. I like techno as much as the next guy, but the music and crowd was more along the lines of what I expect when I come to Stereo. Everybody in the crowd was dancing and were responsive to the DJs. Considering that 95% of the parties at afterhours in Toronto are techno parties, it was very refreshing to feel a housier vibe, with people getting down and dancing (instead of techno-fist-pumping) like it was their last night on Earth. Gay, straight, woman or man, by the time Vibe was into his set, everybody was rocking the out.
Stephan Grondin never ceases to amaze me. I saw him the first time in 2006 for le Bal en Blanc, where he literally played the best set of the night. On that night, I remember being pissed that a resident was playing at 4am in the morning in the house room, but he just absolutely floored me. Stephan played a nice mix of tribal, house and vocals on Saturday that had the crowd moving very early in the night.
Nearing the end of Stephan's set, the place got really packed. Just as packed as the M_NUS night the night before which I was pretty surprised about. I wasn't expecting it to be that busy at all. Vibe came on at around 5am, and rewarded the mass of people who came to see him with the best set of the weekend. His first 45 minutes or so were a little slow, but he was just warming the crowd up. As his set went on, he slowly started to poke a few massive tracks in here and there, until his set became just a full on barrage. I've seen about 5 DJ Vibe sets before, 3 of which were disappointing, and 2 of which were "good". I do however have many DJ Vibe sets, and quite a few impressive ones, so I knew he was capable of so much more than the sets I had seen him play so far. And boy, did he ever prove me right on Saturday.
On Saturday night, Vibe played a set that tribal fans of old only dream of hearing in 2010. Even hearing older tribal sounds can be a bit boring because it's kind of played out, but Vibe brings a type of tribal, coupled with his mastery of Ableton that I haven't heard anywhere else. The theme of his set was a deep and and twisted tribal house sound, with busy and creative percussive drum patterns, with splashes of big house strings, and big house vocals. This is the kind of sound I have always craved hearing from Vibe, and he delivered close to one of the best sets I've heard at Stereo so far. It was also in the top 3 tribal sets I have ever heard (and I've heard many). His set had me dancing more than I have in quite a long time, and in a way that I had almost forgotten.
Getting back to his Ableton skills, wow. He isn't one of these clowns that use Ableton to make their life easier by avoiding mixing, and who use throwing in lame sound effects as an excuse for which to use the program as a crutch. Vibe would play a vocal from one classic house track, the melody from another, and a drum pattern that sounded like an army of people playing 12-piece drum sets simultaneously. He was working Ableton harder and more effectively than I've heard most other DJs ever use it. He was almost constantly mixing things in and out all night, bouncing up and down in the booth with a huge smile on his face.
Lastly, I found the crowd quite a bit more diverse on Saturday which is what I prefer. Even though more than half the party was gay, there were still surprisingly many cute girls present.
DJ Vibe @ Stereo is something I've always wanted to do, and now I can cross it off my list. Next is Calderone and Tenaglia.
As for the club and crowd itself, enough can't be said about it. The crowd is professional, with very little texting, camera use, or talking on the dancefloor. This especially surprised me during Richie's set because in any other place I've seen him, more than half the crowd has their cameras going. Maybe that's why he didn't play a good set because his ego didn't get stroked enough :stongue:
I love how people are there to get down, and aren't there to have a 45 minute BBM conversation on the dancefloor with their boyfriend/girlfriend.
People have respect for the club and other patrons. The floor both nights was surprisingly clean and clear, people apologized and mostly didn't ram into you as they tried to walk by.
The screens, and especially the new DJ booth are incredible. That DJ booth is one of the best DJ booths I have ever seen, and is way better than the older one.
The dancers had creative costumes, and were absolutely gorgeous (especially the one that was wearing the striped bathing suit with no skirt! :o)
The staff is friendly, is generally looking out for the safety of their patrons, and aren't there to hassle you.
Stereo is the best club in Canada, possibly in North America, and the 2nd best (and in some ways the best) club I've been to globally (and I've been to many of the worlds so-called best clubs). Keep doing what you're doing, and never go away! I hope this successful 11 year anniversary gives them the push they need by drawing in new crowds so the club can become even more successful.
Montreal is a beautiful city, and I fall in love with it more and more each time I visit. From now on, I will make a concerted effort to go to Stereo at least 3 times per year, because if I want to party properly, there is no place I would rather go (that's a reasonable distance away). |
Now thats a review! |
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