last night a dj saved my life
uni (pronounced ooo-nee) or sea urchin, is one of the most delicious pieces of sushi available, but i doubt that you would agree. it looks like an orange-tan tongue, it's cold and slimy, and it tastes like the ocean. sounds wonderful, eh? i'm not sure why i like it actually. i didn't grow up eating it, but the first time i had a taste... it was amazing. i don't know if you'd like it. i've had some friends try it, but it's not their cup of tea.
this is much like drum & bass, except that with dnb, you could probably eventually grow to like it. like an acquired taste. but right now, i know very, very few people who listen to dnb. and it's not like i'm some music elitist. i would love it if i knew more people who listened, because then i wouldn't have to go to shows alone... like i did last night.
planet of the drums
this is the 8th year for the potd tour, featuring dieselboy, ak1200, dara, and mc messinian. ever hear of it? me neither. i have heard of all three djs, and you should know that they are considered the top three american dnb djs right now, and have been since before this tour began. so to see all of them perform at one show was outstanding.
after coming back from spending time with chris at fabric (see post here) in london and really getting back into the live dnb scene, i immediately checked the chicago venues to see what weekly dnb events were still running. back in the day, there were weeklies at red dog and big wig, but both of those clubs have gone the way of the dodo. i went to a couple of those shows with mark and roy, but definitely was not a regular. so i heard that the big nights now are wednesdays at lava lounge and thursdays at smartbar. the smartbar weeklies are called junglefly and on this particular thursday, i was lucky enough to find the potd tour!
smartbar
if you've never been to smartbar, you've definitely seen it, because it's in wrigleyville, next to the metro. it's actually the basement of the metro and if you've ever been to a show there, your 21+ bracelet usually grants you free admission into smartbar at the end of the night. it's not a big place, having a capacity of only 400 people, but that makes the venue so much more intimate and wonderfully reminiscent of the rave scene back in the late-nineties. the bigger parties always had a separate dnb room, but more often than not they consisted of shitty sound systems and horrible equipment. the headlining djs always got the best lighting and sound, and they always had the largest real estate in any given location. this is why watching a show at smartbar is really a spectacular event... dnb gets to be at the forefront, as the emphasis of the night, not the afterthought.
smartbar also has a distinct advantage for hosting dnb events because of the layout. as the name suggests, dnb is heavy on the bass, and if you're a freaker by the speaker, like me... and you're not on drugs (lol), you will eventually have to take a break to let your ears stop bleeding. smartbar has a separate room with its own bar, and a wall of cushion, for you to take a load off. the volume is low enough that you can carry a conversation, drink a bottle of water, and perhaps get a back massage... yet still loud enough so that if your favorite track comes on, you can still get right back into it. the sound on this particular night was perfect, with every high, mid, and low at the perfect complementary level. even half deaf, the range was wide, making for a lovely listening experience.
djs
dieselboy, dara, ak1200, and midway
this is much like drum & bass, except that with dnb, you could probably eventually grow to like it. like an acquired taste. but right now, i know very, very few people who listen to dnb. and it's not like i'm some music elitist. i would love it if i knew more people who listened, because then i wouldn't have to go to shows alone... like i did last night.
planet of the drums
this is the 8th year for the potd tour, featuring dieselboy, ak1200, dara, and mc messinian. ever hear of it? me neither. i have heard of all three djs, and you should know that they are considered the top three american dnb djs right now, and have been since before this tour began. so to see all of them perform at one show was outstanding.
after coming back from spending time with chris at fabric (see post here) in london and really getting back into the live dnb scene, i immediately checked the chicago venues to see what weekly dnb events were still running. back in the day, there were weeklies at red dog and big wig, but both of those clubs have gone the way of the dodo. i went to a couple of those shows with mark and roy, but definitely was not a regular. so i heard that the big nights now are wednesdays at lava lounge and thursdays at smartbar. the smartbar weeklies are called junglefly and on this particular thursday, i was lucky enough to find the potd tour!
smartbar
if you've never been to smartbar, you've definitely seen it, because it's in wrigleyville, next to the metro. it's actually the basement of the metro and if you've ever been to a show there, your 21+ bracelet usually grants you free admission into smartbar at the end of the night. it's not a big place, having a capacity of only 400 people, but that makes the venue so much more intimate and wonderfully reminiscent of the rave scene back in the late-nineties. the bigger parties always had a separate dnb room, but more often than not they consisted of shitty sound systems and horrible equipment. the headlining djs always got the best lighting and sound, and they always had the largest real estate in any given location. this is why watching a show at smartbar is really a spectacular event... dnb gets to be at the forefront, as the emphasis of the night, not the afterthought.smartbar also has a distinct advantage for hosting dnb events because of the layout. as the name suggests, dnb is heavy on the bass, and if you're a freaker by the speaker, like me... and you're not on drugs (lol), you will eventually have to take a break to let your ears stop bleeding. smartbar has a separate room with its own bar, and a wall of cushion, for you to take a load off. the volume is low enough that you can carry a conversation, drink a bottle of water, and perhaps get a back massage... yet still loud enough so that if your favorite track comes on, you can still get right back into it. the sound on this particular night was perfect, with every high, mid, and low at the perfect complementary level. even half deaf, the range was wide, making for a lovely listening experience.
djs
dieselboy, dara, ak1200, and midway
it was a heavy, heavy night of hard dnb and the intensity never seemed to falter. midway was the perfect selection for an opener. while people slowly filled the couches and stools, some excited souls already graced the dance floor with ballet like movements. one thing enjoyable about openers is that they don't usually play with an mc. this was no exception and it was nice. sometimes you like to just focus on the beat and the bass, and not get distracted by some muffled vocals on the mic. midway even went so far as to not play any tracks with vocals until his last track, which started spinning at about 12:30am.
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