I just got back from NYC where Neil Landstrumm, James Ruskin and Surgeon played last night. Some background: first time in New York since I was 16. Accordingly it was my first time @ the Limelight. While I know most NYC313ers have a huge aversion to this place, the venue is probably the best I've ever been to. It's a beautiful old church, decked out with two floors of catwalks, a maze of tiny rooms branching off of the main floor, and to my ears, pretty good sound (more on this later).
Some gripes about the Limelight: I called 30 minutes before I arrived to verify the event was going on (Timeout listed it on Friday) and the price. They said it was $25, as advertised on the flyers and at Timeout. I arrive and they are charging $30. What the f*ck is that all about??? As I would soon find out, the place is clearly all about BIG BUCKS. We descend to the $2 coat check, where they proceed to charge Dave Dawson $4 because his liner coat is not zipped to the shell (they hung it on one hook). Drinks were also pricey, but nothing out of the ordinary from what I hear about New York drink prices. However... a small bottle of water was $4, and there were no drinking fountains. Again, what the f*ck? In my mind, that's nothing short of criminal. Supposedly, the "new" Limelight has been and will be featuring a lot more quality techno. I really hope they get the rest of their act together. On to the music: We got there early (around 10:30ish). The first DJ spun until 2:00, and I'm not sure when he went on. I suspect this was Neil Landstrumm. The music wasn't exactly what I'd expect from Neil Landstrumm, but then again I don't really know what to expect from Neill Landstrumm's DJing. The beginning was pretty typical of the deeper side of Tresor, but a bit too repetitive (without really progressing) for my tastes. After an hour or so, he moved into slightly harder territory but never sustained a full-on bludgeoning. All told, it was a great opening set once he settled in. I spotted Lyot, some older UR, and plenty of Tresorish stuff. Next up, James Ruskin: Never seen him before since he no-showed in Iowa City about a year ago. I assumed the music would be relentless hard English techno. He definitely lived up to that expectation. However, this set solidified my suspicion that I don't like most of that music (Surgeon being the notable exception). His set was overpowering. I might just be too old to really get into a 2-hour sonic assault. There was never a sustained break during this set. When he plays Surgeon to calm things down, you know it's too much. That said, there were three or four 10 minute segments of the set that sent me into a frenzy. A few older Neil Landstrumm tracks on Peacefrog were the hilight for me. It drained the hell out of me and left me feeling violated. The mixing was exceedingly tight, but he seemed a bit formulaic stylistically. He pulled the same mix a bazillion times, and broke things down the same for four beats every track. That might be a slight exaggeration, but you get the idea. By the time Surgeon came on I was completely pooped. I've read some bad reviews of his DJing, so my expectations weren't too high. By this point in the evening I was so tired I thought it would quickly drive me out of the club. But, he exceeded all of my expectations. His mixing was flawless, the track selections were heavily percussive, but still had plenty of soul. That was the main ingredient lacking in Ruskin's set. Simply put, he really knows how to craft a set. Somehow, he managed to constantly increase the intensity throughout the first hour of his set. Coming out of Ruskin, that was quite a trick. Unfortunately, he also steadily increased the volume. It was damn near deafening, if crisp after the first hour. If you can imagine, a deafening, crisp, soulful, percussive cacophony, you might be able to imagine what it was like. After six and a half hours, the deafening cacophony won out over the crisp soul, so I took off. One thing that struck me, is how a lot of his early productions sounded a lot like Mills, then he found his own style. His mixing reminded me a lot of Mills too, but he's definitely got something unique. Can't quite put my finger on it tho... All told, it was great to see these guys spin just to experience it first hand. I really hope Landstrumm wasn't still waiting to go on after Surgeon because I really would have liked to see him. If they're in your area, definitely check it out, because it's a pretty unique experience. Unfortunately, I missed the 313ers in attendance, but I'd like to know what they thought. Tristan (who needs to buy earplugs) ========================================== Ten mixes, one album, various tracks, pics and info here: http://phonopsia.tripod.com/ [EMAIL PROTECTED] <FrogboyMCI> on AOL IM "Deserve's Got Nothing to Do With it". -Clint Eastwood, Unforgiven -----Original Message----- From: dj revolver <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: [email protected] <[email protected]> Date: Saturday, January 13, 2001 2:57 PM Subject: [313] Surgeon @ Motor >Either I haven't been out for a while or Surgeon played a great set at Motor >last night. He didn't display any mind blowing tricks or skills but he did >play some great banging techno and he put the right records together at the >right time. He really picked up the intensity between 115am and 2am. >Who spun house in the back room? My wife enjoyed it so compliments to the >dj. >djr >_________________________________________________________________________ >Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com. > > >--------------------------------------------------------------------- >To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] _________________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com
