- From the Ford Model T to Motown, Detroit knows how to pump out a classic, and Carl Craig sits up there with the best of them. Launched at last year's Amsterdam Dance Event, the Planet E boss's new party concept, Detroit Love, came home on Saturday, March 7th. Sold out in advance, the event's Facebook page had 1,300 people attending, well over the venue's capacity of 350, and far more than the club expects on a Saturday night. Carl Craig and Stacey Pullen's sets were broadcast live on Boiler Room from TV Lounge, while Moodymann and Keith Kemp kept things going in the second room.
TV Lounge is usually a late-night spot, but this time it was a sweaty sea of people by 10:30 PM. Paxahau ran the party like a well-oiled machine. The main room was spruced up for the occasion, with LEDs hanging from the ceiling and lasers shooting out overhead. In anticipation of a full house, the second room was cleared of its usual seating to expand the floor.
When we arrived, Pullen was playing tribal-infused techno to a mostly full front room, while Kemp had a steady flow of house grooves going in the other. Towards the end of his set, Kemp dropped Paperclip People's "Throw," paying homage to the man behind the event. From the moment Craig went on, we found ourselves locked into the main room, cutting shapes to a medley of classics. Tom Trago's "Use Me Again," Octave One's "Black Water" and Inner City's "Good Life" were just three of many. We managed to steal away to Moodymann for a spell, who dropped the night's curveball in Nirvana's "Come As You Are," before heading back to watch as Craig sent the crowd into a frenzy with Maceo Plex's "Conjure Superstar." Following his lead, each DJ poured their hearts through the soundsystem, giving their hometown, and all those tuned in around the world, the gift of unadulterated love through music.