- I must admit that I was really looking forward to the second installment of Sasha’s Fundacion residency at Crobar. My other favorite DJ, James Zabiela, was in support and when they team up- unique things happen. I felt confident that the entire evening would go smoothly after the debacle that James Lavelle induced last month.
I arrived at Crobar to a nominal line at 11:30. Even though it still took me a while to get in, and the wristband situation was still confused (more on that later), I got in with only a minor headache.
Once inside the main room had not been opened yet, so I met up with some friends in the Prop room and heard Nat Monday “Waiting” (Creamer & K), which put a smile on my face as memories of summers past crept into my mind. At approximately quarter-til midnight the entire club opened up and I saw Gaby Dershin of Astro & Glyde playing. I did not see his name on the bill anywhere, but it was a nice surprise to see a local getting some time. However, his set was just too scattered and “peak-time” for me to get into. It seems that the art of the opening DJ has been lost on most. Gaby played Benny Benassi’s “Satisfaction,” Spektrum “Kinda New” (Tiefschwarz rmx), and Steve Lawler’s “Illectronic Music” (which marked the first napkin toss of the evening). It just seemed ridiculous that he would play such big (and mostly very dated) tunes so early. By the end of his set, he seemed to have found a groove, but it was time for Sasha to step up for his first two-hour stint.
Sasha started out in somewhat typical style, with a melodic, groovey intro that led into a solid bassline. Things did not really go well from there though. It seemed as if Sasha never got into a proper rhythm as his set just seemed to be scattered and never found its way.
At 3, James Zabiela stepped up and saved the day. I seem to catch James about once a year ever since I spilled Pepsi after his debut in Ibiza at Space (sorry again). Anyway, he truly impresses me every time I see him, and I have been able to follow his progression throughout the years. It seems that he just looks at DJing differently than most others and his intro proved this. As Sasha’s last track was finishing out, he transitioned by using an effect on his Pioneer Efx 1000 unit to create a bridge to his first tune. I simply stopped dancing, took notice of what I was hearing, and stared….
James looked a bit more timid at the beginning of his set than I am used to seeing. However, he immediately had the floor under control as his mixture of jacking, acid, and break beats quickly erased the memory of Sasha’s wandering set. The first real climax in his set occurred during Laurent Garnier’s “Crispy Bacon.” As soon as it was mixed in, my friend started going crazy and yelling out “CRISPY BACON, CRISPY BAAAAAAACON!” Things kept rocking for the duration of his two hour set with another highlight being the Jiggaman’s rendition of the Chemical Brothers “Galvanize.” I heard what he did to Q-Tips vocals during a recording from Sydney at NYE, but this was something else. “It was time to, my finger is on the button ………………………….GALVANIZE!”
At 5, the real Sasha stepped up and things got serious, real serious. The party was in full swing and I couldn’t stop dancing. At this point the floor cleared out and there was room to boogey freely. It was the first time, in quite a long time that I felt so carefree on the dance floor. No chin scratching, no analyzing progressions, just partying and having fun. It seemed like times of old. One of my really good friends was there (who never goes out anymore), everyone was smiling, and when “Ruhe” got played- it was Twilo flashback time (well, sort of). Blending the old with the new, Yoshimoto “Do What You Du” (Trentmoller Rmx) got a filtered workout, as did an extended portion of Infusion’s “Better World.” (Note: It was one of the first times I could tell exactly what he was doing with Ableton as a track I know very well was being dissected. I must admit, the Welshman is getting pretty good.)
Finally, around 6 JZ and Sasha got together and finished out the evening doing some crazy back and forth stuff. I’m not going to tell you about it though- you had to be there. (You also had to deal with the balloon drop too.)
Overall, I had an amazing night. From 3:30 on, I had one of the best clubbing experiences I can remember. If you get a chance to see these two together, rest up, stay late, and have fun.
(Note: Sorry about the messed photos- once again I was not allowed closer in to the booth and the erratic lighting played tricks on my simple camera!)