- It is not often that Carl Cox tours through New York. Ever since his residency at Twilo ended, his visits are few and far between. However, last Saturday marked the return of the big man of techno to Crobar after destroying the place on St. Patrick’s Day.
I arrived at Crobar around 12:45 and the crowd was immense. There were people all over the sidewalk and railings, trying to blag themselves in. If you have ever been to a popular NYC event you know the mob scene I’m describing. However, the staff at Crobar seems to deal with the human surge better than most. Each line seemed to be moving, and if people didn’t bottleneck up around the ticket windows, everyone would get in a lot quicker. Either way, as soon as I got in it seemed like no one else should be allowed through the door for a few hours. To say that it was crowded would be an understatement. The entire main room was packed solid! In fact, everywhere I walked was shoulder to shoulder. Getting bumped about and knocked into seemed to be the order of the night.
When I did finally settle in, Loco Dice already had the room grooving. I have seen his name in various publications and on flyers over the years, but had yet to catch him live. His tunes set the pace well for the night, setting the mood perfectly for Carl without trying to get too over himself. I must admit that I found myself moving to him, but he started to get a bit dull after about an hour. Luckily, the big man himself popped up from behind and grabbed the mic to let us know he would be on soon! All in all, I came away from Loco Dice’s set with a good feeling, and I am curious as to what he’d play in an extended, “peak time” set. I hope to have a chance to answer that question soon!
It seemed that everyone in the club came to hear the one and only Carl Cox, and around 2 a.m. they got exactly what they wanted! He started things off with some techno, almost tech-house, that served to bridge into his larger sounding tunes. Things got off pretty quickly as his first really massive peak was Tiefscharz’s remix of Spektrum “Kinda New.” I must admit that my only emotion upon hearing this tune in Crobar again was disappointment. Yes, it was a good tune that probably helped shape a lot of what the producers have put out in the past few years, but it is time to retire it. I just expect a lot more from someone like a Carl Cox, in terms of introducing the crowd to more upfront material. Perhaps the big fella saw the disappointment on my face (although I feel as if I’m wrong on that front) as he did not return to such material! The rest of his set was pretty raw and enjoyable. He got into some twisted 303 baselines around 4:15, proving that acid, is in fact, still is not dead, and working his Pioneer EFX 1000 to the best of his ability. He kept the place rocking with unadulterated techno until he wrapped things up at 6 (an hour after his schedule finishing).
Overall, the night was decent, but not spectacular. There were just too many people in Crobar to really enjoy one’s self. Loco Dice did some good work, but I feel Coxy could have done more. However, I will definitely go when he comes back again, and there must be something to be said for that!