- Lux is one of the mythical electronic music monuments that embellishes Lisbon’s nightlife. They have great infrastructure, great décor and two distinct floors with completely different atmospheres and musical styles – you can go upstairs or downstairs, depending on your needs. Another of its enchanting characteristics is the club is located on Lisbon’s harbour: From the balcony and terrace you directly look over the Tagus River. Some of the artists who have played Lux are Ursula Rucker, James Holden, DJ T, Felix da Housecat, 2 Many DJ’s, Gui Boratto, Ricardo Villalobos, but tonight it was Booka Shade’s night!
The German duo have a live reputation – they were even voted Best Live Act of 2006 by the writers here at RA. We were also primed to party for other reasons: many students were still on vacation and the Portuguese Football Club Benfica had just won the Champion League’s game. We arrived at 1.30 a.m., just in time to skip the queue at the door. An hour later, both floors were completely packed, the dancing space reduced to just limited head banging.
It is quite a challenge to describe Booka Shade’s sound – they incorporate the best in every genre. As a live act, their narrative is wavy, full of ups and downs, good for emotional explosions. Soon the audience was completely integrated to their presence – both Walter and Arno gave an uplifting performance, physically emphasizing their music with their character. On the dancefloor, our arms were straight into the air and our thoughts were elsewhere. Right where we wanted to be.
The music was soaring basslines and epic melodies, sometimes including slower inspirations such hip-hop, electro and chilled Balearic house music. Great stuff, but suddenly everything stopped. Their sound card’s power source just died. What a shame – we were psyched for a beautiful ending.
With Booka’s premature exit, Get Physical signing Heidi took to the decks and attempted to maintain the rhythm and good vibes with groovy tracks, but her job was a hard one – everyone felt something was missing. In the end, we just stayed a half an hour or so. Meanwhile the club and the artists have already agreed on repeating the performance so that people who paid may return again on April 30th. We’ll be there!