- As soon as I jumped out of the taxi at Pacha Ibiza, it was obvious that this was no regular night. The long line in front of the famed white building signaled the (September) closing of Cadenza's Vagabundos. And, despite another closing night to follow the next week, there was an electric atmosphere. After we finally got in the door we were greeted with a quick make-up session in front of a dressing room's mirror, courtesy of the promoters: Mascara and eyeliner, plus a cylinder hat. This, plus a striped t-shirt, has been the seasonal outfit of the Cadenza crew. The Vagabundos look, or, if you'd like, a droogie from A Clockwork Orange.
Inside, Michel Cleis was playing warm house grooves to an already packed main room, complete with the usual sexy dancers, VIP tables where dancing looked to be forbidden, expensive drinks and (in some cases) rude staff. We picked a spot on the terrace above the decks and settled in for a little dancing, despite finding Cleis' set slightly monotonous. I soon opted to see how Ernesto Ferreyra and Robert Dietz were doing in the small room upstairs, passing through the beautiful terrace under the stars. Here, as soon as I moved through the packed room to the decks, I could feel the party atmosphere and see smiles all around. The duo's back-to-back house set kept building up, breaking down and coming in again to great effect.
Back in the main room, Mendo was presenting some quality flowing house music, building a set that led to the star of the night, Luciano. At this point, the crowd divided itself in two groups: The first erupted into cheers, the second filmed their hero putting on his very first track of the night. Luciano's set was loud, energetic and passionate, despite a couple of out-of-sync a cappellas (especially with an old Björk tune) on top of the always-rolling basslines. He made sure to include some obvious call-outs to the Cadenza repertoire, building with relatively new tunes like Michel Cleis' "Litoral" and then taking it down with something lush and deep.
Periodically he would create a climax, holding the music for just a split-second, before bringing the volume up again and raising his hand in the air—invariably followed soon after by the crowd. Makossa & Megablast's "Soy Como Soy" and Drexxel's re-edit of Paul Johnson's "Just Dance" were among the highlights. As we entered the morning the energy in the room was unrelenting, as people kept on gathering around Luciano, touching him, passing him drinks and showing their affection. Daft Punk's "Revolution 909" kicked in with its heavy bass, then the lights went on with Ultra Nate's "Free," with the entire room singing along and clapping their hands.
As I left, I heard a guy telling a friend, "Luciano made history in one year; I would have never came to Pacha without him playing here," while another griped: "It's time for him to buy new records, he's been kicking the same tunes all season." Given the success of the night, though, I think it's safe to say that just about everybody was glad to be there.