- Who would have thought that the best Halloween party in Los Angeles this year was at a place whose website boasts, "Whether you're planning a Quincenera, corporate luncheon or family reunion, Luminarias Restaurant has the perfect facilities for you"? The throwdown took place in Monterey Park, a little further east than most Angelenos call comfortable. That was no bother: You have to work to seek out good things in LA. It combs out all the half-assers and people who would be there for the wrong reason. More space for us, while all the teenagers party hard elsewhere.
Greg Wilson opened up his set with his edit of "Cocaine Blues," an excellent recent addition to a career of classics. Then...the lights when on. I would guess that this is the 2,000th or 3,000th gaffe like this in his career. There would also be some speakers cutting in and out later. It was no big deal, really. No one panicked.
Photo credit: Lillian Nava
While adolescent Latinas celebrate their transformation into womanhood here, we were adults celebrating our transformation into children. Wilson spun the story of our regression through a slew of his own edits like Sugardaddy's "Love Honey," "Voodoo Ray," "Psycho Killer," versions by others, especially Frankie Knuckles' "Ain't Nobody" dub or Soulwax's mix of "You Can't Always Get What You Want," and classics like "Love Is the Message." And thirty other tracks you would recognize. He even brought his trusty reel-to-reel to splice things up, keeping it interesting for him and us.
This familiar, yet amazing, set, was a reminder that Wilson is one of the finest selectors and re-workers of pop music, well, ever. In an age of increasing niche dominance, I can't think of someone who can satisfy a mainstream crowd and pull out the heads in equal measure. You usually have to pick a side. No discredit to his edits by any means, but if I could ever afford to, I would love to hire him to DJ my wedding. What seemed like such a bizarre, unlikely location was in fact a completely appropriate spot, as it ended up feeling more like a house party (not a loft or warehouse, but, rather, a friendly house party) than anything else. More like this, please.