- It was Veterans Day in New York City and Anthony, the MC on the night, was dressed in a camouflage jumpsuit, which included a sewn-on Army patch. A huge Russian military Ushanka crowned his head. His jumpsuit needed to be zipped up. With microphone in hand, he flitted through the crowd with catcalls and squeals, spurred on the two Go-Go dancers. God Bless America.
Most of the world would never put up with the status quo at New York clubs—the excesses of bottle service, security personnel and bathroom attendants; never mind the infamous doormen, who expect you to be dressed in haute couture and be surrounded by an entourage of gorgeous women and flashy gay men in order to let you in. But most serious house heads get by, and Cielo is one of the last clubs left in the city that strikes a balance between Studio 54 and Paradise Garage.
Alex Pearce has been headlining a Dance.Here.Now party at Cielo for over two years now. The last time I came out for him, he was struggling to push a sound that included minimal, electro house and a trance monster thrown in every so often. New York had moved on musically, but Pearce was still able to pull in the numbers at Cielo with those clubbers who, also, had yet to move on. Pearce has made some serious changes in his game, however, since I last heard him over a year ago. Right now the overground New York house sound is funky and bouncy. To my astonishment Pearce played right into the middle of that sound and had the club sweating, stomping and screaming.
Pearce still likes it hard—and he loves it when the crowd follows him down that path—but it's evident that his musical commitments have changed. And according to New York, at least on this night, the change was for the better, as the swell in the sheer number of partiers continued to grow throughout the evening. The crowd was made up of serious New York partiers—the kind who don't start until 3 AM and then go until brunch.
They're also the types that will clear the dance floor in order to make a point, which happened to Pearce at one point in the night. To his credit, he remained undeterred. He dropped a track that sampled Chic, and Anthony began a call-and-response between himself and Chic commanding everyone to "freak out!" The crowd slowly began to warm back up, responding with hoots and hollers. Finally, after Pearce mixed in a dub that looped the guitar riff from Modjo's "Lady," the crowd was unable to resist and they filled the dance floor again.