- Famous for its jazz clubs since the 1920s, Denver's supposedly-sketchy-but-in-reality-fairly-tame Five Points neighborhood, located just northeast of its downtown area, is today home to a number of nightclubs and oft-used afterhours warehouse venues. One spot in particular, the Would Shop, has seen more than its share of action lately, hosting the likes of Ben Klock, DVS1, Mikael Stavöstrand and Jason Short over an absolutely epic last weekend in February. This past Saturday, Perlon/Ostgut Ton/Power Shovel Audio recording artist Margaret Dygas headlined the venue.
The Would Shop is a no-frills, single-room space with a maximum capacity of 250. Small, dark and intimate, it's the perfect venue for late-night warehouse parties. Shortly after midnight, Tess from Crowd Pleaser was performing for the small crowd of 100 who opted to skip Lee Burridge at Denver mega-club Beta to support area locals. Early parts of his set flirted with somewhat housey elements, but by the midway point Tess settled into a grove of chugging, slightly funky techno. The Would Shop filled up as it got closer to 2 AM and Beta and other clubs started to close.
Disclosure: I've known Tess for about five years now and consider him a friend, but I can say without bias that this was one of the best sets I've seen him play. Strong mixing and good track selection set things up very nicely for Dygas, who came on shortly after 3. Computer Tutor from 5270 ran psychedelic visuals from an iMac onto a display behind the DJ booth, adding a trippy, ocular element to the otherwise mostly unlit Would Shop.
Having heard a number of Margaret Dygas' cutting-edge, almost avant-garde minimal recorded sets, I wasn't really sure what to expect from her DJ performance. What I got was a solid, well-constructed set of choice German techno cuts. Dygas moved cleanly and decisively from one track to the next, smooth four-four beats layered with ethereal hints of melody, as one track effortlessly morphed into the next. The Would Shop crowd enjoys nothing more than sophisticated, well-produced techno, and they got a strong, two-hour dose of it from Dygas.