- L.A. welcomed the opening of Lounge One-Eleven with sets by DJ Nobody, Steve Spacek, and headliner James Lavelle (UNKLE.) Kick off night occurred at Frank Geary’s wildly futuristic Disney Hall, a melded titanium wave-like structure in the burgeoning downtown arts district. KCRW’s Jason Bentley hosted the night, and partners included the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association the Recording Academy/NARAS, and Disney Hall.
Lounge One-Eleven’s opening night could have boasted the crème de la crème of L.A.’s scene: and most of the who’s-who of electronica did show up. Unfortunately, however, the overall turnout was sparse and the club felt empty. By the time Lavelle came on, gun-slinging beats, the energy couldn’t sustain the space, no matter how sweet the sound. Such a shame, too, because it was an amazing location and Lavelle was superb; but there simply were not enough people there.
Resident Advisor arrived at 11pm, just missing DJ Nobody’s set. Steve Spacek’s outfit went on next. Visually and sonically, Spacek appears very cool, and his vocals are strong; but the acid-jazz element kept vaguely missing the mark. It’s as if he had good intentions, but the timing and the presentation just fizzled. By the time Spacek ended, the dancefloor had cleared and the crowd had dispersed onto the outdoor patio.
So, when James Lavelle (UNKLE) took the decks, we were all craving for a good tune. True to form, what began as a mediocre showing blasted with spirit and energy through the last hour and a half. Lavelle maneuvered waves of sound through ear-splitting rock ‘n’ roll, morphed with experimental techno. Under normal L.A. conditions, this sound wouldn’t fly at all, but Lavelle continued to engage us all, one hundred percent.
One of the often forgotten aspects of Lavelle’s genius is that he understands sound in a manner that is parallel, but nonetheless polar to regular human processes; the effect is indescribable. By mixing seemingly dissimilar wave forms through his head space - tweaking and re-checking the beats, back to zero and then zooming up to hundred, in two seconds flat, Lavelle manages to do the impossible. Imagine, for example, a Nirvana concert; and then, imagine a Future Sound of London concert. Blend and mix and grate those two together, and that was Lavelle’s opening set. He continued the night with highly concentrated doses of the same, but slathered in soulful melody and a killer beats, with a hearty influx of tracks from Never Never Land.
Lavelle’s set ended with fusions of In A State and Reign, which drew applause from the crowd and a heart-felt thank you from Jason Bentley. Final Comments? When Lounge One-Eleven can pack its space, L.A. will have its first superbly wicked downtown Friday night club. Until next time. This is Deana, signing off.
club: 6/10
DJ: 10/10