- "Have you been to The Midway? What's it like?" In the lead-up to Voices From The Lake's extended live set for As You Like It on Saturday night, most people seemed more concerned with the venue than the music. For the veteran party series—which has never called any one single room home—the event was a trial run of sorts. Promoter Jeremy Bispo told me he hoped it could be a new regular spot, and that he had ambitious plans for outdoor parties in the warehouse's sizeable patio.
So what was the big deal about The Midway? For one, it's a long way out. We're not talking Oakland, but the venue sat on a desolate stretch of Marin Street by the water, due south of the Dogpatch. San Francisco is the rare North American city with a healthy number of legitimate nightclubs, so for most people I talked to, the trek to The Midway was, well, a trek. The venue is a warehouse turned arts complex, with two main spaces. As You Like It took place in the side room, which could comfortably fit a few hundred people.
Saturday evening's event was a collaboration with New York's The Bunker, and the programming was as smart and sleek as you'd expect. Founder Bryan Kasenic opened with a three-hour set that went unexpectedly hard once he found his groove—he played well, but his full-bore assault made 11:30 PM feel like 2:30 AM. Local producer and As You Like It resident Christina Chatfield followed with a tough but dynamic live set that nicely bridged Kasenic and Voices From The Lake.
Donato Dozzy and Neel started at 1 AM and wasted no time diving into their most straightforward material. The Italian duo are masters of the extended groove, balancing moods and motifs like tightrope walkers and dipping deep into swampy atmospherics. But for the whole three hours they played full-tilt, showing their more aggressive side. It was good, and the crowd enjoyed it, but by 3:30 AM—30 mins before the end of the party—Voices From The Lake were still thrashing it out. As excellent as they were, I couldn't help but wish that they'd taken a breath and indulged their more ethereal side.
The dance floor felt cosy and full, even after the standard liquor cutoff at 2 AM (a death knell for many clubs). The crowd was a nice mix of younger dancers and older clubbers dressed in semi-formal wear, who, despite their differences, all seemed into the music. The space itself, though, wasn't all that remarkable. The Midway, especially with its big outdoor area, has real potential, but it'll need some fine-tuning before San Francisco clubbers consider making the trip to the Dogpatch part of their weekend routine.