- Roy Davis, Jr.'s new album, God Life Music, put him back on the minds of Chi-town house lovers again. This month, he paid his first visit ever to North Carolina in a venue more accustomed to weekly casual dance parties than a former member of acid icons Phuture. He turned a few new heads on, while those old fans stared, dumbfounded, that the sunglass-sporting Davis was working the desk right in front of them. (It didn't hurt that an enthused cluster of body-rocking floor dancers, largely uncommon in this area's clubs, showed up.)
When Sound Cartel's Marshall Jones warmed up, the vibe settled into a bassline-rich comfort zone, emphasized by the club's environs. Ubiquitous green and red laser beams polka-dotted the dancers gyrating among Talulla's paper lamps, earthen-toned tapestries and large wall hangings. There's an evident excitement level from the circle of folks with Sound Cartel, the Durham, North Carolina DJ troupe and everybody else gravitating towards an exceptional night of house music.
Davis, Jr. comes from the mold of his models, like Lil' Louis, where the ecstatic mix of diverse styles is the key to good-time music. And with new tracks of his own in tow, he approached his set with this optimistic attitude. "Hope everyone's having a good time," he said. "It's kind of a small crowd, but we're gonna get down." Off we went into a bass-heavy, high-tempo and tweaked-out batch of house with lots of effects. By the time that "What Cha Gonna Do?," from his new record came on, it was clear that the room was under the spell of a master mixer.
Tastes of tracks flickered in and out. Cerrone intermingled with modern house cuts. The dancers got serious. A circle formed: bodies bounced off the floor in breaking spins and soulful solo footwork. It was a unifying moment for the crowd, in sync with Davis, Jr.'s rippling set. He cranked it through until finishing with another of his own new productions, "Hold U." Glancing around the room, Davis, Jr. emphatically expressed the mutual good feelings of his appearance in new territory. "Hope everybody had a good time. I will be back, I will be back. Love. Respect."