CHEZ DAMIER
The storm promised to dampen the night’s festivities. Outdoors in the windy air lightning flashed and thunder boomed as a deluge fell from the sky. In the distance, several tornado sirens marked by repeated calls for shelter sounded throughout the metropolitan area. This deadly weather was highly unusual for a night out on the town. Or was it? After all, it was the month of April.
Despite the obvious, the show was scheduled to go on in the mid-size restaurant lounge/make-shift club located in the building marked by a painted mural of the late great civil right’s activist, Dr. Martin Luther King seen on the establishment’s outside wall adjacent a miniscule parking lot. The reason for this event, the night’s headliner Chicago native/Detroit adopted Chez Damier of Detroit Techno fame was in the house. Local legend Kai Alce, Chez’s former mentee warmed the brick and mortar space with smooth sounds of sexy saxophones, sensual beats and exotic chords. This was comfort music. The kind of music that kept you dry on a rainy spring night and warm on a cool spring night. The kind of music that accompanied a hot cup of tomato bisque. The kind of music that filled the restaurant with trendy hipsters yelping back and forth over small plates of tapas.
By the stroke of midnight the quaint venue lay claimed to be pack with people. No storm could discourage those from seeking a musical adventuresome night out on the time from attending. From left to right sexy bodies grinded to subtle beats as kisses were exchanged between strangers. It’s this unusual synergy that begs, is this a sit down restaurant or a dry humping niteclub? Only the owners of the hotspot scurrying back and forth with empty cocktail glasses in hand could answer the question. Everyone else was left to ponder should I stand up or should I sit down.
Finally, a 6 feet “6” 260 pound bouncer helped to move three rectangular tables out of the way to make extra dance space. Immediately, hard core dancers secured the prime real estate to show off fancy footwork and spacey spins.
Back behind the musical decks, Kai Alce seemed stuck somewhere between neo-soul house and soulful broken beats. Sultry female vocals wrapped around instrumentals sung, “That’s How Much I Love You” which met the crowd’s curious approval. However, the night’s stand out so far, Makam’s, “You Might Lose It” (Kerri Chandler’s Deep Mix) readied the crowd for Chez’s arrival. Taking a much needed cue from 1990’s house music peak, the tune made the feet dance with joy next to three JBL’s positioned throughout the room. If this was any indication of what to expect for the rest of the night then the people were in for a treat.
To say Chez’s set was nothing less than dynamite would do no justice. The Chicago DJ/producer led the crowd into classic house music territory of old-skool mid-west sound straight from the source itself Chicago. The first track played, shook the room with heavy four-counts that were heard down the street at the bustling intersection of Edgewood and Boulevard. Staccato jabs of synths ripped through the air to make fists violently pump with joy. Even the sound system with its precision clear crisp sound enhanced the acoustics that allowed for audio pleasure.
Song highlights included Whitney Houston’s 1988 Top 10 hit, “Love Will Save The Day” a classic white label remix played at NYC’s famed Sound Factory back in the mid-1990’s. Also, in the mix an afro-beat thumper that kicked the crowd into the African jungles dancing in dashikis and loin clothes. The deep penetration readied the crowd for what followed, French house DJ/producer Yass,’ “He Reigns” the 2007 gospel anthem with throat deep tenor vocals by Leslie O’ Smith. Another surprise in the well executed/well-rounded thought out classic house set came from Chicago’s Lil Louis, “Club Lonely” a four count straight up banging dub that blew the roof off the hinges. The classic house heads exploded with bliss as the beat disappeared in favor for “The No Name On The Guest List” conversation during the song’s mid-section climax.
After the righteous set, hometown hero Kai Alce closed the night out with Jazmina’s cover of, “Let The Rain Come Down” the sample heavy tune mixed with Frankie Knuckle’s, “Tears” aided by Robert Owens blissful vocals. The song(s) kept the hard core’s dancing and singing until the final note played. WOW! What a night.
On a side note, a must for any public venue is to have adequate comfortable room temperatures that allow your clientele to breathe easy without sweating buckets of water just by standing in the room. Please, do not burn your customers with unventilated hot air especially if they are dancing. Proper air ventilation and a working air conditioner are needed at a dance party. It’s only the month of the Aries and folks were sweating like it’s the dog days of summer. Enough already.
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Tags: Atlanta Georgia, Chez Damier, deep house music, house music, Kai Alce