PARTY I
THE TOURISTS
0100
“LOUIE VEGA COME ON!” Yells an overzealous Vega fan holding a vinyl record.
“LOUIE. I WANNA HEAR SOME OF THAT HAL-LE-LUJIAH!” He sings.
“LOUIE PLAY THAT BLACK MUSIC.” He continues. “Then watch all these kids leave the room.”
No one expects Oscar P & C Scott’s “The Message” to jumpstart the musical journey. The Philly NYC Tribute Mix garners no overwhelming response from the mass of congregants. Instead, their low rumble. When piano keys burst vibrantly recalling Lil Louis’ “Fable.” Yes!!! The Director’s Cut comes alive. Just when you think Vega will ride the wave and play the late Frankie Knuckles and Eric Kupper remix in full, nope, he swoops into Norman Harris’ “In Search of Peace of Mind.” Bummer. The music further descents into Sir Soundbender’s “We Did It” (MS III Full Vokal ReTouch). Finally. The sound of faint cheers erupts when Chicago’s “Street Player” plays. The Souldynamic Brass Re-edit hits hard, all to be abandoned for THP Orchestra’s “Two Hot For Love (Pete Waterman 12” Edit). The time comes for a bathroom break.
Louie playing disco & boogie for forty-five minutes does not clear the floor. Damn. The people continue to be on their feet as though this is a standing room concert. Their eyes staring towards the elevated DJ platform. Where Louie Vega plays surrounded by three youngsters smiling, head nodding and one lady waving her arms in the air. As if Vega is being paid to personally entertain them. People, this is a night club, you are to participate. Dance. Scream. Clap your hands. Unlike, those on the floor, gathered in huddles holding conversations. Others holding phones in hand. One group of boys buying, Bitcoins? Rejoicing to their spoil, and not to the playing of the Tramps’ “Disco Inferno.” These kids are not appreciating the experience. Instead, they are cultivating their own fuck-it show.
And how did we get here?
2330
Hours earlier, on a night when condensation blows from the mouth when speaking outdoors. At the front door of a building that houses a bookstore, patrons await to enter the warmth. “We only want to go to a bar,” says a woman with blonde hair to her group of friends. They are turned away at the front entrance because the event is SOLD OUT.
Uh oh. “Sold out” is great for the headlining DJ, but “sold out” spells R-E-D F-L-A-G for true fans who come to experience the headlining DJ.
Welcome to the gentriFUCKation of dance floors in Washington D.C. Alas, in urban cities everywhere. Gone are the purists, traded for the tourists. They wait for the beat to drop. Or they hold gun fingers into the air as if they give fucks. Or they head nod with closed eyes. And to recall, recently an online site asked, “Why Did House Dancing Leave the Club?”
CLEAR THE FLOOR
0145
Meanwhile, back on the second floor in the club room the music pivots. Deep house thumps thunders into the atmosphere. A dark number with spatial chords rips the room apart. A big vocal builds and climaxes mid-song. London Grammar’s “Hey Now” (Nooma’s Touch), AKA Manoo, is pure adrenaline at 123 beats per minute. Louie Vega playing Afro house can’t clear the room.
“C’mon. If you know He brought the sunshine, you know what I’m talking about.” A women’s voice declares. The Clark Sisters’ “You Bought the Sunshine” (DJ Spen Edit) lights the room. Sadly, Louie Vega playing gospel music can’t clear the dance floor.
Inside all the congestion, there are not many LV fans who are in the know. Perhaps the tall guy walking by wearing a MAW shirt knows. The screaming guy holding vinyl surely knows. And of course, one dancer shouting and hollering on a platform knows the time.
Dancing as Vega plays “Another Day In My Life,” his (LV Re-Touch) of Charles Johnson’s “Never Had A Love So Good,” is a honor. After years of listening to the tune streaming on recorded mixes online, to dance live to the disco loop is rewarding. However, most of the crowd will never know.
Next comes an excitement of vocals and soul; Louie Vega featuring his son Nico Vega’s “How He Works” (Nico Funk Dub 2) equipped with that machine gun EFX, Rosalía featuring J. Balvin’s “Con Altura” (Catz ‘n Dogz Edit) is fun as Louie Vega & The Martinez Brothers featuring Marc E. Bassy’s “Let It Go” is pure house funk.
Best of luck trying to find prime real estate to move about. Simply put, there is nowhere to safely dance. Not in front of the DJ booth. Forget about anywhere on the dance floor. View the left and right platforms that are packed tight with bodies of every shape and size. Congregants stand and dance on couches. Even the rear room is packed. Patrons standing in lines for libations. Others standing in line to piss in stalls behind a plank wall. What if there is an emergency? Such as the incident that closed “The World’s Busiest Airport” earlier that day. Also, as Omicron cometh, some individuals feel uncomfortable being poked and prodded by strangers passing by. Thus begins the nightmare.
First. The crowd is rude AF. These kids have no respect for personal space or persons. They stand in the way. Doing nothing. Not even dancing. Or trying to dance. Kids. Put down your phones and stop recording. There is no excuse me(s). There is no pardon me(s). There are no apologies from the people squeezing their way through the throng. Instead, out comes their elbows. Their knocking people in the ribs. Their elbows bruising shoulders. Their body weight pushing people to the side. Why are these barbaric savages aggressively pushing their way towards the DJ stage? There is no room up there. People. This ain’t no freaking mush pit. Oh, and these kids have options. They refuse to leave to go upstairs to the green room to hear the other headlining DJ play. An artist more suited to their paltry tastes. Instead, they stand staring at the stage. For hours. Why? They know not the artist playing. They know not the music playing. They can care less. They are posers. Posers who paid tier three tickets to attend the event. And posers do nothing to contribute to the culture. Instead, they suck the soul out of everything they colonize, look no further than outdoors on Florida Avenue. Where, a few hours later, these privilege kids will awaken in their plush flats, wasted, and induced in an all-Sunday hangover.
Meantime, Vega’s playlist harkens back to the glory days. When people actually danced. Before these kids were born. When Harry Romero’s “Hot Music,” Adonis’ “No Way Back” (Vocal), Marshall Jefferson’s “Move Your Body (House Music Anthem),” and Those Guys featuring Eleanor Mills’ “Tonite” (Original Colored Girls Mix) that has the record vinyl holder guy giving hearty hugs, to a sample of Loleatta Holloway’s “Love Sensation”-ruled the underground. There Louie rebounds. Dropping a solid thirty minutes of knock em’ out heavy hitters. Sadly, that fails to clear the room.
wrds: aj dance
grphc: aj art
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Tags: #dancefloormagic #housemusicexcellence, afro house music, dance, dance music, deep house music, disco music, flash dc club, Gospel House, house music, Lil' Louie Vega, Louie Vega, masters at work, nuyorican soul, soulful house music, vega recordings, Washington D.C.