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Music

Vibes

Rating: NNNNN


Muted tones at Blu

A few months back the Promise and Fukhouse crews accidentally threw a party together as a result of a double booking.

That party was such a success that they decided to collaborate on purpose for an event last Friday at Blu (formerly Kashmere).

They decorated the club nicely with a huge parachute hanging from the disco ball, as well as multiple slide and film projections across the curved ceiling.

Unfortunately, the design of the club makes it vulnerable to noise complaints from the neighbouring condos, an issue that will probably continue until the venue builds a wall in front of the plate glass windows.

Toronto expat Mike Shannon (currently living in Montreal), was just getting warmed up when he was told he would have to turn it down a few notches to satisfy the visiting police officers.

He managed to recover from the interruption and get the floor moving again. But if his relatively moderate volume level was a problem for the neighbours, the club is going to have to make some serious changes in order to continue functioning as a venue for dance music.

Shannon’s funky take on glitch techno and micro house could be described as tech-house, but that initially promising term has come to stand for a depressingly conservative genre that has little to do with his style of mixing.

Very nice to see Akufen-style slice-and-dice techno rocking a dance floor — it’s not often enough that you hear smart experimental music work well in a context like this.

Eric Downer was the star of the backroom, dexterously cutting up everything from funky disco house to pumping techno as well as a bit of 80s nostalgia.

Raising the Bar Raising the Bar

Jai Bar recently underwent a change of management — seems that the now-defunct Montreal institution of the same name has become more involved in the day-to-day operations of the Toronto franchise.

Giving Toronto house legends Peter and Tyrone the Friday-night residency is a step in the right direction.

The crowd last week was noticeably weighted toward the female sex, making it one of the only entertainment-district venues that doesn’t feel like a sausage party.

Steve Yanko and Mike Sitchon were the guests, a local team whose names on a flyer are starting to become a sure-fire sign of good, wholesome house music. If you haven’t heard them spin yet and you’re into house, shame on you.

Chicks Spin It Chicks Spin It

Monday isn’t usually a very busy night in the clubs — most don’t even bother opening. But for those who are looking for something to brighten up the beginning of their week, the Chicks Dig It night at the Apothecary fills the gap nicely.

Although organising a night around female DJs seems arbitrary, the lack of a genre focus is refreshing.

An unusually high number of DJs join the crowd, and their appreciation of the guest turntablists nicely dispels the myth of technically unskilled female mixers. Spotted last week were Movement’s John Kong and DeeJay Nav, Expansions’ Kola, Dub Rocket and Gerald (aka Matrix).

The guests were Rosina and Stash of PTR recordings, who served up a nice mix of electro, minimal techno and deep house, among other genres.

You can’t lose with a pay-what-you-can cover.

benjaminb@nowtoronto.com

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