After parting the red velvet curtain of the Mad Bar's entrance and coming face to face with gold bust of a greek god wearing fuchsia disco shades and two go-go dancers in scantily-cut gold togas, I knew this night might be one of legendary proportions.
What a first impression! What aesthetics! The visuals on a floor-to-ceiling screen behind the decks were a perfect mix of contemporary graphics layered over live video of the dance floor and DJ. One could see every subtle move unlike a certain Saturday night event where one couldn’t even see the DJ...cough...Connected.
Although the main area was packed and offered limited dancing space, the upstairs, which also had large screen visuals, was open offering total freedom to bust out spins or just chill out and drink in the sights and spirits.
First up Red lion who warmed up the crowd with several ragga anthems, working more jazzy numbers into his set which inspired more careful listening and generous foot tapping than hectic jumpin, easing us into this odyssey.
Marcus intensified the pace with tracks rich in rolling bass lines and hectic beats, obviously building towards the featured performer who waited in the wings attentively watching his wikkid set.
After we gave Marcus a much deserved applause, Aphrodite switched places with his colleague and quickly got to work laying down an impressive sound mosaic of hip hop, gangster-rap, and even breaks samples. Throughout his set, Aphrodite dropped his own produced tracks including Bad Ass, Superman, Ready or Not, and the Herculean bass-line version of Original Nuttah that totally tore the roof off [Is this an exclusive dub plate? you can hear and see him drop this track first off in the archived live at Notting Hill set -
www.djaphrodite.com].
This Brit also bore gifts, and paused a few times during his two hour set to do battle with a hydra of hands snaking after his free promo records. Thanks to Aphrodite, this Jason of drumnbass complete with his permanent golden fleece, for showing us what it means to be a DJ who is globally admired and virtually invincible.
Of course, I can’t forget to mention Caddy-cad who was the soul MC in all three DJ sets. He entertained us with his freestyle flow while dancin in the crowd and giving shout-outs to other UK DJs: Kenny Ken and Jumpin Jack Frost, which only further reminded some of us about last night’s sell out, BUT it did prove that at least one Toronto promoter cares and is willing to sacrifice clams for creativity! And, had I not handed in my flyer to save $2 off an already reasonable $12 cover, I would be able to name and thank that person(s) for a epic evening.
headwinds.
