Lawler is sick. I don't know what convinced me that I should spend $20 on an event, but I did and I don't regret it at all.
I had heard him two years ago in Miami at the WMC and he bored the pants off of me. I think he was still searching for his sound then, but now it seems as though he's found his niche and found it well!
My ONLY complaint is that he played the first 40 minutes of his Essential Mix from last weekend to us (from Passion in Coalville, UK that was broadcast on BBC Radio One)... Of course he mixed it all and that, but all of the tunes were in the exact same order from his EM! That said, I still wouldn't have complained if he had played the exact same set because his Essential Mix was a blinder. His set here was much more of the same in terms of quality.
After about an hour in, he stepped out of the tribal funk tech stuff that had everyone moving and cranked it up a gear. From there on in it rose up and soared. He didn't let me down with one single tune.
He dropped the new Fluid tune (Tatoonie - 'Drums' as he was kind enough to show me the vinyl) and I think it was the tune of the night. People went fucking apeshit and started to bounce off the walls, all while people's ability to speak became useless because of the sheer awe they were in as dribble spewed out of their mouths. He turned the crowd into mush, pureed (sp?) them, and then baked them into a cake. It was something to hear and see.
I can't say how privaledged I feel going to this event in such a wicked and intimate venue like Element.
I hope they choose it again. I gather Steve really enjoyed himself and thought the crowd was the mutts nuts - to which I'd have to agree.
I fucking love Element. They could play Britney there and I think the crowd would still make it good. Vibe seems to be part of the door price... Maybe that's what I paid $20 for!
I can't wait for two months from now. Bring on Lawler!
Kudos to Matt Coleridge for getting things warmed up nice and chunky. You did a great job Matt!
Cheers,
Jay K.