Ever get the feeling that you’re living in a time warp? Between disingenuous campaign ads and the incessant “back to school” mating calls of thrifty-minded soccer moms, it seems like summer’s going all too soon. If you don’t have time to run frantically into the woods and leave the city folk behind, going to the other extreme is probably your best bet. With lots of randomly fun club nights and smaller, established weeklies, there’s still plenty to do before coat-check season. And this is an especially good week to go manic.
Wednesday’s a great night to meet up with friends, chat and get really stinking boozed. Deep Heat at the Lager House is a relaxed mixture of the old school and the new. With the back porch open for the summer and the Motown-centric sounds of residents T. Linder and Waxmaster D. Smooth (and, yes, he sounds like you’d imagine), Deep Heat is the “Beat it” video come to life — without the gang-war thing. Some of Detroit’s best breakdancers and pool sharks swear by it. This week’s special guest is Chicago house legend Boo Williams.
Bump at Foran’s Irish Pub is usually pretty packed. With Foran’s lanky design and tasteful beats, the night is aptly named. Resident Steve McQueen holds forth, sharing the decks with touring talents and local faves. Tonight finds Toronto’s Kenny Glasgow in the mix in what should be a departure from his usual pounding techno selection. The atmosphere of Foran’s seems to have DJs digging deeper into their crates to match the bar’s conversational vibe.
Thursdays are picking up as well. Detroit’s first hard techno weekly since the Fridays of Motor’s heyday is happening at the Works. Hosted by D Records artist Tom Newman (aka Poker, Acid Pimp), Friction is for those who use a Roland TR-909 as an alarm clock. Equal parts hard-as-nails and liquid-smooth, artists such as Rex Sepulveda and CFX test the limits of the house speakers. Video mixing by Satan Techno’s Kero is also a refreshing break from the idiotic, raved-out visuals that are a staple at most clubs.
Riding the coattails of the hugely successful Touch Thursdays, The Necto in Ann Arbor has continued the theme into the summer with its new weekly electronic night, Lust. Although it’s R.I.P. for the notorious “glass room,” Derrick Carter, Magda, the aforementioned Kenny Glasgow and others have recently graced the decks at Lust. Bringing the beats this week is the man responsible for the “mushroom jazz” phenomenon. Mark Farina, a Chicago native and San Francisco smooth-house innovator, will make a rare metro area appearance. Farina’s work, although on the lighter side, doesn’t (usually) leave the gross saccharin aftertaste that many Bay Area DJs insist on.
This Friday is a robo-fetishist’s wet dream come true. Tainted computer love is in the air at Ersatz Audio’s “Misery Loves Company” event at detroit contemporary. Toronto’s electro heavyweights Solvent and Lowfish will be performing their first show ever in the United States. Having recently been featured on Ghostly International’s acclaimed Tangent 2002: Disco Nouveau compilation, Solvent and Lowfish make austere sounds seem larger than life. Ersatz guru and Adult.’s male android, Adam Lee Miller, will perform a rare DJ set alongside Chris McCullen. Tamion 12 Inch and Goudron will also be on hand to shed some light on the underlying talent of the Ersatz roster.
Motor is finishing its run on a high note with nights like this Friday, which features the strong split bill of The Kooky Scientist and T-1000. The lounge will be a showcase for Nefarious.net DJs Justin Howse, Zuperman and Ryski. Meanwhile, the study brings back former residents Liz Copeland and Clark Warner, making the spacious seem intimate and vice versa.
Fridays and Saturdays at the Blue Room in Pontiac are spreading some soul to the often vapid bar town thanks to Matrix Records’ Sean Deason. Friday’s Matrix event showcases some of Detroit Techno’s finest. This week, it’s DJ Shortround and Deason himself crossing the techno-house bridge to move that booty. Saturday, a deep house night, is a reggie double-header with Dokes and Curry in the booth.
Saturday’s Sound Surroundings at the Buddha Lounge is the way to unwind after Friday’s madness. Michael Geiger hosts this weekly event, often sharing the honor with Mike Huckaby. Solid house music, abstract techno and cerebral funk in a red velvet setting make for good conversation and even better lounging. This week feature’s Ann Arbor’s ever-brilliant Carlos Souffront.
Unfortunately, Global Mondays at the Works have landed ahead of schedule. This week’s episode, featuring a four-hour Final Scratch tag team set between Kevin Saunderson and John Acquaviva will be the last weekly event. But keep an eye out for random Global happenings in the months ahead.
Once upon a time, Detroit’s beat addicts constantly bemoaned that there was nothing to do. These days, the big complaint is that they can’t afford another shot after last night’s debauchery. I’d say that’s an improvement.
E-mail Robert Gorell at [email protected]
