Happy tenth birthday Resident Advisor, the dance music website that covers the many aspects of dance music culture. To celebrate, Resident Advisor is throwing ten parties around the world called Resident Advisor X. The New York edition on 8.20.2011 was a massive disappointment. While I didn’t hate the party as much as some (the party is getting massacred in the RA Forum), the party had many problems that dampened the party; IMO, it was a mediocre party that could have been great if the organizers had their act together. The NYC lineup was DJ Masashi Nakazawa, King Sunshine, Peven Everett, and DJ Mala, a lineup put together by a mysterious “X” (I will reveal his identity shortly).
First the e-mail to ticket holders indicated that Masashi Nakazawa was opening at 8 and King Sunshine was starting at 9:30. Well I got there at around 9:15 and they were adjusting Masashi’s turntables. He was playing some nice spacey, jazzy stuff but between the unstable turntables that were constantly skipping and the shoddy sound system that had muffled basslines and distorted highs, it sounded terrible. It was an ominous sign for the night.
Masashi Nakazawa early in the night
The music was good for easing into the night but it was obvious he was having trouble with the equipment. With a decent sound system the music would have been perfect for that time of night but the system blunted the music. After one particular equipment hiccup we just shared a look with each other that said, “What can we do about it.” After about 30 minutes or so, X came out to help adjust the turntables.
X (Theo Parish) discussing the turntables with one of the Le Poisson Rouge staff
As you can see (or maybe not, crappy cell phone camera) X turned out to be Theo Parish. Theo then raised the turntables and adjusted them a bit but it only made things slightly better. Masashi played another record or two then Theo took over, starting with some Hip-Hop and Reggae into some Jazz and Afro Beat. Being early in the night he didn’t raise the tempo too much. A nice side of Theo that you don’t usually see since he’s usually playing during peak hour; that set lasted about 45 minutes.
X (Theo Parish) graces the decks with an early set.
Masashi went back on and Theo went backstage. As people were starting to come in Masashi was picking up the tempo and started getting into the groove. He started playing some Jazz Funk which segued into King Sunshine. However, you couldn’t hear what the lead singer was singing because the sound of her microphone was way too low. The guitarist was trying to introduce the band and you couldn’t hear the band. These types of sound problems should have been settled before the doors opened at 8 pm.
King Sunshine performs for your pleasure
King Sunshine was everything you could ask for in a band they played fun, Disco influenced music. It’s obvious the band was influenced by the Disco records of the past. I also loved that treated the genre without irony. To me the “cheekiness” is one of the things that are a turnoff about a lot of the nuDisco bands that have popped up in recent years. Fun, bouncy dance music is what King Sunshine stands for. As King Sunshine was finishing their set Peven Everett was standing on the side of stage. The guitarist announced Peven as a “special guest” as half the band left the stage for him. Peven and the rest of the band went into alternate rousing renditions of “Burning Hot” and “Stuck,” but after that was it.
And now…Peven Everett
I for one was disappointed that he sang only two songs. For a show that was marketed on the basis of a mysterious “X,” Peven Everett was a selling point of this event for some. While I did suspect that “X” would be from Detroit thus providing some incentive to purchase a ticket, if my guest wrong, then at least I would have seen a nice show by Peven Everett. While I did not expect Peven’s full show, I expected a 45-60 minute performance. My expectations of the night was an opening set by Masashi Nakazawa then King Sunshine then a DJ set by Mala then a 45-60 minute performance by Peven Everett (of course the order of these two is irrelevant) then “X.”
As far as marketing this show goes, Masashi Nakazawa is a total unknown entity, King Sunshine has a following based on their reputation and their recordings but they never played in NYC before, so the most well known acts, beside “X” whose was identity unknown until last night, are Mala and Peven Everett. However, Mala fans and Peven Everett fans in NYC are not one and the same for the most part. The whole “X” factor was a big blunder on Resident Advisor’s part. While they could market the party based on the idea of X and the “Resident Advisor” name in the European cities they have done party so far, that’s not the case in the United States. The Dance Music scene in NYC is very splintered in terms of genre with very little overlap between fans of one genre and fans of another. The people who go to Peven Everett concerts at S.O.B.’s are not the people who go to Dubwar parties to hear Dubstep. Heck, even without revealing “X” to the public, the promoters should have realized that the people who come out for Theo Parish are not the same who would come for Mala, although to be fair there is much more overlap between Theo Parish and Mala fans than Mala and Peven Everett fans. Also while Peven Everett’s music should have an appeal to those who listens Theo Parish, Peven’s concerts are not marketed to the same people who go to the parties that bring Theo to play. That’s something that should have taken into consideration if Resident Advisor did their homework on the NYC market.
Crowd shot during the peak of the night.
Back to the party, Mala went on after Peven finished. He put on a Reggae record and the sound stopped coming out of the speakers after awhile. Since there were two DJ setups on the stage – one stage right for Theo and Masashi, and one stage left for Mala – he went to the other set of decks. When the needles started skipping on that one he went back to his original decks. While he was changing decks the audience followed him from one side to the other in a funny moment. Really, is what Dance Music DJs do really that interesting visually? It did not make much of a difference as far as sound goes which side he was on as far as which side the music was emanating from (although it may make a difference in other aspects but the music did not sound any crisper on either the right or left sides). It’s not a freaking concert (okay it was but still…). From his Reggae beginning he immediately segued into Dubstep. It was okay for what it was and I heard worse Dubstep sets but I am not a big fan of the genre. I was just never into aggressive bass-heavy music (although I am into some types of Techno); I mean I’m probably the most Hip-Hop illiterate person I know. Once he started with the Dubstep the crowd started pogoing, jumping up and down while waving their hands. To me that’s not dancing but that’s just me. Besides my knees are so bad that I probably would be laid up for a few days if I pogoed for too long, besides, that dance floor was hard and had no give whatsoever. I actually used this set as an opportunity to step out and grab a pizza (at least Le Poisson Rouge allowed reentry).
Mala hypnotizing the crowd
Of course once Mala finished his set, it was time for Theo Parish to formally make his appearance. He started spinning and once again the turntable needles started skipping and the sound started dropping out. He had to switch to Mala’s turntables at one point (this time the crowd did not ping pong with him). At this point it was 2:00 AM and the problems that have been plaguing this event since at least 9:00 PM were still occurring, something should have been done during that time, especially since the turntables were not in constant use during all that time. I personally enjoyed the Jazz-Funk Theo started his set with after Mala’s set but it was a strange fit after the preceding Dubstep set. That coupled with the equipment problems did put a damper into the proceedings. Things were a bit rough in the beginning but I liked Theo’s progression into more House-oriented sounds. At one point he mixed a record from Mala’s turntables to his. That actually came off better than expected. Theo started getting into more Techno territory when he dropped his own “Synthetic Flemm.” From that record to his last few he started getting a nice zone.
Theo Parish on the decks for real
After a few more records, Theo handed the decks back to Masashi Nakazawa. At this point the crowd was thinning out; no doubt disappointed by the night in general punctuated by Theo’s seemingly short set, even though many did not realize that he played for a short time earlier in the night. Masashi continued along the lines of what Theo was playing earlier. The transition was so seamless I did not realize that the DJ changed until I looked up. He played a more “Deep House/Techno” set than earlier. Some nice selections but the equipment was still giving him a hard time. At this point my knees were hurting. The main room of Le Poisson Rouge has a concrete floor covered by a wooden (I think) surface which enable the crowd to dance but that surface got real sticky by the end of the night. Between the stickiness and the lack of give, it was difficult to dance. The last 15 minutes or so I just gave up dancing and just sat down and appreciated the music. I feel bad for Masashi Nakazawa because his sets were plagued by equipment problems which gave off the wrong impression of his abilities to the crowd. He was a total unknown to probably 99% of the crowd and to many in the NYC Dance Music community a DJ must mix flawlessly and play sounds that they at least recognize. The equipment hampered his ability to mix, the language barrier made it difficult for him to communicate his difficulties with that equipment, and he was playing records that were more leftfield than most of the crowd was used to hearing at a Dance Music party. Personally I would love to hear him again in an environment where the equipment was actually working properly because despite the equipment problems he played music that I would dance to. Unfortunately, I do think many in the crowd won’t be as forgiving and recognize the circumstance he had to deal with since he’s an unknown entity that does not have a hot record out.
Full circle
The problems with the New York edition of Resident Advisor X could be summed up to a lack of understanding of the NYC Dance Music market. Between the lineup (which was a good lineup but not what most were expecting), the choice of venue, the promotion of the event not reflecting the lineup, and the equipment problems plaguing the show, the party did not come off well. Resident Advisor X should have been a night to remember unfortunately it was for all the wrong reasons. I don’t think this was the worst event I’ve been to this summer but it certainly was the most disappointing. The next time Resident Advisor decide to do a party in NYC they should at minimum they should do their homework and maybe partner up with established NYC party promoters (there are some pros and cons but that’s a different subject altogether).
