Boston to NYC to Burlington and Back (originally published 1.14.06)

I took advantage of the long weekend and scheduled a couple of shows for January 14th and 15th.

I left Boston at 2 p.m. on Saturday, and few down to NYC to hang out with my boy Amos and drop some records at the Café Deville. I arrived in Manhattan around 4 p.m., dropped my bags (amid a bunch of people still sleeping off their Friday night hangovers) and headed out in the rain to do some shopping.

I stopped into Vinyl Market (241 E 10th St.) to see my friend Kazu. Kazu is a really great guy that is one of the best techno DJs in NYC and a really passionate supporter of the scene. His shop is one of the last vinyl shops in NYC, and is dedicated in large part to techno and minimal tech house. He always has great stuff and is fun to talk to. We had a couple of cans of Sapporo and talked for nearly 2 hours. I then headed off to grab a few beers and watch the beginning of the Pats/ Denver game. Unfortunately, I had to leave to get ready for dinner…but as it turns out, it was a depressing finish, so glad I missed it.

Ended up on lower west side at a place called Miracle Grill and had an enjoyable dinner with several great friends. Amos, Rich Foster and Brianna, Jim Tremayne (my editor from DJ Times) and Emily Tan, another great writer for the magazine. Left there and headed to Café Deville to meet Gok and get after it.

Café Deville is a really small spot in the basement, but the energy and vibe is present everywhere. A decent little sound system and a room of people up for a good time can turn any room into a party, and that is exactly what happened here. Mike Bryant was on when I walked in and was playing some really funky, bubbling tech house and minimal that had the place bouncing.

I jumped on at 2 and dropped a filthy, gritty, electro flavored set that bordered on techno in many places. The crowd was really receptive and everyone had a great time. The drinks were flowing and at 4:30, I got off and we made our exit. A heavy snow was falling on the city, so we jumped in a cab and headed to Happy Valley for after-hours. We partied there for about 3 more hours and I got to drop a few tunes there as well.

On the way back to Amos’ place with about 15 people, we were actually able to order a case of beer for delivery (at 8:30 on a Sunday morning….gotta love New York.) I decided to just stay away and caught a cab to LaGuardia around 9:15. Flying with ZERO sleep isn’t fun, and when I got to VT…I was beat to say the least.

Got picked up at the airport by my great friend Jon and went to his place to chill. Instead of going out, he decided to cook me dinner and pulled out all the stops. Shrimp, stuffed mushrooms, home made sauce with spaghetti and meatballs, sausage and all the trimmings. Got a bit of sleep and headed down to Metronome for Sunday Night Mass.

Easily my favorite smaller club, Metronome is nothing special to look at…but the vibe in there is unmatched. Justin and Ben from Nexus Artist Management have being doing this weekly for SEVEN YEARS and I am happy to say it is still going STRONG.

Great turnout and by 12:30 the place was juiced and the dance floor was rocking. I mixed through some funky stuff early, but by 1 it was straight on techno…with the crowd just eating it up. I dropped my remix of “Necessary Evil”, and the place lost its shit. Lots of smiling faces and a great way to wrap up a LONG weekend.

Thanks again to all my friends in NYC and VT for their hospitality and support and hope to see you all again soon.