all supreme photos: Josh Sisk
see full flickr sets: here and here
Partying in Baltimore is like partying in an alternate DC universe: people dress slightly differently, dance slightly differently and look strange, but are still on the same page somehow. It’s a mix between ex raver, meth addict and stripper.
Just Kidding!
I love Baltimore and that’s why I specifically chose to see Justice at Sonar and not at the 930 Club.
I arrived half way into DJ Mehdi’s set and was greeted by one of my all time favourite jams. That’s Right: Ass n’ Titties by DJ Assault. This pretty much set the tone for the whole evening: straight up ridiculous fun.
Sonar is a perfect place for a mega dance party like this because there is ample space, it doesn’t get too hot and the lights are like crazy laser beams. Mehdi properly pumped us up for the fete de la nuit ,Joooosteece, as I like to call them.
Cigarettes in hand and leather jackets in full effect, Justice took the stage and delivered a glorious one hour set, that left us all aching for more. Really, it seemed like it was the shortest concert ever! What with the constant epic build ups and massive break downs, the energy level was at such a fever pitch for the whole hour and it flashed by just like that. The crowd went freaking wild and did not stop dancing. And by dancing I mean dance MOVES and sexy grinding. It was intense.
Although we were all sad to see them go, they left on a crazy high note. Everyone was in such a frenzy that ending the party at midnight seemed really stupid.
So why not head on over to the TaxLo after party? Scottie B was on deck and helping young Baltimoreans grind all up on each other.
Gaspard Auge of Justice and DJ Mehdi decided to join the party too and emerged from the shadows around 12:30.
They sheepishly stood in the crowd while scantly clad girls surrounded and petted them.
They looked slightly embarrassed, amused and confused.
I thought this was my chance to say “ hey Justice guy, can I be your groupie/dancer/girlfriend?”
But instead I just told him they put on a great show.
It was hard navigating to his earlobe as his unruly hair went into my eyeball and mouth.
I am not really sure he heard me but he gave me a thumbs up and smiled.
Good job Bmore; Look forward to Wednesday DC!
Previously in Live DC:
- 2/9: LiveDC: Theophilus London @ 930 Club
- 2/9: Best Weekend Bets
- 2/8: LiveDC: Kathleen Edwards @ 930 Club
- 2/8: LiveDC: Thurston Moore/ Kurt Vile @ Black Cat
- 2/8: LiveDC: Thurston Moore/ Kurt Vile @ Black Cat
- 2/7: LiveDC: Demetri Martin @ Warner Theatre
- 2/7: LiveDC: Augustana/ Graffiti6 @ 930 Club
- 2/6: LiveDC: All Things Go Presents: Reptar/ Casual Curious/ Fort Lean @ Gibson Guitar Showroom
- 2/6: LiveDC: TYCHO/ Beacon @ RNR Hotel
- 2/6: LiveDC: The Kills / Jeff The Brotherhood @ 9:30 Club
God loves a cheerful giver.
...I feel like I should make some snide remark about the kid wearing the Daft Punk t-shirt to the Justice show but what's there to say? Kid's having fun, 's all that matters.
Also, you may have been kidding with the ex raver, meth addict, stripper thing but...well, y'know...we know it's the truth!
night was crazy. sonar's new lighting and sound definitely helped elevate the show. we got 2 reviews up at www.auralstates.com
And that's why Baltimore is a lot cooler than D.C.
It was i-n-s-a-n-e! I expected a great show but I was totally blown away. The crowd was awesome. It was like 1993 all-over again (just without the drugs and better outfits). The only reason why I am not trying madly to get a ticket for the DC show is that I don't think the show in Baltimore could be topped. Anyways, if DC will only be half that wild, you guys have a lot to look forward to.
Thanks Baltimore! I love you.
Wait, so it was a couple of DJs and people were standing against the barricade? What were they watching?
Looks like Michael hasn't read Shelby's article up the page a little. They're watching the ART man don't you get it? ART!
I dunno I love good DJs and I'm all about dancing so good on yah if you like going out and doing it, but you can't tell me it's on the same level of performance as a really wild rock and roll band, or a rapper for that matter.
But yeah, looks fun. DC is better at lots of things, but Bmore is still the club capitol of the world. Big Ups.
"C'mon hoes let's go to the easy rest!"
Justice weren't DJing, they were playing synthesizers, etc. Mehdi DJed before they came on stage.
And that’s why Baltimore is a lot cooler than D.C.
That is, of course, if you're willing to overlook the city's high murder rate and high level of poverty. Other than that, yeah Baltimore is SO much cooler...
(pssst there's a reason The Wire was so good, it had some very legitimate source material to draw from.)
Both DC and Baltimore are top 5 murder rate cities as of 2006, so that's something you have to ignore in both places...
Josh - ok, but from the looks of the set (I wasn't there) it's not like you could see them playing synthesizers and stuff.
I've been to a LOT of electronic music shows - from Front 242 to Nitzer Ebb, to VNV Nation and so on and so forth and I've never experienced people standing on barricades. I've been to my share of Raves (I did grow up in the 1990s) from field raves to warehouse shows, and the same: never saw kids lined up watching the barricades.
Where I'm from people went to these types of shows to dance, not wave at some guy punching buttons or switching vinyl.
Just sayin'.
Of course when I went out in my much younger years, even the chilluns (17, 18 19 year olds) didn't stand in circles and bounce around oblivious to the beat of the music like the kids do now.
Bmore is way more fun to see the average dj type show. I caught MIA there and was blown away by the differences. She was more energized there than when I saw her in NYC a few weeks before. So we went to B'More to see Justice also and as my buddy who lived there for years said, it's just more Legit. You won't find the boring, K St-heavy crowd you get at the 9:30. Think less button down shirts with North Face windbreakers and more neon colors and crazy sunglasses indoors. And if you feel like hitting a cool dive bar, go by the Charles. Baltimore is the city I wish DC was. And it's probably the city DC was back in the day before all the suburbanites moved in.
I, too, spend the largest part of my clubbing era in the late 80s to end-90s (i'm old. Not as old as some others here but old). My music taste is deeply grounded in electronic music, and I probably have seen as many electronic music live sets than other kinds of music in my life. What I can say is the following:
1. The Justice show was really, really good. The act was flawless and high-energy.
2. It's true that people were much more stage orientated than I experienced it at other dance live acts. I remember that I remarked at it at the beginning. On the other hand, it was hard not to cheer the 'band' because - as I said before - they were really, really good.
3. There aren't so many acts like Justice around that are that popular and have the same edge. Music wise I would compare them with people like Traumschmiere who don't manage to attract such big of a crowd. And even with a smaller crowd, attention is more stage oriented. With Traumschmiere it's because he franatically marters his equipment which is fun to watch. With Justice it's the projections they put on.
4. you can't compare the crowd at a goth/industrial music show with the crowd that would go to dance music orientated show like justice. There are some substantial differences between their scene cultures.
As a Bmore-residing rep for BYT, I must say that the vibe at Bmore venues is a lot different than DC venues. Things up here often feel a lot more energized and spontaneous. The crowds are more diverse and random. Plus, I mean, look at our venues...
Lo-Fi used to be a warehouse in south Baltimore. Sonar...also a converted warehouse. G-Spot is a converted textile mill. Creative Alliance/the Patterson is a mixed-use performance art space in an old theater. Current and Metro are art galleries. Floristree and the H&H overall are basically a bunch of artists squatting in industrial remains...there's still original sawdust and 2x4's left in there. The Copycat, the Yabba Pot, the Turntable Club.
The list of DIY, underground venues with no polish and tons of spirit is endless. I love DC venues, but things up here, in general, just fly more by the seat of your pants and are generally more visceral experiences. I mean, Warehouse Next Door, a fave DC venue of mine, should have never died. And probably wouldn't have in Baltimore.
I just wish we had an equivalent to Fort Reno.
So you mentioned 4 clubs that have been open for a year and claim that means places never close in Baltimore? C'mon man, how is Lo-Fi gonna outlast Talking Heads 1-3 or any of the other places that close from lack of interest?
I don't want to put down Baltimore, since the best shows there are great, but I'm sick of all the adulation heaped on that place. Sure, certain kinds of shows are gonna be packed and fun in Bmore, but there's only room for so much stuff there. All the preened-out MICA chicks that used to come to garage shows moved away and now their counterparts only go to Dance Parties and the Depot. Everyone will turn out for Beach House, but some touring band that sounds similar will have 0 people at it, or everyone's too busy yapping to hear the artist.
DC shows can be boring, or they can be awesome, but Baltimore is the same way. At least I get to see some different faces in this town.
@ pedro
Correction: The talking head did not close from lack of interest, it closed because they thought the building was being sold out from under them, but then the sale fell through, so they re-opened. They are doing fine now from what Dan, the owner, says. They never would have closed in the first place had it not been for the impending sale of the building.
I can't figure out, besides the Lofi and the Metro, which venues have only been open a year? Gspot, creative alliance, floristree/h&h, copycat, current, all these places have been around for quite awhile.
@ pedro:
not trying to hate on DC either. i love it just as much as baltimore, but for different reasons. the diversity of venues here is greater than dc, no contest. we are only missing a 9:30-type venue, but sonar has been stepping it up lately to try and fill that void as best it can.
and i never said nothing dies here. i was just theorizing that warehouse might have survived better up here.
and i do agree we are having a problem with venue density. the town really can only support so many shows by itself at this moment; if you've got 1 big draw show and a few smaller ones, there's not enough concert-going public to give each a healthy audience.
but if we got all the influx that dc gets from the metro area, we'd have no issues. so it's about time we got some adulation and attention; i welcome it. now maybe people will sack up and come out to shows to less well-known venues even if they live outside the city. it's not nearly as complicated to navigate as dc and every downtown corner isn't a replay of a murder scene from the wire.
i'd also contend that a show in baltimore with 10 people will be infinitely more interesting than a show in dc with 10 people. this is just my view having experienced both the dc scene when i was younger and now that i'm older, the one up in baltimore.
I feel at the Charles what popped collared frat boys must feel at the Cat.
Seriously there is a LOT of attitude in Baltimore. Clearly they don't know who in the fuck I am.
Ha ha ha!!!! I love how all it takes is to spew a little venom up (or down) the road a bit and it sparks a DC-Bmore debate.
I mean really, big deal. I just get personal pleasure out of taking potshots at "Charm" City. Been there. Didn't like it. So I left.
Here's what I will say and I think may be more along what Dom initially meant: I will say Baltimore does seem to have a very unique and suddenly very vibrant ART scene. That goes without question.
i'm still sweaty from dancing sunday night.
it was incredible
that is all.