Backstage With Thievery
If you do a quick Google search on Thievery Corporation at the 930 Club, you're sure to find plenty of reviews from professional publications and local blogs. I threw my hat into that ring two weeks ago when I
posted a quick summary of the Thursday night performance at the venerable DC music venue. I didn't go into the bloody details about the show because everyone and their brother would. But I did want to take you back to that 5-night stop in the District because I had a rare experience with Thievery that I'd like to share.
As a nightlife photographer, I'm used to being close to some of the world's best DJs. Getting a shot right next to the artist is the basis of my art-form. Throughout the process, you learn to operate like a ghost-sneaking in for your shots and then moving the heck outta the way. So after shooting photos of Thievery's Thursday night show from the press pit at the front of the stage, I contacted their publicist about going back for something better. I showed them some photos from past nightlife shoots and asked if I could be granted access to shoot both Rob Garza and Eric Hilton in the DJ booth. Access was granted.
You see, the problem with shooting a concert like this is you can't use a flash. I'm sure you could try, but you'd be moved out of the photo pit quicker than it takes to snap your shutter. That makes it pretty tough trying to capture quality shots of the two stars of the Thievery show, who are perched up behind a wall of lights manning the turn tables. You can capture some
sweet silhouette shots, but the range of light and lens are limited. I knew shooting from backstage would provide me with a better angle to capture Rob and Eric and allow me to bring the fans even closer to the names behind the band.
I wish I could say my problems were solved that easily. Shooting backstage was amazing. But damn if I didn't need that flash. I spent the first few songs at the front of the stage capturing shots I remembered would be good from the first show I attended. I should add that the photo pit had been expanded because Thievery was
shooting their tour DVD that night. This required a very tall man with a very large HD camera to move himself from one end of the stage to the next. The pit was wide, but we had to keep one eye in the view-finder and the other looking out for the film crew. That was interesting!
It was around the 3rd or 4th song I moved backstage to capture some shots I rarely see of Thievery. I'm told I was like a Whac-A-Mole in the DJ booth, popping up for a shot and disappearing just like that. I spent a bit more time near Eric because he was in front of the tradition DJ gear I'm used to shooting. Rob however moved from turn tables to a keyboard, which did offer me something different from my typical nightlife perspective. I probably spent a grand total of 2.5 songs in the booth with Eric and Rob because I never want to seem like I'm taking advantage of my position.
The rest of the time I simply looked for shots that were unique to the Thievery show. The bassist sitting on the floor having a
spiritual experience was one.
Guitarist Rob Myers expressing all of his emotions through his pick was another. These things along with the experience of being on stage with artists of this level made for an unbelievable experience. I'm honored to have been granted that access and delighted to be able to share those sights with you through this blog and the
complete photo gallery on Dougvansant.com.
Photos by Doug Van SantLabels: Clubs, concerts, DC, DJs, Entertainment, Lounge, Music, Nocturnal, Photography, The District
4Play Thursdays Changes Venues
For the past several years, myself and dance music fans around the District have gotten used to spending Thursday nights at
Ultra Bar. The promoters at
Glow have used the Penn Quarter club as their home for 4Play Thursday in which they feature world-class DJs from all over the globe. As you might recall, I've had the pleasure of shooting photos of DJs like
George Acosta,
Blake Jarrell,
DJ Dan,
John Dahlback and many others at this 4-level venue.
So it came as a small surprise when the folks at Glow announced 4Play Thursdays would be moving to
Lima Lounge starting Thursday, Feb. 18th. Now don't get me wrong, I love Lima. I just produced one of my
favorite collection of images from Lima last month and think the venue is one of the more stunning clubs in terms of lighting, textures and design. But what happened to Ultra Bar? What will become of Ultra Bar on Thursday nights? If you have more info regarding this move, please let us know.
Here is my guess... the last night I shot there was Blake Jarrell two weeks ago. The main room was reserved for Jarrell to bust out some of his latest tracks from the same label as Armin van Buuren. Blake is one hell of a name to bring in for a regular Thursday night. Should pack the house...don't you think? Well the crowd was less than stellar. More went upstairs to the generic hip hop rooms and barely glanced when making their way through the main floor. This isn't to say Glow or Ultra Bar did anything wrong. This is simply a product of the mass appeal hip hop has attracted. I personally find it to be generic, lacking character and soul and similar to dining at a chain restaurant in a strip-mall. But that's me.
My guess is the crowds at Lima tend to appreciate the talents of DJs like Jarrell and Acosta more so than the folks who regularly attend Ultra Bar. Lima has catered to house music for quite some time and there aren't competing genres on differing floors that can split your crowd in two, or 4 as was the case at Ultra Bar. And the
DJ set-up at Lima is pretty damn sick. I see this as a good move for my friends at Glow and look forward to shooting more photos from the booth at Lima Lounge. As for Ultra Bar, I still think it's a beautiful club. But unless they host house or trance DJs, I'm not likely to attend any of their weekly parties. But that's me.
*wink*Photos by Doug Van SantLabels: Bars, Clubs, DJs, Entertainment, House, Music, Nightlife, Nocturnal, Trance
So...You Want To Go Clubbing
Now that we've taken care of the whole business side of this Urban Marinade (
Twitter, Facebook,
Flickr), it's time we write about the meat of the weekend. We have more damn DJs spinning great electronic music in DC this coming weekend than I know what to do with. How is a respectable nightlife photographer and fan of dance music supposed to choose? Seriously, I really wish I could be in two places at the same time.
So you want to go clubbing? Well this is your weekend to do it. When I go through my list of venues and parties being thrown, it's usually pretty easy to map out a weekly agenda. You know from my past photo shoots that I tend to gravitate toward Ultra Bar on Thursday nights. Well the
Glow crew is doing it up right again this week featuring Nic Fanciulli at this Penn Quarter gem.
Fanciulli has gained massive respect from DJs across the spectrum for his unique take on house music. Many of the biggest names in the business have labeled Fanciulli one of hottest rising stars in Europe while Pete Tong proclaimed him the finest resident in the UK. What it all boils down to is yet another great DJ set will be thrown down inside "the box" at Ultra.
I would be remiss if I failed to mention DJ Manifesto spinning at Lima Lounge on Thursday night as well. If you recall, I captured some freakin sweet
images of Manifesto and DJ Jason Greene at the inaugural Love of Haus party at Lima. What you can't see in those images is the hard hitting house that tickled my ear drums all night long. I can't tell you which event to attend. That has to be a game time decision for you to make. But either way, you can't go wrong with either Lima or Ultra Bar.
Friday nights are usually saved for dinner somewhere and a stop at my favorite Chinatown club
Muse Lounge. Muse has done something very few clubs attempt by featuring electronic music on multiple floors. Listen, I totally understand having each room of your venue feature something different. You have a better chance of making everyone happy. But what Muse is doing is making dance music fans downright giddy.
This Friday, Muse and District Ignition present Snatch Rewired featuring the sounds of Treasure Fingers, Spiggy and Steve Bugbee on the first floor. Not enough? Head up to the third floor where Tanc, Aligning Minds and Amitai will be spinning house all night long.
Tired Yet?
This brings us to Saturday. Ah Saturday in the District! Put your hands up for DC, the lovely city... But seriously folks, Saturday has two parties that I have absolutely no idea which to choose. You can't go wrong either way. Both are being held in our biggest and best nightclubs. Both feature world-class DJs respected around the globe. Both will leave your heart buzzing and your adrenaline boiling.
My friends at
Glow will feature
Cedric Gervais at FUR Nightclub. My heart leans toward this party because I personally had tremendous success shooting photos of Gervais. The one featured at the top of this post remains one of my favorite nightlife shots of all time and is hanging on my wall at home. The last time Gervais spent time on the FUR decks, I remember a crowd that stayed amp'd all night and a certain photographer (this guy) who didn't want the night to end. Of course we shoot nightlife photography because we love the music. But sometimes you just don't get into a set or maybe it's just not enough to keep you out super late knowing you'll need to find a cab after 3 a.m. But Gervais is one of those DJs that can keep your energy high all night and keep you wondering how each track seems to get better and better.
For years, Gervais has captivated clubbers and partygoers as he reigned supreme over the Miami dance scene. Although originally born in Marseilles, Cedric Gervais has chosen Miami as his adopted home, and the city has been more than happy to embrace him. He has held residencies at Crobar (now Cameo) and the world famous Nikki Beach, before taking over the Space Terrace. Cedric’s presence at the Space Terrace was felt immediately as people in the thousands began lining up to witness him devastate the after-hours scene. He'll bring it on Saturday night which is why you can't go wrong spending the evening at FUR.
But here is the kicker. Because of a little snow storm we had back in December so affectionately known as Snowpocalypse 2009, this Saturday night features another world-class DJ. Ibiza will feature the sounds of Maryland native and
dance music pioneer BT.
From an early age, BT demonstrated a remarkable aptitude for playing and understanding classical music. He was heavily influenced by avant-garde and romantic composers such as Stravinsky, Bartok, Debussy and Rachmaninov. His biggest influences, however, were from everyday sounds that most would take for granted, from noticing the meter of the grandfather clock in the foyer to the micro-rhythms of crickets and cicadas to the ambience of passing trains at night.
The drive to actualize the tools BT envisions has led to his evolution as one of the most cutting-edge programmers and technologists in music today. He has expanded this reach into a visionary software venture,
Sonik Architects which launched its critically- and commercially-acclaimed iPhone application, Sonifi™.
So as you can see, techno-wizardry will be on display at Ibiza DC this Saturday. And the choice of which party to attend won't get any easier as you do even more research on both of these artists. I won't tell you which one I plan to attend because that's a secret. You'll just have to come back to this blog to find the answer.
Photos by Doug Van SantLabels: Clubs, Entertainment, House, Music, Nightlife, Trance
A Call for Photographers
Up until this point, I've been feeding the Urban Marinade experience with photos from my own collection and photos I find through search. But part of my mission with this blog is to expose the reader to high-quality nightlife and high-quality nightlife photography. And from what I've seen online, there are a ton of great photographers out there.
So... to accomplish this, I created a Flickr group called
Urban Marinade DC. My hope is that other nightlife photographers will upload their images and add them to this group so we can feed the blog with your images. If all goes well, I'll run a weekly feature highlighting some of the photographers who uploaded images to the group, in hopes of giving them some exposure as well.
So if you enjoy photography, nightlife, and urban settings, please feel free to join the
Flickr group and/or upload your images as often as you'd like.
Photo by Flickr user Sam Jones PhotoLabels: Clubs, concerts, Nightlife, Photography, Urban
What's Your Point of View?
Have you ever gone into a bar or club and had just a horrible night, only to return a few months later and have a completely different experience? Or what if your original experience wasn't terrible, but it wasn't worth another visit for...oh, a few months. Well this is what happened to me this past week in DC.
If you recall from early last summer, I
checked out the newly opened W Hotel and POV Lounge. My experience wasn't horrible. But there were some bumps and bruises from that visit and I frankly haven't had any real reason to return. Granted, Dan K. and I have made stops in the W Hotel lobby for a drink or two. But it wasn't until last Thursday that we returned to the rooftop terrace and lounge of this swanky DC hotel. My impressions have changed.
The first notable element of change is that the obnoxious lines trying to gain entry to the elevator upstairs are gone. This was a Thursday night, so it's possible you could find a line on Friday or Saturday night. But remember, it was a Wednesday night when I encountered close to 50 people dressed to impress waiting for their chance to experience the ultimate DC point of view. The next element of improvement was a staff prepared for anything. We were escorted upstairs, taken to the terrace, offered a place to sit and even offered drinks before I could take off my coat. This was a major change from the first week where POV couldn't decide if they wanted to be a velvet rope club or a tapas restaurant. Clearly, POV has accepted its role as a smooth character on the DC lounge circuit and the composed attitude reflects that.
Another stand-out element from last Thursday was one of the best Bailey's and coffee I've ever had. Dan K. asked me, "how could they mess that up?" I replied..."simple, bad coffee." This particular drink is made with a very smooth bean and brewed at what had to be the perfect temperature. I know it was late, but I ordered two.
POV has also added great music. DJ 2-Tone was spinning a groovy down-tempo hip hop that fit perfectly with the lounge mood. Honestly folks, sitting there sipping my coffee with soulful hip-hop feeding my ears while the Washington Monument stood brightly out the window next to me was a nocturnal dream come true. It was like taking a vacation from the usual high-energy K Street rat race and finding yourself at a rooftop oasis surrounded by history. Is there a better setting for this stuff or what?
The two photos in this post reflect what I saw that night. They reflect what POV has become since opening and what POV was destined to be. They reflect a beautiful rooftop lounge in a beautiful hotel with the best point of view in our city.
Photos by Doug Van SantLabels: Clubs, DC, Entertainment, House, Lounge, Music, Nightlife, Urban, Washington
Rising Dance Music Star Headlines Ultra Bar
One thing most of my friends don't realize about DC is how great this city is for dance music. Sure, Miami has great DJs spinning house and electro in the
local grocery store. And babies seem to be
born with headphones in NYC. But of all the cities I've lived in, The District holds it's own when it comes to local talent and national draw. And thankfully we have promoters and club owners who embrace the popularity and passion that comes with bringing in world-class performers.
Such is the case with the folks at
Glow, who booked Chicago dance music star
Blake Jarrell this Thursday at Ultra Bar in downtown DC. If you're searching for things to do and think you'd like to try your hand at some really good dance music, this is your best bet!
I had the chance to listen to and
photograph Blake during his last visit to DC at Club Ibiza. I recall pausing for a moment in the middle of the shoot thinking to myself, damn this is good music. Blake is quite literally a natural behind the decks. He knows how to blend smooth trance-like music with driving rhythms. And he can work a crowd as good as the best in the business. I think this is what has helped place Jarrell on the upward trajectory in the electronic music world. A good DJ can mix well. A great DJ can read his crowd, feed off their energy and tap into their senses for a stunning musical journey. Think I'm making all of this up? Come to Ultra on Thursday and you'll see what I mean.
But the journey for Jarrell hasn't always been as spiritually uplifting. Blake carved himself a niche in the underground dance music scene in his hometown of New Orleans, performing at some of the cities biggest venues while producing and releasing singles on various labels. But when tragedy stuck the city during Hurricane Katrina, Jarrell packed his car with whatever he could and set forth to Chicago.
It was in the windy city where he fell in love with the booming house, techno and trance scene, which further helped shape his sound. It also brought a chance meeting with Armin van Buuren, who Blake passed along a CD of his productions. “It’s bittersweet that I had to lose my hometown to Hurricane Katrina to find such a musically nurturing city as Chicago,” says Blake who claims the storm as “simultaneously the best and worst thing that has ever happened to me.”
After listening to a few of his original productions, Armin contacted Blake and soon after he joined the Armada artist roster. Since that time Armin has invited Blake on several of his world tours as an exclusive special guest performer. Finally, Blake cemented his relationship with Armada Music when he joined a select group of international stars for full summer residencies at Armada’s weekly shindig at Amnesia in Ibiza in 2007 and 2008.
Blake put himself at the helm of a very unique project with his recent “Concentrate 2009″ album. Unlike other mix compilations, Blake painstakingly hand picked music selections to completely rework and remix them in the studio from the ground up in order to carve his signature sound into each of the 25 tracks, creating an incredibly cohesive journey across a vast storyline of sound.
The story continues this Thursday at Ultra Bar.
Photos by Doug Van SantLabels: Bars, Clubs, Entertainment, House, Music, Nightlife, Trance
A Grand Opening at Recess
Since we're in the process of catching up after the holidays, I figured it was time I update you all on a new nightlife venue opening in downtown DC. Just prior to Christmas, I had the pleasure of attending the soft-opening of
Recess Lounge on December 16th.
Recess occupies the space that was once Geisha Lounge just one block from the White House. The location couldn't be more perfect for this type of club because of the recent arrival of the W Hotel and it's nocturnal contributor, POV. Each of these venues cater to a well-heeled DC crowd and offer patrons a little bit of everything along the 15th Street corridor. And with the
addition of Recess, we now have several nightlife establishments all within walking distance of the K Street clubs like Lima, Tattoo, Lotus and Park at Fourteenth. Downtown DC has never looked so good! Or vibrant for that matter.
I've been to my fair share of opening parties. They usually dress up the clubs to look extra special and bring in "VIP" guests. The problem is most of us have no idea who the "VIP" guests actually are. And the night following the opening is usually a letdown; a true taste of how the club will operate. But
Recess was different. They did bring in cocktail tables for guests to mingle near and converse over drinks. But the club operated and looked pretty much like you'd expect a finely tuned venue. Had I not known this was the first few nights of operation, I would never have been able to tell. An awful lot of thought was put into making this operation run smoothly...and it showed.
The venue itself can be described in one word. Beautiful! It's dressed in dark woods salvaged from centuries old walnut trees. There's a bar the entire width of the lounge near the front and a DJ booth dead center toward the rear. The entire room features an abstract lighting feature that can change based on the mood, music or whatever else your heart desires. There are tables and couches that run along one side and split the DJ booth, but most of this lounge is a dance floor. After spending several nights inside this venue, I can best describe it as a very large recording studio. The sound and acoustics are pretty much what every studio is designed to be and from what I can tell, there are zero flaws in the Recess system. I've only been in one other lounge that can match that type of sound quality and it's the
venerable Cielo in NYC.
Owners Fisayo Esconsay and Brandon Howard,
former DC club promoters, tell me
Recess was designed around the music. I like to hear this! They also tell me they'll have at least one night that features house, one that features hip hop/top 40 and another that will cater to the smooth R&B and jazz fans. One thing is certain, you'll have a hard time standing still in this joint.
But above all of the promotional sounding verbage, high-end sound and fancy cocktails created by a bevy of mixologists, Recess comes with class and soul. Most of the nightlife venues I spend my evenings in are dressed up nice and have the latest and greatest gadgets in sound. But very few are able to touch each individual personally. From the moment I walked into Recess to the moment I closed my tab at the bar, they made me feel like they really cared to have my business. Both Brandon and Fisayo mingled with their patrons like everyone walking through the door was a friend. It's this attention to their customers happiness that will make this lounge one of the better in our vast District of a nocturnal abyss. I hope each of you will take the time to visit Recess because the people behind this lounge are dedicated to their concept and it shows.
The top photo and those below are part of a larger
photo gallery I created from the soft-opening party. As you'll see, the design and colors in Recess make it very easy to shoot photos and very easy to capture the vibe of this beautiful club. If you'd like to see more,
check out the complete gallery, otherwise enjoy your Recess...
Labels: Bars, Clubs, DC, Downtown, Entertainment, Lounge, Music, Nightlife, Nocturnal, Urban, Washington
75 Bars DC: Passenger
There comes a point in your daily schedule when you realize you've got some unfinished business. You could continue to charge forward and ignore the unfinished business. But it will stick there in the back of your head like that annoying beeping sound construction vehicles make when they back up. You have no choice, you need to address it. Such is the case of
The Passenger, the newly opened bar at the northern tip of Chinatown/Penn Quarter.
I'm about 4 weeks behind on posting this 75 Bars review of The Passenger. I probably could have posted it a few weeks ago, but we got socked by
Snowpocalypse 2009 and then the holidays. And even after I got back to DC from vacation, I tried to find ways to ignore the impending crush of an otherwise good bar. In other words, I really, really wish I could say good things about The Passenger, but I can't. I've avoided the unavoidable up until this point. But I'm now faced with the fact that I went to a bar I wanted to like and walked away pretty damn disappointed. And as Dan and I had promised, we'd report on what we found on our visit. Seriously, I thought about going back to give them a second chance. But this particular column isn't about second chances. It's about what we find on our one visit to a particular watering hole. That being said, here goes.
When I heard about the opening of The Passenger, I was hopefully optimistic. The 7th Street location just north of New York Ave. really turned me on because I used to live 3 blocks away. I used to walk by what was then the bar at the Warehouse Theater on a daily basis and always felt this particular block was ripe for development. And I liked the idea of pushing the
Chinatown/Penn Quarter development north into
Shaw where the neighborhoods seamlessly connect. It all made sense. Upon arrival to The Passenger, I was greeted by a warm exterior and a rush of patrons coming and going. It was nice seeing so much foot traffic in my former hood. The interior was simple but comfortable. Even slightly stoic if you wanna go there. Soft, well placed lighting with ivory archways trimmed with dark woods made for a soothing introduction to the new
Mt. Vernon haunt. There is a room off the back that's supposed to resemble a re-created dining car, but I never made it that far. The smooth and warm interior was pretty much the only thing I can say was good. Okay, there are other things, but we'll get to that.
I met up with good friends Dan K., Eric D., Ryan H. and Robert F. We grabbed a table just past the bar near the rear of the front room. The actual bar in the venue was quite small. Trying to make your way past the happy hour crowd at the bar seemed almost as crazy as tackling rush hour on 495. I stood behind the throng of people for - oh - just about 5 minutes before I realized I'd never get a drink. Thankfully they had servers wandering around and Dan and Rob had flagged one down. Here is where things get tricky. The Passenger is owned by two of DC's top mixologists, Derek Brown and his older brother Tom. The two can make literally any cocktail you want. And so they designed the Passenger that way. There are no drinks on the menu. You tell them what you like and they make something creative. Sounds like a neat gimmick, but it leaves a lot to be desired.
First off, I'm not a bartender. I never have been. I know I like Crown and Cokes. I know I like gin. Otherwise, I'm at the mercy of the individual behind the bar making beverages. So it's nice having suggestions on drink ideas. Asking me to name a cocktail or tell them what I like is as bad as asking me to name my favorite Chemist. You tell me what's good. You're the bartender. The problem is, unless you have Derek standing in front of you making your drink personally, it leaves you a bit lost. Not to mention, there aren't any prices for drinks listed anywhere. I figured I'd go safe and order my usual Crown Royal and Coke. Dan ordered his usual Seven and Seven. 20 minutes later the waitress returns to tell me she doesn't have Crown. No Crown at a bar? Fair enough, I bite on the creative drink idea. I tell her I like gin and off she goes. I'm still unaware of how much I'll be paying for my beverage. I just know something will come back based on my enjoyment of gin. At least, I think a drink will return.
20 minutes after I corrected my drink order, the waitress returns to tell Dan they don't have Seven. Mind you, this is 40 minutes after Dan first ordered his drink. I take the opportunity while we have the waitress nearby and order one of their Slaw Dogs (hot dog). My cocktail creation arrives about 10 minutes later. "What is it?", I ask. "Dunno" says the waitress. Um, seriously? I bought into your crafty bastard drink idea, the least you can do is tell me what I'm drinking. "There's gin in it" she says. Well now, that makes me happy. At least I know there is gin in my drink... (rolling my eyes).
10 minutes later, my slaw dog arrives. One hour after placing his order, Dan is still standing there without a drink. He's trying to ask the waitress, but she seems to be space cadeting off somewhere other than The Passenger, or even DC for that matter. Lord knows where her head was at that point. Approximately one hour and 30 minutes after ordering his drink, Dan is finally presented with a cocktail. Don't ask what it was... the waitress didn't know. It didn't matter at that point. It had alcohol in it, so Dan was drinking it.
Clearly the drink issue, the waitress and the timeliness of the bar was a problem. I can accept certain things when a business is just opening. I realize this is a new bar and it's quite popular. But the waitstaff should know what they are serving their patrons. And any wait over 20 minutes for a drink is unacceptable. An hour and 30 minutes is cause to be panned, which is what I'm doing.
With all due respect to Derek and Tom, my drink was very good. And the slaw dog was one of the best hot dogs I've had in DC since moving here. Imagine a perfectly cooked dog with just the right amount of char and a slight hint of honey BBQ. Seriously, the quality of the food and drink could easily make this one of the better bars in the District. But the wacky name your own beverage idea, lack of prices anywhere and horrible service simply wasn't enough to overcome. I'd be willing to go back, but any bar that puts out such a poor first impression really needs to iron out these kinks before it's worth my time. As I've said before, there are just too many places in DC that offer me a valuable nightlife experience to accept anything less.
I'm hoping The Passenger can improve. I really, really want it to do well. Better yet, I want my old hood to do well. Fingers crossed DC!
Dan K. points to his watch after receiving his beverage one hour and 30 minutes after ordering.1st Photo by Jim Webb
2nd and 3rd Photo by DVS
Labels: 75 Bars, Bars, Clubs, DC, Drinking, Entertainment, Music, Nightlife, The District, Washington
Celebrating A Year of Excellence at Muse
It was a quiet Thursday evening in the District almost one year ago when Dan Kelly and I wandered into a nightclub on 6th Street in Chinatown. I had just started writing for the WB and Dan had an idea to do a drink of the week concept for my blog. We had a drink at this new establishment and continued on to our main destination, Josephine. The evening at
Josephine was a bust, so we returned to the Chinatown nightclub because of the warm hospitality we had received. And for one year now we've been going back to
Muse Nightclub almost weekly.
I've had the pleasure of seeing some of the best house DJs hit up the turn tables at Muse, including the likes of
Marques Wyatt and
King Britt. I also had a chance to teach a weekly dance class at the club and see some of the world's
best Lindy Hoppers tear up the dance floor. In other words, Muse has been good to us over the past year.
So on November 13th, Muse Lounge celebrated their 1-year anniversary of epic parties in Chinatown. And of course, Urban Marinade was there to document the chaos and celebrate the success of this downtown nightclub. And in true Muse fashion, they hired world-class artist DJ Icey for the evening.
Icey has a long history within the electronic music ranks as being one of the innovators of "Florida Breaks." He's influenced the likes of Baby Anne and Kimball Collins and was the DJ that convinced the Chemical Brothers to do their first show in the States. So yeah, the guy knows his way around a DJ booth and knows how to make you move. He was also one of the first DJs I had the pleasure of covering in Tampa when I started writing
Nocturnal Vibe 6 years ago.
The following is a collection of photos from the evening. Not enough for a full gallery on
dougvansant.com, but enough to whet your appetite for more of what this great DC nightclub has to offer.
Labels: Clubs, DJs, Entertainment, House, Music, Nightlife
It's All Gone Pete Tong
I recently got around to posting a few more galleries on my site and wanted to share with you this collection from a
night with Pete Tong at Glow.
For those not familiar with Tong, his work transcends many years of dance music artists and styles. As a DJ, Pete has graced the decks of the best clubs and festivals worldwide. As a producer he's assembled the music for many different soundtracks and was the inspiration behind the hit film "
It's All Gone Pete Tong."
Pete's success as a broadcaster, clubland DJ and music industry maven is his ability to create a balance between credibility and commerciality and is not afraid to drop the hits on the decks. "People forget it's entertainment," Pete explains. "I wouldn't be doing this if I couldn't champion new music, but a mix is the key. And it's supposed to be fun."
I was pretty excited to see
Pete for the first time because he's a name I've become familiar with through the BBC-One essential mixes. I can't even begin to tell you how many DJ mixes I've listened to with the BBC (Radio)-One call sign announced. You almost begin to expect to hear it while listening to any dance music mix.
I wish I could say I was as excited about the
images I captured from the evening. I like some of the color in these shots, but I was very disappointed with the clarity and sharpness of the photos. I've been over-thinking my nightlife photography, trying to use different techniques to pull out more color and style in my shots. What's happened is that I'm getting vibrant the color but losing some of the crisp and clean, noise-free shots I've captured on recent outings.
The following are some of the better images from the gallery. To be perfectly honest with you, the best shot came during the opening DJ set. I had everything set correctly and just got a little happy with my exposure settings throughout the night. I really can't wait to get back out and continue to refine my nightlife style and try to correct some of my mistakes in these shots. In the meantime,
enjoy these photos and please let me know what you think.
Labels: Clubs, Dancing, Entertainment, House, Music, Nightlife, Trance
75 Bars DC: Bar Pilar
75 Bars DC made a triumphant return to the streets of the District last week with 14th Street as our target. The neighborhood is known simply as U Street, but it could be argued that it's also the northern borders of Logan Circle. Whatever you call it, the 14th and U area of DC has become one of the hottest neighborhoods in our city. It's chocked full of trendy restaurants, galleries, theaters, Whole Foods and of course, bars.
We kicked off our evening with a stop at the well known and local favorite,
Bar Pilar. This little tavern is a small Ernest Hemingway-inspired bar that sits near the corner of 14th and T Streets NW and is owned by the same people who own the popular Cafe Saint Ex. "El Pilar" was, as devoted Hemingway aficionados know, the name of Hemingway's fishing boat that he kept at his home in Cuba. So it should be no surprise that Bar Pilar has several fishing and nautical items posted along the walls.
I'll admit that I haven't had the best of experiences in this bar prior to this night. Mainly, I've always found it to be incredibly crowded and rather hard getting your hands on one of their crafty beverages. It always seemed like one of these popular yuppie/hipster joints that serve hard to find brew and alcoholic concoctions that leave you scratching your head. But I'll go ahead and say, Bar Pilar impressed me on this night.
The place was crowded as usual and as Rob said in his follow-up report to me, it's vibe was "a little on the emo/counterculture side." I got the impression the crowd was a combination of neighborhood residents and local activists. Simply stated, it was a diverse group of grazers who don't want to spend a fortune but want some variety with their cocktails. Either way, we settled into a spot at the bar, took off our coats and began exploring the drink menu. Pilar serves a whole assortment of beverages and hard-to-find beers, but their specialty cocktail list is what they're known for. I order a Bee's Knees which is an excellent blend of
Plymouth Gin, lemon juice and honey syrup. It's like a slightly sweet and sour version of a gin and tonic, taking a rather bitter drink and giving it a full-body of life. In a city where specialty cocktails are pushing towards the $20 range, paying $10 for this drink is a steal.
Dan tried the Golden Bulleit, which was
Bulleit Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey with an orange-clove syrup and Rob enjoyed a Dark N' Stormy, which was
Gosling Black Seal Rum and
Fentiman's ginger beer. Our good friend Rick joined us a few minutes later and ordered one of my favorites, a tasty
Lindemans Framboise Belgian Raspberry Lambic. As far as I could tell, everyone thoroughly enjoyed their fancy pants cocktails, which added to a pretty spirited vibe throughout the bar. I specially like the attention to detail our bartender paid to our drinks and she even took the time to explain why certain drinks were her favorites. The last time 75 Bars hit the streets, we seemed to run into cerebral bartenders who gave us funny looks for even asking for recommendations. When you have a talented craftsman behind the bar like they did on this evening at Bar Pilar, it's no wonder they enjoy explaining and showing off their goods.
I closed out my stop at Bar Pilar with an aptly named Hemingway, which was
Plymouth Gin, green coconut water,
Angostura bitters and fresh lime juice. It sounds freaking amazing but it pretty much fell short of anything exciting. Wasn't bad, but the Bee's Knees is where it's at! Overall Bar Pilar serves as a well thought out and well run tavern in a neighborhood where excellence and competition is to be expected.
Labels: 75 Bars, Bars, Clubs, Entertainment, Music, Nightlife
Random Photo of the Day: Nov. 3rd
I started going through some files on my desktop and came across this adorable photo of Joelle and I. It was taken two weeks ago on a Saturday night at Muse Lounge by one of their party photographers working for
DCNites.com.
The funny story about this photo is that we had no intention of hitting up Muse that night. The original plan was for Joelle and I to get together with Francis and Samm and to see Armin van Buuren at FUR. But mother nature decided to open the skies and dump rain all across the region. We braved the colder temps and Hurricane FUR (this is what we decided to call it since it felt like a damn hurricane swept through on our walk from Metro to the club) to attempt to get into the club. But we decided against it when it was clear only my name was on the guest list and everyone else would have to pay a high price for their ticket. Not that Armin isn't worth spending a little money to see. But on this night, it just seemed like everything was working against us.
So we jumped into a cab, went downtown and enjoyed cocktails at Zola and some dancing at
Muse Lounge. The weather sucked, but the night was a huge success because of the great company and awesome management over at Muse.
Labels: Clubs, Entertainment, House, Music, Nightlife, Random, Trance
75 Bars DC: Off the Record
The next stop on our tour of the top 75 bars in DC took us to a little hotel bar inside of the historic
Hay-Adams Hotel. Now I'll admit, when Dan mentioned to me we'd visit Off the Record in the venerable hotel next to the White House, I was somewhat confused. Of course I had heard of the Hay-Adams. Every Washingtonian who spends more than five minutes in this city has heard of the amazing Hay-Adams. But there was a bar inside? And it's one of the top 75?
Ah, how could I be so unlettered about the existence of this place. How could I, a true resident of this great capital not know of this revered watering hole right next to our most famous residency. Such is the case of my night wandering into Off the Record.
As we walked toward the majestic hotel along 16th, one can't help but feel like you're about to step foot inside one of the great hotels of our nation. The Italian Renaissance-style facade commands attention as do the large flags flying high above the grand entrance. The dark wood and marbled floors are oozing with distinctive luxury.
Dan asks the bellman at the door if he could direct us to the bar. Rather than just verbalize directions, the obviously French bellman walks us into the hotel and down a set of stairs. He points to a set of doors where a buzz of activity gives way to a small and yet opulent hotel bar. Apparently Off the Record isn't such a secret after all. This place was hopping!
Dan and I grab two seats at the octagon-shaped bar and browse their drink selections. At first glance, Off the Record is exactly the type of bar I would expect this close to the White House. It's the type of bar I figured I'd find more of in this city of lawyers, lobbyists and politicians. It's dressed in dark woods, red-velvet covered couches, high-back leather chairs and ornate trim. Most of the clientele were wearing suits and business attire and to be honest, most looked like they were brokering back-room policy deals. I could have been sitting next to one or two (or maybe 12) members of Congress.
I order my usual Crown and Coke and Dan orders a what's called the Tennessee Rose. I'll let him give you the juicy details on his drink over at
75barsDC.com. He drank about 6 of them, so I'm guessing it was pretty darn good. As for my stand-by Canadian whiskey drink, I absolutely loved it! As I've said before, it's not a hard drink to make, but clearly the Off the Record bartender still cares to put his heart into even the simplest of adult beverages.
That's where the night started to get fun. Dan and I struck up a conversation with a couple from San Francisco. Actually, they asked what my tattoo meant and somehow we started talking about nightlife, bottle service and cocaine. Why do I always find the tourists who want a quick fix??? Maybe I just give off the impression that I know "where they can find some." Whatever the case or their vices, they were a neat couple who said they visit DC about 4 times a year and absolutely adore our city. They said they read about the Hay-Adams once in a magazine and have been staying there the past 4 years. At some point in the conversation, a young lady comes over to Dan and asks if he's Doug Van Sant. Dan laughs and points in my direction as the man she was looking for.
Turns out, the young lady was Ardina Kievits, assistant restaurant manager for the hotel and was directed by the hotel manager to come down, find us and offer to buy us a drink. I know... crazy right? The hotel manager had noticed
my tweet about 75 Bars DC and us being at Off the Record, and wanted to thank us for stopping by. My first reaction is, how the hell did he find my
Twitter account? Then it dawns on me that you can search keywords that display when someone tweets about a particular venue. I've gotten personalized responses before from places like Wolfgang Puck's bistro in LA and the Tabard Inn here in DC.
So we tell the bar manager about the project and I proceed to order a raspberry rickey. The drink was quite tasty and designed perfectly for those seeking a lighter, more refreshing cocktail. That's when I began to talk to bartender John Boswell about 75 Bars DC and the history of drinking establishments in the District. Remember I mentioned the bartender who made my simple Crown and Coke with heart...well there is a reason for his attention to detail.
Bartender John Boswell is regarded in many circles as the best bartender in Washington, DC and has been bestowed that award 4 times by Washingtonian Magazine. John told stories of hotel bars and local watering holes that hold more history than the Smithsonian. He gave me a list of places we need to visit and the long-time bartenders we should talk to. Clearly John has seen his share of celebrities and politicians come through the Off the Record doors, but it's his affable personality that makes even the average patron feel famous.
To sum up my experience at Off the Record, I'd have to say I walked away feeling connected. I felt connected to the city I call home and to the people who share our great structures, monuments and grand thoroughfares. I left Off the Record feeling like I spent the previous two-hours engaged in an activity so many DC residents had prior to that evening. I felt like I was truly...home.
Labels: 75 Bars, Bars, Clubs, Entertainment, Music, Nightlife
75 Bars DC: Old Ebbitt Grill
Every city has a staple. Whether it's a monument, an iconic sign or building or general tourist attraction, they exist in most of our major cities. And like these staples of tourism lure, most cities have an iconic restaurant or bar that lives through the decades. Greensboro had the famous Rhino club. Tampa had the historic Tiny Tap Tavern.
Heinhold's First and Last Chance has been serving as a local watering hole on the Oakland waterfront prior to the great quake of 1906. These bars and restaurants are no longer destinations in their respective cities, they are institutions.
DC is not without it's share of iconic buildings and historic bars. One could argue it's "the" city of iconic structures. But there is one restaurant and bar that's been serving residents and tourists of our nations capital longer than any other...Old Ebbitt Grill.
This
historic institution was founded in 1856 by William E. Ebbitt and has lived in various forms throughout the downtown DC area. When I moved to DC three years ago, I was told by locals this was "the spot to go to see old school DC." Like previous places I've lived, I embraced the history of DC and wanted to embrace her local institutions of imbibery. I had been several times for dinner, but never did I go to Old Ebbitt just for drinks. So Dan brings forth the 75 Bars idea and off we went. Our first bar in this adventure would be the oldest in DC.
First impressions of Old Ebbitt as someone walking in off the street is chaos. This place is incredibly popular. I'm not sure how many of the people crowding by the door waiting for tables were from DC or visiting tourists, but you can't deny Old Ebbitt is certainly not hurting for business. My gut would immediately tell me to leave by walking into a dining room that crowded and loud. But as DC residents, Dan and I both knew there was another bar to the left of the entrance, so we excused ourselves through the crowds to this less inhabited part of the restaurant. Let me point out, less inhabited doesn't imply no crowds. Anytime between 5 p.m. and 10 p.m. at Old Ebbitt is pretty chaotic because you get the happy hour crowd. The back bar was more inviting to us to order a drink, but it was by no means quiet.
I noted to Dan that every one of the people gathering for drinks had yet to go home. Clearly we were surrounded by DC enjoying their happiest of what had become many hours. This is important to know because the main dining room bar is next to impossible to get a drink at and you'll more than likely be sharing bar space with a plumber from Iowa. (not that there's anything wrong with that)
According to our rules, I ordered two drinks. My first was my drink of choice, a Crown and Coke. My second was based on the house speciality, a Crown and Coke. Why the same drink you ask? I'll tell ya...
Dan figured he'd go for the house speciality with his first drink. He asked our first bartender to recommend something. The bartender looks at Dan with a confused look and says, give me somewhere to start. Clearly the question "what do you recommend?" doesn't get asked very often. So I ask the second bartender about their menu of drinks and which does he suggest. This time I get a more clear picture of what Old Ebbitt specializes in as he tells me to avoid that drink list. According to the bartender, the drink list changes for each season, so right now these drinks are full of creme and designed to appeal to a cold tourist looking for a warm and comforting beverage. What does Old Ebbitt do well though? Whiskey, Bourbon and Vodka.
Like most of DC, fancy schmancy cocktails are saved for the ultra lounges and trendy house music bars of K Street and Chinatown. This venue is a drinkers bar with an emphasis on the quality of the liquor and less on the number of different alcoholic shots you can throw into a glass. Old Ebbitt is designed and built as a bar for the hard-working lawyer, lobbyist and politician of old-school DC.
On top of our drinks, Dan and I both had an appetizer. I enjoyed a cup of the creamy clam chowder, which hit the spot on a cool rainy evening. And about those Crown and Cokes, they were pretty darn good. I can usually tell a big difference in the venue based on how much ice and how flat the coke is. Old Ebbitt hit the mark on delivering me my favorite drink with a well poured hand.
My only complaint with this bar is the mixture of tourism and local flavor. Any time you take a bar or restaurant that's become a fixture in a scene and infuse it with hundreds of tourists each day, you lose some of the local connection and flavor. Old Ebbitt is beautiful and makes good drinks, but I can't see myself going there on a random night because I don't get the sense I would be remembered. A good bar that's billed as a local institution should bring you a sense of home and welcome you in like you've just sat down for a drink in your own living room. With thousands of tourists coming and going each night, I doubt Old Ebbitt will ever exude that type of charm.
Labels: 75 Bars, Clubs, Entertainment, Music, Nightlife
75barsdc.com
The title of the blog pretty much says it all. Two weeks ago Mr. Dan Kelly calls me up with an idea. He had been out the night before at the Pour House on Capitol Hill and got into a conversation with a young lady about the
Washingtonian Magazine top 100 area restaurants. The young lady tells Dan it's her goal to try each and every restaurant on the list.
So Mr. Dan, being the adventurous individual he is, thinks...hmmmm, Washingtonian Magazine did a
top 75 bars list as well...
The following is an excerpt from
his blog:
So the idea hit me. Why don't I check out all of these "Best Bars" and tell people about the experience. I can visit 75 bars and have drinks, not a problem, but how to make this more interesting? That's easy I have to complete this before March 1st 2010 when the next Best Bars issue comes out. Now this is getting interesting. So 15 bars a month... 30 days in a month... 1 bar every 2 days. PHEW! My liver is going to get a workout on this one.Dan then enlisted my help with this project because as he says, you need a partner in crime on something like this. Besides, Dan and I have been moving and shaking up the nightlife scenes from DC to NC to all-over the state of Florida. When it comes to bars and clubs, we've built up some credibility with our various newspaper columns and marketing concepts.
So we developed the "rules" for 75 Bars DC. (I can hear some of you laughing right now as we talk about rules and drinking.)
1. We both must be at the bar.
2. We must have at least 2 drinks at each bar.
3. One of the drinks must be a "specialty" of the bar. Wine at a wine bar, Martini at a martini bar... you get the picture.
As Dan says, we have to have some guidelines that make this project somewhat official. And our goal is to provide you with an "off the street" perspective of these bars. In other words, we don't want to act like or write like we're a long time restaurant critic who goes through a cerebral review process. We simply want to give you an idea of what to expect at these places if you were to wander in off the street yourself.
And so the next step was for Mr. Dan to register the domain
75barsdc.com. This was important because we need something to help with our marketing of this little project. I'll continue to post here on my blog, but we needed a domain to direct our friends and bar patrons that we meet along the way to. And so there you have it.
75barsdc.com is now official. The project has begun.
Labels: 75 Bars, Clubs, Entertainment, Music, Nightlife
If you do a quick Google search on Thievery Corporation at the 930 Club, you're sure to find plenty of reviews from professional publications and local blogs. I threw my hat into that ring two weeks ago when I posted a quick summary of the Thursday night performance at the venerable DC music venue. I didn't go into the bloody details about the show because everyone and their brother would. But I did want to take you back to that 5-night stop in the District because I had a rare experience with Thievery that I'd like to share.
