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
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
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
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
Working on the Weekend
Most of you know by now, I spend many nights at the clubs shooting nightlife photos. So it's always fun to come across images that have captured me in action like these included here of #8 DJ in the world, Markus Schulz.
This small passion of mine started a few years back when I worked for TBO.com and produced a
weekly nightlife column. I started snapping photos of people at the clubs to enhance our nightlife pages and give these folks a reason to click on our site and read my column. Then I found it to be very challenging and yet enjoyable shooting photos of the artists on stage, while trying to capture the overall vibe of the nightclubs.
It was in 2006 when I finally purchased an SLR camera that gave me the flexibility to shoot in these low-light settings with limited or no flash. I quickly fell in love with this artistic side of nightlife photography.
Three years later I find myself rarely shooting photos of people at the clubs, but focusing my time and lens on the DJ's themselves. Of course, I try to capture wide-angle shots of the crowd and the occasional glow-stick kid. But my version of nightlife photography is built more on the artist moving the crowd and the lights providing the energy and excitement of a true nocturnal vibe.
Labels: Clubs, DJs, Entertainment, House, Music, Nightlife, Trance
Indepen-dance in the District
I figured it was time to post some
photos from a shoot with Swedish house music
DJ John Dahlback. This is now the third year in a row that I've found myself shooting photos of a DJ the Thursday before a July 4th weekend. I think this year was the best so far because of the range of images I was able to capture along the way.
We started our evening on the terrace where I was able to catch some amazing shots of the club and the lasers permeating the crowd of house heads below. I also captured some shots of my friends who were happy to give their best
Zoolander face and pose for some provocative silhouette shots throughout the club. Having friends who are models is so rad!
So the part of the evening I enjoyed most was finding the ability to shoot some of these shots with such a low ISO setting. ISO settings for non-photo geeks measures the sensitivity of the image sensor. The lower the number the less sensitive your camera is to light and the finer the grain. Higher ISO settings are generally used in darker situations to get faster shutter speeds (for example an indoor sports event when you want to freeze the action in lower light) - however the cost is noisier shots. You can see this in some of my previous photo galleries where either the lighting was poor or the DJ bounced all over the place and I needed to speed up my shutter to keep my subject from blurring across the shot.
By shooting with a higher sensitivity, my shots of John Dahlback came out much crisper than normal. This was specially satisfying knowing I can print these shots in a much larger format now because the grain was kept to a minimum. It also doesn't hurt that the lighting in the Ultra Bar DJ booth is brimming in blue illumination.
The following are a few more shots from the evening. The complete gallery can be seen
right here on dougvansant.com. Enjoy...
Labels: Clubs, Dancing, DJs, Entertainment, House, Music, Nightlife, Photography
W Hotel Opens in DC
This is my first initial review of the brand new W Hotel in downtown DC.Based on my three years of living in DC, hotels have never really been a nightlife destination. Some are graced with amazing restaurants, but rarely did my nocturnal agenda include a stop at a hotel bar. But all of that has changed recently. Hotel's in DC are getting into the nightlife act. The Beacon Hotel hosts a pretty sweet Sunday afternoon party on their roof known as The Coolout. The Capitol Skyline Hotel is using a beautiful redesign and swanky pool to host parties Friday, Saturday and Sunday. And now the premier upscale and trendy W Hotel has opened their doors just yards from the White House.
While living in San Francisco, I had the opportunity to
spend many evenings at the W Hotel in downtown SF. Their lounge, XYZ, was always a hot destination among locals in the city and so I was excited to think we'd have something like that arriving in the District. Enter POV.
POV - which I'm sure stands for Point of View because of the location - is a rooftop ultra lounge and terrace with some of the cities best views of the Washington Monument and other DC landmarks. It's quite literally 100 yards from the east wing of the White House. Word on the street was that POV would be providing drinks influenced by owner Sasha Petraske, who's made a name for himself in NYC mixing wonderfully-unique concoctions for A-list crowds. One
NYC publication suggests, "he is responsible for the recent cocktail renaissance this city has experienced." Sounds good eh!
We decided to book a table on the rooftop terrace Friday night, just 3 days after their official opening. We arrived to the Hotel walking down 15th Street and were greeted with velvet ropes and a line typical of any hot nightclub. Large doormen in suits with clipboards were there to make sure those on the list were granted entry and those not so connected stood in line. You know this is a classic trick of any club to give the impression of exclusiveness, because the places are never full inside. In fairness to the W Hotel, it was clearly the place to be among the DC nightlife mavens.
We walked into a beautiful lobby that was a mix between classic renaissance design and Alice in Wonderland funkiness. White ornate walls with grand arches surrounded a lobby bar with shiny red patent leather sofas and black and white chairs with exaggerated backs. Crystal chandeliers with purple lighting gave the entire room a sleek atmosphere you'd expect from the W Hotel. We were then greeted by more bouncers and a girl with another list who then allowed us to take the elevator up to POV.
This is where things got a little unorganized, which we have to remember is expected of any new venue on their first big Friday night. Coming off the elevator we were greeted by another hostess, this time with an electronic reservation system typical of any restaurant. But we then stood for 15 minutes waiting for them to "clear" our table because random guests were apparently planting their butts in seats marked reserved. So while we stood and waited, we peeked inside the ultra lounge side of POV. This room impressed me the most of everything I saw at the W. It was about as sleek as you can get with shiny black floors and black walls, all accented with red trim and red ambient lighting behind the bar. But it was the view out of the large windows that left me breathless. There...right behind the DJ spinning deep house, was the Washington Monument in all her glory. It was a scene I could never get tired of seeing and recommend everyone visit this lounge for a chance to see this inspiring city-scape.
We were finally moved to our table on the terrace where we found ourselves lounging in plush couches and enjoying cocktails just yards from the most famous house in the world. The setting is untouchable in DC as far as I'm concerned. It's a rooftop terrace with some of the best views in the city. The music is decent. The crowd is attractive and well dressed. The drinks however left a lot to be desired. I don't know if Sasha Petraske has anything to do with what is mixed on the terrace, but my "pina colada" cocktail was pretty damn lame. It arrived in a goblet that was about 3 quarters full. The drink itself had hints of pineapple and hints of rum, but the excessive ice just watered it down. Francis enjoyed a mojito that had definite hints of mint flavor but lacked the smoothness and refreshing flavor I've found at other bars. And at $15 per drink, I walked away feeling scammed more than impressed.
We ordered a warm chocolate cake with vanilla bean ice creme dessert to see if their happy endings were truly happy. I think they got this one right except when the waitress told me it was a Jean-Georges exclusive. I honestly don't care who created the idea of a molten chocolate cake...I just want it to taste good. And this one definitely hit the mark.
Overall I have mixed feelings about POV and the rooftop. I loved the setting, the atmosphere, the design and of course the view. I will most certainly go back. But I get the impression they are having a bit of an identity crisis right now. On one hand you feel like you're going into an exclusive club with a strict guestlist. On the other hand it's a restaurant where we made actual reservations to have a table. Clearly half the people on the terrace had not reserved a table, so there needs to be some direction on how to deal with those just coming for drinks and those actually sitting down to have dinner and/or desserts. I think with a few weeks under their belt things will smooth out and they'll get everything under control. The staff (or as they call them, "talent") was a bit overwhelmed with who was coming and who was going, who had reservations and who was just on "the list." This isn't new territory for the W, so I'm anxious to go back once they've got this baby operating as a well oiled machine.
Labels: Clubs, DJ, Entertainment, House, Music, Nightlife
Exploring The Meatpacking District
A few weeks ago a group of us from DC traveled up to NYC for the Frankie 95 memorial celebration. This was a 5 day Lindy Hop festival celebrating Frankie Manning, the man we all look up to as one of the original Savoy Ballroom dancers and a true ambassador of Lindy Hop. The event was inspiring, exciting, moving and at times very hard to enduring knowing we had lost such a great person.
But like all true lindy hoppers, we took the celebration as a chance to do what it is we do best... have fun! If there was one thing I know Frankie Manning would have wanted of the weekend, it was that everyone was dancing, smiling and having the time of their lives. With that said, the weekend was a massive success.
One thing that I knew would bring a smile to my face was the chance to explore Manhattan with my camera. I knew time would be limited, so I had to pick and choose when I could seriously enjoy the urban fabric of this great city. I was given a golden opportunity to get my start
shooting nightlife photos at Cielo, one of the powerhouse clubs of New York on Thursday night, May 21st. I figured this would be a great way to kick off the weekend because Thursday night events at dance weekends tend to be the slower of the evenings activities. So Manuel Ferdinandus and I hopped a cab for the meatpacking district and found ourselves shooting photos in what is regarded as one of the
top house music clubs in the U.S.
Shooting photos in Cielo was a bit challenging because it's not a very large club. And the DJ booth is actually quite small. The best way to describe this venue is it's a glorified recording studio. Seriously, it's one room about the size of a moderately sized clothing store with one of the top sound systems ever constructed. The walls and ceilings are covered with a soft material and padding, giving the room the acoustics you'd expect in a recording studio. One giant crystal ball hangs in the center of the sunken dance floor which is flanked with VIP tables facing out around the room.
The club has a small patio for those wishing to get some fresh air or smoke, but that's basically it. I think the thing I really enjoyed about this venue was that despite the high-level design and attractive people coming and going, it's clear Cielo is all about the music. After shooting for several hours and shaking hands with house music ambassador
Frankie Knuckles, Manny and I decided to wander the neighborhood and see what we could find. It was clear the
Meatpacking District was a see and be seen type of district. Most of the clubs had long lines of trend-setting style mavens hoping to squeeze their way past NFL sized bouncers upholding an iron-fist like command of guestlists and tables.
At one point, with camera's in hand, Manny and I were mistaken for paparazzi. As you'll see in my
"Meatpacking District" gallery, we found several beautiful cars parked in front of one of the more popular clubs. It wasn't the fact that a Lamborghini was parked in front of a club that caught our attention. It was the orange construction cones that were placed on top of said fancy car that had me grabbing my camera. It was at that point a large group of nocturnal participants began mingling close by. One of them coyly asked, "are you guys paparazzi? who's inside???"
Manny and I simply said... we can't tell you, it would compromise our jobs.
Long story short, this trip to New York City was dedicated to shooting photos in this ultra-hip district that was once known more for butchers rather than bling. But after spending Thursday evening and part of Saturday in the neighborhood, I think I captured some of the spirit as best I could on limited time. Enjoy...
Labels: Clubs, Dancing, Entertainment, House, Music, Nightlife, Trance, Urban
Crazy How Things Change So Quickly
I found myself reflecting the other day on a ton of things that have changed in my life over the past two-plus years I've lived here in DC. I moved across country, got separated, lived with rednecks, started dancing, moved into the city, got divorced, traveled a ton, moved again, and made more friends than I could have ever asked for. In a nutshell, the past two-plus years has been some of the best and worst in my life.
When I moved to DC, there was so much uncertainty in my life. My marriage was on the rocks and I didn't really know where it would go. I had just started dancing but still sucked and really didn't care to social dance while feeling like a swing dance reject. Even my job was on contract and wasn't going to last more than three months. The only thing consistent in my life was my photography and my friends...of which two of my closest (Dan and Matt) lived right here. I rented a room in a small townhouse in Annandale because it was close to my contract work and because I still had an apartment in Oakland. My first roommates were awesome and a joy to live with, but they moved out 3 months later and I was left with an empty townhouse and two other redneck roommates who had their friends get drunk and pass out on the empty living room floor. Life kinda sucked at that point and I missed the days of tearing up the town in Tampa with my crew at some of the hottest clubs in one of my favorite cities. That was when I had to make some hard choices and make a change...
Fast forward one year from that. I had moved into a one-bedroom apartment off Connecticut Ave. I had all brand-new furniture, a new LCD TV, new Macbook Pro, and a new car. I had fully immersed myself into Lindy Hop, started traveling to dance events in other cities and had even thrown myself into a competition. I was back with my soon-to-be-ex-wife, had really gotten into exploring and living in DC and even found some friends who enjoyed house and trance music as much as I did. Life was good.
Fast forward to today... The marriage didn't last. And I'm not sad about that. We both grew apart and had different priorities in life. We remained friends after the divorce and even still dance together on occasion. I certainly don't wish a divorce on anyone, but it was probably the best thing to happen to me since that move across country. I now live in a new apartment in downtown. I teach dance, travel extensively and compete on a regular basis. I shoot photos for some of the best clubs in the world and have a resume that includes photo shoots of 5 of the top 10 DJs in the world. I've shot photos in LA, Boston, Chicago, New York, Austin, SF and many other cities. I work for the AARP, the largest lobbying organization and one of the most powerful in Washington, DC. And later this summer I'm moving into a brand-new apartment right next to the ballpark. Dan and Matt still live in the city and even more of my friends are moving to town this summer.
It's crazy to think that in that short period of time I've changed so much. But it happens. When people come to a crossroad in their life, they can keep going down that one road or they can make a sharp turn. I made that sharp turn several months after I arrived in DC and I couldn't be happier with the journey.
The photo above of Lily and I was taken recently in NYC in the meatpacking district. We were trying different things to create an image to promote our teaching and weekly dance, Tempo at Muse Lounge.Labels: Clubs, DC, Entertainment, House, Music, Nightlife, Photography, Random, Trance
Pool Party...DC Style
So my coworkers and I decided to take in some sunshine yesterday and walk down the street for coffee. Michael turns to Tina and I and gasps about a great pool party he attended on Sunday at the Skyline Hotel. I'm thinking to myself, the Skyline Hotel is pretty dumpy, how could they host a "great" pool party. Crap, I didn't even know they had a pool.
He explains that the hotel is under new ownership and is hosting a pool party every Sunday with
Top Chef alum Spike Mendelsohn. He tells us the crowd is pretty chic and they even have a DJ.
Now you have to understand why I was so suspicious of this. The Capitol Skyline Hotel used to be a Best Western. It's located on the corner of South Capitol and I Streets SW. It was one of those forgotten hotels in a corner of DC that rarely sees any tourist activity. In other words, it was the hotel that comes up at the bottom of a Hotels.com search result because it was super cheap and lacked one star, let alone 4 stars like some of our other DC accommodations.
But then again, that was before the city invested millions of dollars in a new baseball stadium and a posh condo neighborhood. Within the 2-plus years I've lived in the District, this area went from despised haven of drugs and liquor stores to one of the hottest neighborhoods on the DC map. And so I guess this hotbed of activity attracted new owners to the Capitol Skyline Hotel who decided to bring in master architect Morris Lapidus to splash a little Miami flare on the building. After a complete renovation, you now have a high-design boutique hotel right in the heart of a hot new neighborhood full of activity. And with the new design came the renovated pool.
Now the owners could have just sat by with their new look and been happy. But they went a step beyond and decided to host parties. They've seen the success other venues have had with such an idea, such as The Raleigh in Miami, The Standard in LA and the
Phoenix Hotel in SF. And so now DC has a new Saturday and Sunday afternoon home to the young and chic looking for some sun.
Brightest Young Things is now
hosting a Saturday afternoon party with DJs and live music. Every Sunday, Spike Mendelsohn grills burgers with a DJ spinning lounge and house. Hopefully we'll see some evening events in the near future as well. Regardless, what was once a no-name eye-sore just south of the Capitol is now a hip and happening venue contributing to a thriving social scene in our nations capital.
Labels: DJs, Entertainment, House, Music, Nightlife, Urban
The Magical Bouncing Kaskade
I'm sure some of you are reading this and wondering, what in the world is a magical bouncing Kaskade? Well, it's pretty simple really. Kaskade is one of the top house music DJs in the world who hails from San Francisco. His style and skills on the turn tables make him a magical artist in the electronic music world. And when Mr. Kaskade, a.k.a Ryan Raddon, gets going behind the decks of a major nightclub, he bounces.
This is great for the hoards of dance music aficionado's who were packing the dance floor of FUR Nightclub last Saturday night. But not so great if you're a
photographer trying to capture the perfect shot in low light. Seriously, it seems as though every single week is a new challenge facing me in these clubs. Two weeks ago it was the incredible dying flash. This week it's trying to get Mr. Kaskade to appear without the crazy blur surrounding his head. Needless to say, I found a few ways to make this work in my
latest nightlife gallery.
To be perfectly honest, aside from the bouncing, shooting Kaskade is always a joy. His style is so perfectly suited for a live performance because he has such energy during his sets. Though I can recall from my first time shooting Kaskade at the
Electro-Techno-Disco Popsicle show in SF, he didn't bounce quite like he does today. Either way, both times I've had the opportunity to shoot photos of this world-class DJ, I've walked away with something I would gladly display on my walls. The 3 photos you see here are my favorites and will probably grace my walls one day in the near future.
Labels: Clubs, Entertainment, House, Music, Nightlife, Techno, Trance
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.
