| URBAN GROOVE PREVIEW
Unusual dancefloor options are once again available on Wednesday nights. If you’re looking for something off the beaten path, here are three new options to get you mobilized, courtesy Cherry Lounge, Embassy Nightclub and The Night Gallery.
The loss of longtime resident Melo D leaves The Night Gallery in a position to revamp its Wednesday program. They’ve enlisted the services of Marco Primo and Shidoshi for Sole Sessions, an event that will incorporate music from a variety of musical genres, including speed garage, hip-hop and everything soulful in between.
Both Primo and Shidoshi are CJSW DJs, who individually have enjoyed residencies at Bamboo, Embassy and the former Pongo Noodle House and Bar. The idea behind the multi-format night is to broaden horizons – playing a diverse range of music allows the event to change from week to week while retaining similar themes.
"In the last few years, there was an emphasis on… insert format here," says Shidoshi. "Now there are themes that run through all formats. We’re trying to bring many themes and formats together to make something unique, something that people aren’t going to find in the super-clubs."
Switching the emphasis from a particular sub-genre of a dance music, the idea is to be more like a chef and mix a batch of beats. This shows Calgary’s DJ world is moving back to square one – Shidoshi thinks that DJs should be renowned for selecting and playing songs, not just for their mixing abilities.
Domenic G agrees – he hosts Fehrenheit, an event that recently moved back to the Embassy. Fehrenheit’s DJ multiplex sees no fewer than six of the usual suspects returning to the fray. Jonus Jordon and Fever will handle drum and bass, Testa and Disoriental will take care of all things that hop and Domenic G and Delerious will anchor the 4/4 portions of the night. Guests and out-of-towners will, of course, be de rigeur.
"It’s a good time," says Domenic G. "You don’t have to just come out for one thing. That’s where your locals have it over the hype. We offer more options on a regular basis – you’re not stuck listening to the radio in a nightclub."
Cherry Lounge has also diversified, taking on the mid-week blahs with a lineup that will include punk and indie rock, as well as a mix of hip-hop and dance music.
Whatever the cause of this most recent nocturnal shift, all three events are set to try, as the owner of Cherry Lounge says, to make it fun to go out again.
"Just to listen to music and dance a little," says P.J. L’Heureux, "without the hype of it being this or that." |
