Redshape, DVS1 at Breakfast Club

Nothing against them, but it's about time we had a break from the usual Chicago and Detroit legends making the rounds.  This was billed as "Pure Dark Techno Night" and the music didn't disappoint, unfortunately, I may have been too exhausted to fully appreciate it.

On the way to the club we passed a man drinking a beer on a street corner who was wearing jeans, a plain white shirt, and a Redshape mask pulled up over his head.  I had just blabbed to friends about how nobody knows exactly who Redshape is and how he even wears a mask for his DJ appearances, the comedic timing of the whole thing was completely accidental. Of course the man on the corner wasn't Redshape, the real person had already begun his set.  Breakfast Club is a tiny place and they always put the DJ booth near the entrance, making it nearly physically impossible to squeeze your way in or out.  On the plus side, as soon as you descend the stairs and enter the club, you're immediately in the epicentre of the party.  And sure enough, there he was behind the decks, wearing the creepy, vacant, shiny red mask, with a posse of five dancing around him behind the decks and a couple hundred people on the floor of the club already going mad.  A couple dozen of them, both guys and girls, were wearing the same red masks too.  I assume Redshape brings these masks to all his DJ gigs, although I certainly wasn't aware of it.  It's as if everyone is invited to be him for the night, as if anyone can be Redshape.  It's like techno Spartacus.

His set was a hybrid of trance and minimal techno, basically a two hour long Redshape remix.  That pretty much sums up why I don't think much of Redshape on record, but there's no doubt this stuff really works in front of a live crowd.

DVS1 is much more my style -- bruising, dark, heavy techno from Detroit.  I was already wrecked about an hour into his set because fatigue and aerobic techno workouts don't mix.  Plus you could feel the exhaustion in the room after Redshape's set.  But all in all it was a great night, and I wouldn't mind a re-do.