[Dynagroove] larry heard

[Will Yardley]

we hate it when our idols let us down.  at least i do.

i try to set low expectations when going to hear someone i've never
heard before to avoid disappointment.

fortunately, i wasn't let down last night, and - judging by the crowd
reaction - most of the other folks at the party weren't either.

i missed tony watson's set unfortunately; my friends were lagging (and i
didn't even realize how late it was getting).  when i arrived, brett
dancer was throwing down some nice tracks.  his set managed to sound
both electronic and soulful in the way you'd expect from a dj from track
mode.  i've never heard him before, but he definitely threw down some
tracks.  i think the energy in the crowd was a bit lacking during this
part... the party hadn't yet reached critical mass.

the dj setup looked pretty nice.  i haven't played on suspensions (the
bouncy things) for a long time so that was a bit nostalgic.  they're
hard to play on but i kind of like it.  call me a masochist.  there was
also a urei mixer (although it looks like it was being sent through a
vestax eq of some sort which is unfortunate for the sound quality)...

anyway the sound was adequate... perhaps a bit shrill / midrangey.  when
the bass was cut out and the mids turned up it bordered on painful a
couple of times. i was glad they didn't make him play on one of those
pioneer jammies tho.  perhaps he has 'urei' specified in his contract.
i would if i were a big superstar.

the venue is a place that i've been to once before, and i really like
it. perhaps not the best venue as far as acoustics, but it has a nice
sort of underground feel; i was really glad the party wasn't in a club.

serving drinks was also a plus! i thought the crowd was pretty cool - it
seemed like a reasonably diverse mix of people, and most of the people
in attendance seemed to be respectful and appreciative.  i would have
felt a little better about our scene if it had been a bit more packed
(and there were definitely people conspicuously absent) but i would bet
that the promoters didn't take a total bath or anything, so that's good.

this may also have something to do with the fact that i hadn't finished
that many beers by this point in the party.

when larry heard stepped up to the decks, the crowd started to applaud
and yell.  the room seemed to be a bit more crowded now (although i
definitely wish a few more people had turned out for this party).  i was
really nervous as larry got up to put his first record on... however he
started out with a nice deep-but-dirty track and kept on going from
there.

there were a couple of sloppy mixes (which is to be expected), but the
mixing was good for the most part.  his track selection was amazing,
however, and his selection was fairly eclectic, ranging from deep to
really bangin'. i have to admit i liked the jill scott remix that he
played.... perhaps a bit commercial, but who can really argue with jill
scott?

i think he must have played for a few hours, closing with some really
banging stuff off of cd.  in any event, props to the whole crew for a
well organized and executed event.

w

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