The Crystal Method came back to DC Friday night, and Diane and I were front and center. It was a great show, but not as cool as when we saw them at Nation last year. We arrived at Fur around 11:30. This trendy spot used to be a fur storage facility, so it has the pedigree to become an “it” place. We went in the alley entrance, where most of the electronica acts play. We waited in the cold without jackets; however, it wasn’t too long before we were frisked and through the bouncer. I’ll have to remember to wear a slighty thicker top to avoid interesting conversations in line, though!
The club itself is pretty pretentious with private areas: platforms, sunken areas, and cordoned off areas. You can reserve (i.e. pay) for these places, so you can see and be seen. Sorry, that seems to go against much of the electronic music scene, or at least my take on it. What was ironic was a man on the main floor’s “special section” who was wearing a Che Guevara t-shirt. Nothing like the contrast of that revolutionary icon of the poor adorned on a t-shirt worn by a privileged man who had a huge bouncer to prevent “ordinary folks” from joining him and his entourage on the platform. C’est la guerre.
In contrast to its haughtiness, the club was tiny. The main area was about the size of Nation’s “waiting area”. The tiny dance floor was jammed throughout the night. The crowd had more than the usual complement of aggressive dancers, magnified by the small area. The sound system also was lacking. I didn’t feel the pressure in my lungs as bass lines played, nor did I feel my internal organs shift during a sonic run. Worse, or perhaps better, I left still being able to hear! One redeeming facet of the club was its very generous pour of drinks. We had a couple of gin and tonics that were heavy on the gin and light on the tonic. Overall, I’d give the club a grade of D and I won’t be coming back.
Anyway, Proxy & Lantern opened the show around 10 pm. They had some good driving beats, but Diane pointed out that they were horrible at transitions between songs. They waited too long to start the new song and thus the bridge collapsed due to the delay. It was cool to hear one of the DJs doing some solid mic work to complement the music. A stranger in the crowd high-fived me during their set, though I had no idea why. I think he thought I was freaked out by him but I told I just had no idea who he was or what he wanted. He just wanted to tell me that his friend was the guy on the mic. Cool.
The Crystal Method hit the stage around 12:45 am, though there was no break in the music between Proxy & Lantern and them. That was pretty cool. They opened their set and you immediately could tell the caliber of the music went up. Very cool set, though, to be honest, not as awesome as it’d been in 2006. Perhaps that was because it was all so cool to see them for the very first time. Late in the set, though, I was really happy with their work. I’m glad I went, and so was Diane.
As this was a DJ set, they weren’t focused on playing their own original pieces. But, they played “Name of the Game” and closed out the show with “Busy Child.” Those are two of my favorite pieces! They intro’d Name of the Game with a tripped up version of Guns and Roses “Welcome to the Jungle.” They played an awesome mix of Stevie Wonder’s Superstition. I was thrilled, too, when I heard the bass line opening to “Boys Wanna Be Her” by Peaches. I just bought that song on the 12th. If you haven’t heard Peaches, you’re missing out, and TCM’s mix of it was stellar. Check out the strip club scene from “Lost in Translation”, and you’ll hear another one of her songs, “F##k the Pain Away.”
We stayed until they left the floor around 3:05 am. We split after that, and while walking down the alley on our way to the car, we passed Ken Jordan, one of the two people who makes up the band. Very cool. We didn’t stop and drool, as he was with his wife/girlfriend and just chilling out the back. But, it was definitely a great way to end the evening.
