As we complete the first month of 2016 I want to take a minute to reminisce all the way back to the first Saturday night of the year. With the hype of all of the New Year’s weekend festivities, us Dirtybirds truly didn’t celebrate until we got to tune into the Dirtybird bossman himself accompanied by some of the best booty shaking gurus around.
The night kicked off in true winter fashion as hundreds of people lined Atlantic Ave. Brooklyn in the bitter cold, some in as little as a bathing suit while others decked out in furs. Typical of many parties, the admittance of guests faced some difficulties, from the get go there were struggles with guestlists which slowed entry for not only press but the artists themselves. Another interesting feature was the lack of security… Now for a warehouse setting that “let us party how we want to” mindset is awesome, but a little more attention to crowd control could have been helpful. Several small fights broke out deep into the crowd, none of which were intervened by any staff members.
Despite these hiccups throughout the night, the groovy vibe was set from the second we entered. To any warehouse party goers the layout of the venue was prime, from the monster disco ball in the center of the room, to the risers that flanked the main dance floor, the eye popping images projected behind the stage, and who could forget that booming sound system.
Walking into the warehouse was a surreal experience, and having Walker & Royce welcome us with some thick & chunky beats really got the heart pumping. The duo bring an extremely fresh sound to the table every time the step in front of the decks. They set up a bright and funky atmosphere that was perfect to begin the night’s binge of sound fueled nirvana. One of their recently done remixes of Aaron Snapes’ “Sausages” rang out the opening set with a bang! That fat and bumping brought us into a mind bending transition for Will Clarke to take the stage.
The instant Will stepped in he had full control of the dance floor pumping those booty bumping beats. We could tell that he had been hard at work just from the onslaught of unidentified tracks that he threw at us. In true fashion he kept the heavy basslines flowing with tracks like his “808 Frenzy” and newest release “Can You Funk” that pushed those in front of the subs back towards the middle of the room and even got those wall flowers moving. By the time the end of his set came the massive space began to finally feel full, as most of us could tell by the difficulty getting to the bar.
The limits of the sound system were really tested when Shiba hopped up there. He set up some major eerie dark vibes with that growling bass he’s known so well for, making the entire venue vibrate. His remix of PQM’s “You Are Sleeping” had the crowd hypnotized as we could feel the energy of those present winding deep down the rabbit hole. The major technical skills of Shiba broke out towards the end of his set, as he threw down a mind blowing scratch routine with the boss bird standing next to him on stage eager to jump in.
By 2am the venue was packed out from wall to wall and the living legends, Claude VonStroke and Green Velvet took the stage as Get Real. Brooklyn was proud to host them on the final stop of their tour, and lucky for us they’re sound brought the heat to a bitter cold New York night. Claude and Green Velvet were ecstatic to play such an intimate venue, far away from the monstrous festivals and luxury clubs they are constantly booked for. Their positive energy radiated throughout the entire venue, and nothing but smiles were seen from the crowd to the stage. The sound system was cranked up even higher for them to lay their dirtiest tracks out for us. There was a point that it was pleasantly difficult to breath from so much bass pumping out of the speakers. Bombs hit the dancefloor in the form of tracks like Eats Everything’s remix of Tiga’s “Dancing (Again!)” and Maceo Plex’s “Conjure Sex” which jacked the energy up and got the crowd all hot and bothered ready to bump deep into Sunday morning. Claude’s silky bassline of “Barrump” had hijacked everyone’s feet. While Green Velvet’s “Flash” had the crowd bugging out with style as he hopped on the mic for the familiar dialogue. The set wouldn’t have been complete though without a handful of unidentified Get Real originals that hinted a slightly darker and seductive sound accompanied by some groovy rhythms. Their recently released “Mind Yo Bizness” and “Snuffaluffagus” had the room in a frenzy and took people real deep inside their enchanting textures.
Kudos to Get Real and the rest of the Dirtybird family for throwing a top notch party for us. For now, keep on the lookout for future Dirtybird releases and events.
For more info on Get Real, go to:
By Anthony Romano
