Veröffentlicht
Feb 1, 2004
- New Year's Eve 2004 "Coast 2 Coast" Sasha and Diweed back in America for 1 incredible night!
John Digweed with John Debo at Avalon Hollywood and Sasha with Jimmy Van M at Avalon New York. Wednesday Dec. 31st, 2003: 9pm doors Dance 'til 10am
Two main parties were happening and usually there is no contest on where to go. Take for example New Years Eve 2002 with the Giant Village featuring Lee Burridge, Sasha and Paul van Dyk playing. It was phenomenal and still the best NYE party ever that I have been to (including THE sickest afterparty at the Hollywood playroom, what a night!). With that in mind, I think many people were sold on the concept of Giant Venture 2004. Last year, Giant had their new year’s celebration on the street in front of the Westin Bonaventure hotel and I wasn’t too keen on that idea. Besides, John Digweed was playing at the palace, now called Avalon after the renovation, and that’s where I spent my NYE 2003, and it was riveting visually as much as it was musically.
As you can understand, many faced a dilemma this NYE 2004. Digweed has MANY faithful followers in Los Angeles and a few years ago, a new phenomenon called Lee Burridge suddenly dropped on the scene here in LA and just charmed the heck out of the audience with his innate skill to mix absolutely anything while still having a laugh.
So, the big question many faced was; where should one to go this year?
Imagine that turban clad fortune teller in a box, who’ll tell you your mass produced fortune for a quarter with two hands stretched out.
At one hand, he holds the temptation of Avalon, with John Digweed as the main attraction (not enough can be said about John’s imagination and dexterity at the decks) accompanied by John Debo, who in his own right is nothing less than fabulous.
At the other hand, he dangles the Giant Venture party with Lee Burridge and Danny Howells (and the rest of the line up) and a kick ass setting of a 5* hotel with all the baubles and trinkets you can imagine. I think that many people thought they could go between ballrooms and their hotel rooms and enjoy the whole hotel with lots of excellent music.
WOW what a dilemma. It was really difficult to decide what to do. I can’t quite describe the lure of Digweed. Undoubtedly he is the top DJ with an uncanny talent for mixing records second to none, but I don’t think that is the only reason why many people follow him so faithfully. I know I probably have an unhealthy obsession with him, but why??? What is it about him and the music he plays that makes people come back every time? Maybe it’s that genuine face of impenetrable concentration commanding us to take the focus off the DJ and center it on the music, making us pay attention to the exquisite ups and downs of the melodies and the driving beats. Absorbing everything he gives you. I really don’t think people follow him just because he is a big name DJ, there are plenty of them and next to none that has the same pull as Digweed. What I can tell you from my own experiences is that he is wickedly charming, 100% devoted to his job and has a shrewd business mind, that I think, shines through in everything he does ensuring not just quantity with his long sets but also quality. In addition, he does get first pick of newly made music, evident from the heaps of CD’s I saw behind the decks at NYE. Although I have offered a few pieces to the puzzle, surely the reason why so many adore him is somewhat different for everybody and no doubt he has plenty of experience. However, I don’t think you can put it down to just experience either. One thing is for sure, you’ll get the full ‘spa treatment' when he commands the bridge. He is also one of the busiest men alive, seemingly spending more time in the air than on land constantly flying around the world playing and dabbling in this and that (check out the new Spiderman ‘cartoon’ on MTV.com), so understandably he is adored all around the world, and we all have to share him. Whatever your reason for digging Digweed (pun intended) everybody can agree that they have never been disappointed after a night with him... (sorry, I can’t ‘lay’ of the innuendos). Moreover, knowing that he is so hard to come by, naturally Avalon should have been the choice this year.
However, Giant announced their lineup first (Lee Burrdige was the pull for me) and was really tempting with the classy hotel and everything relating to it. So in the end me and my friends booked our hotel rooms and decided to go to Giant. Meanwhile the countdown to NYE continued, I kept getting increasingly unhappy with the idea of missing Digweed play at Avalon. It just wouldn’t do.
As it turned out, I was not the only one who refused to choose between my favorite deejays. In this day and age the perfect cure for ambivalence is simply getting both! I met so many of Digweeds fans at Giant and I couldn’t help myself going up to them and call them traitors, even though I was no different! In the end, we all had the same idea - to take the train from downtown to Avalon in Hollywood later in the morning, in a sense eating the cake and having it too.
After trying to get around the Westin Bonaventure hotel to see all the dj’s playing (Lee and Danny of course, Paul Oakenfold , Sandra Collins, Jason Bentley, Luke Fair and Crystal Method to name a few) I convinced a few friends to brave the journey with me through the semi bright and very cold streets of downtown LA to Avalon as soon as the trains started running again.
When it was about 6am a few of us made our way towards the train station and the red line to see John Digweed. Just before we left I had seen several of his faithful fans on the dance floor at the Pasadena ballroom and couldn’t help myself stickin’ it to them once again and calling them traitors and at the same time asked them when they were planning to go. So, in our fragile states we wobble over to Avalon and thank you John for putting us on the list making sure we could get in so late, and with the friendly doorman wristbanding us, we were ready to party once again. Amazing really what a body can put up with.
Coming into Avalon was like a scene out of Moulin Rouge with all the fantastic visuals and the theater look. It was magical. What was even better was Digweed. When we had weaseled our way backstage, John, was as giddy as ever and it didn’t show that he had been playing for six hours already, and, was going to play another five. I think he really enjoys playing long sets and it was obvious through the moody & hypnotic music that he was thriving. The crowd was totally in his grip and when he dropped Unkle’s ‘Innerspace’ mixed by Sasha on Wall of Sound, I could see everybody’s fingers in the blue light tracing along with the piano solo, playing it in their minds. Fucking phenomenal. Sorry for the profanity but sometimes ‘fuck’ is such a fitting word and everybody can relate! In an interview with Apple, Digweed once said that one of his earliest influences was New Order, and not surprisingly he dropped a Blue Monday mix. I can go on forever about this man’s turntabelist genius and one thing is for sure, he does his damndest every time to make sure you have the best time of your life. This day was no different.
He gave it all and so did the crowd. Sure, he is no clown up there. But rest assured, he is thinking several records ahead and can quite often be seen with this concentrated look on his face which mean that the next record will just blow your mind away. It is no coincidence that John is where he is today and it’s not a fluke. He has never missed a gig! He almost missed one new years day when his plane was cancelled to Dallas (I think it was) but with some rearrangement he got there a bit late, but he got there.
Knowing he takes his job so seriously and get such enjoyment out of it, it’s a true pleasure for me to listen to him play. Not only do I get to hear the best and the latest, but up there is a calculating genius squeezing every last drop out of every tune to bring you, in this case a massive NYE. I can still hear the beats and rhythms in my head and I hope I will for a long time.
They had three massive screens depicting johns every move behind the decks, surely satisfying all those mongers who instead of dancing just like to stare at the dj. I would have preferred him a bit closer to the dance floor but doing an 11 hour set, I am sure he needs his space. I am also guilty wanting to ogle at him once in a while…
Avalon had an outdoor little more housy music area which was a nice break when you wanted a change of scenery. Not too long though, Digweed is king.
I have this tune I can’t get out of my head that he played around 7am and just recalling those sounds and vocals bring an inner peace to me and goose bumps on my arms. This happiness is probably saving me tons of money in shrink bills. They are actually doing research so that eventually we will be controlling (hopefully) our computers with our minds and the direction of our eyes. They have already determined the type of magnetic fields and electrical currents that are generated by certain thoughts. Much in the same way, music links directly to your mind, speaking its own ubiquitous and universal language exercising those neurons and for somebody like me, who really is a biological scientist by day and musical connoisseur by night get a real kick out of thinking about that aspect as well. There is so much we don’t yet know. What we do know, is that the more electrical impulses (non drug induced) that are being sent in your brain, the longer you will keep a healthy mind. I am absolutely convinced that listening to music that you enjoy and makes you happy, will keep you young for years. It’s certainly cheaper than shrinks anyway, what do you have to loose?
Earlier, I was going on about what the lure was with Digweed. Maybe he is the 21st century’s witchdoctor with a recipe for sanity in this increasingly insane world.
Since I didn’t stay all NYE at Avalon, I’ll let the pictures tell the rest of the story…They say a picture can be worth a thousand words. To put it in perspective, if you made it this far, you have worked through about 2000 words of my incessant babble…Cheers!
Words and pics by Rebecca Hagstrom