Friday night Monster
A very important note on tomorrow's Optimo party - it has been MOVED from the Llano Estacado to the Glass House. The Glass House is in Williamsburg at 38 S. 1st Street (between Wythe and Kent) - doors are still at 9, and the cover is still $5. Here's the story behind the move from Todd P himself:
so on Friday night Monster Island - aka the Llano Estacado / Secret Project Robot / Live With Animals gallery - got raided by the Greenpoint Precinct Police Department. The police hung around for a long time and caused us a lot of anxiety and called the Fire Department and whatnot, but amazingly - though we chose to kill the party for the night because of worries - they did not shut us down.
In the wake of the authorities poking around the space we've decided to lay low for awhile and get some ducks in order. It makes sense to safeguard the space against permanent trouble - and at this point it looks like we should be fine in the long run. Accordingly though, the shows for the next few weeks will be relocated, starting with this evening's.
Twitch and Wilkes were just plain wonderful at the Tribeca Grand last night. More to come later, but I am definitely smitten. Monday's party could wreck my Tuesday, but last night was so fun that I think I'll have a hard time keeping myself away.
OK, this is the last time I'll mention Optimo this week (I promise). A few folks asked about where they could get some of the older mixes in the Optimo web series, so we've got two available for download today. The newest mix What on Earth? is still up on the Optimo site and it's outstanding, perhaps my favorite one yet. Twitch goes from ragga jungle to Joy Division to Pink Floyd in about 20 minutes and more seamlessly than you'd ever imagine. What continues to amaze me about Optimo is the diversity of their sound - not just within their mixes (like the new one), but also from one mix to another. These mixes both speak to that:
Jamaica Street is a dub/reggae mix, and an excellent one. The reggae version of "Ring My Bell" is an instant classic. Drum Attack! is all about percussion, and the segues are flawless - my favorite part is when it slides from the Villalobos tune "Dexter" into TV on the Radio's "Staring at the Sun" with Liquid Liquid playing underneath. I've listened to it countless times and that section still never fails to kill me. These are both big files, so we can't keep them up for too long - but enjoy!