Could you possibly think of a string of four more fun words or a better Friday night pre-game activity? I heard about this little Friday night affair about a year and a half ago while living in Chicago but wasn't able to check it out until this week. I met a few of my peeps at View Bar in Chelsea and was mesmerized within the first five minutes. Puppeteer Joe Kovacs and his lady friend, Greta Green, are outrageously hysterical. They had us laughing our a$$es off! Me, Mike and Karen even made our way on stage to take part in the antics.
After DQPB, we made a quick pit stop at Colleen and Sean's and then made our way to Pacha for the Rhythmism.com 4th Anniversary party featuring James Zabiela, Deadmau5, Sleepy & Boo, various NYC locals in the basement and The Martinez Brothers (the main reason why I even ventured out). TMB are a teenage DJ duo originally from the Bronx (they now live upstate in a town a few over from where I grew up) who broke on to the scene in 2006. Their dad is an old school Paradise Garage house head who introduced them to house music as an alternative to commercial rap and hip hop. Within no time, Chris (15) and Steve (19), were hooked and obsessing over vinyl and eventually dabbling in production. Lucky for them Dennis Ferrer actually reads his MySpace messages because after a few internet exchanges, TMB found themselves under the wing of the well known house music producer. During the last year and half, they've played Shelter, Pacha, Cielo, PS1 and 718 Sessions in NYC as well as in numerous cities around the world.
Their performance at Pachita on Friday night was truly inspiring. Not only are they the real deal when it comes to track selection and mixing but they also know their role as entertainers - something lost on a lot of veterans on the scene. I still don't trust DJs who can't (or won't) dance and that is certainly not the case with TMB who are movin and groovin behind decks, Joe Clausell style! They played some classics, some pop remixes, some deep, some dirty - pretty much everything I'd want in a night out. At one point they mixed Nelly Furtado "Say It Right" into a classic house anthem. Beautiful! Not only was the music on point, but they brought out a new generation of house music fans, many of whom I'm assuming may not have otherwise been interested. I'm not sure if it's their age, their race, their taste in music or cross-over appeal but the scene could use more DJs who attract a diverse group of young people to come out. The Martinez Brothers may just be a hot new thing, but they also might just be the breath of fresh air that the stagnating NYC scene needs to get it kick started. I'd put my money on the latter.
