Portuguese Maestro

Contrary to common sense, I found myself zipping into Manhattan Friday night. The throbbing in my lower back had subsided some, only hurting when I bent at the waist. I popped some Tylenol, though I’m generally loathe to.

However, I was more excited to hear António Pereira, better known as DJ Vibe.



He was headlining at Pacha tonight. I’d heard him many times, opening for Danny Tenaglia and more recently for Victor Calderone. He’d always done an outstanding job.

However, he is quite the maestro in his own right. His mind blowing radio show for Antenna 3 in Portugal and infamous Ibiza sets are available for anyone interested. They occupy most of my iPod shuffle. Hour long, continuous mixes, pure cardio bliss.

Equally exciting for me, I’d never been to Pacha before. Well, technically I’ve been to the space that houses Pacha currently, when it was Sound Factory. But I haven’t been back in nearly two years since it was redone and re-branded as Pacha. So it would be a new experience.

In anticipation, I’d done a GoogleEarth view of Pacha’s neighborhood, trying to assess the parking conditions.



Couldn’t get much of a read from the sky but that evening I’d learned that it was bollocks to park in the vicinity of Pacha. Everything was mostly “No Standing from 8 to 6” yada, yada, yada with street cleaning regulations that would start at like 6:30 yada, yada, yada. Unbelievable that a massive amount of cars would have to vacate by such an early hour. Eventually I settled into a spot that would force me to move by 7:30-7:45AM, essentially putting upon me a curfew. I so didn’t like that feeling.

With the car squared away, I jaunted over to the club, still a little stiff but mobile.

I arrived around 2:00AM. The line moved swiftly. Promising. Joining me on the line were a bunch of Asian males chewing their gum VERY LOUDLY. Not promising.

A quick pat down, security disposed of my Dentyne Ice. *crumbs* I headed into the club.

The club was in full swing, a good energy and “vibe.“ DJ Vibe was already rocking the club. That was good. I did a full sweep of the club to get my bearings and get a feel for the place. If you’ve never been, definitely check out their website. It’s hard to describe but they do a pretty decent job themselves.

I ran into a few DTourists there, whom I hung with for most of the night but mostly, I danced around on my own, enjoying DJ Vibe’s serving of the Iberican sound which I have grown rather fond of.

He teased throughout the night…


Underground, Baby! - Adam Freemer

It was a very appropriate for the night. The party had that missing underground feel I hadn’t seen anywhere in NYC in a long time.

This was exactly what I wanted, an evening all about the music, about dancing without all the pressure and trappings of a gay club outing. Additonally, the dancing was loosening up my back more. It didn’t hurt much. I’d also been using my legs more. My hamstrings and quads were taking a pounding but it was worth every second.

I grew tired of RedBull by 6:45AM and called it a night/morning/day.

It was a great time. Sure there were things/experiences to be critical/negative about, but I’d prefer to chalk this night up as a good one.