Where the drums (and boys) are.

Past month, I've hit the dance clubs and while every experience has been fun in their own way, they were ALL missing something.

Great DJs, good music and space to dance, what more could I want?

To be blunt, boys. Men.

Sure, I'll go check out such and such a DJ if I've heard his/her work and liked it.

But please, I like to carouse around with my fellow, gay brethren. Dancing around like a bunch of silly gooses, shirts off and chests glistening with sweat with a couple of hundred (or more) gay men till all hours of the morning/afternoon, that's a gay dance experience. Even the BFs done it, years ago and recently on our trip to SF. It was embarrassing. No, I kid. He's got a good body he works hard on. He was having fun and for a switch, I was too shy and demure to take my shirt off. I was geisha.

Usually I'll stay decent and presentable, keeping my shirt on. It'll be sopping wet by the end of a good night but it's on. Some of the straight boys do take their shirts off (and most of every right to YUM!), but it's out of the ordinary. Club security can tell to them to put their shirts back on, especially if they're the rarity.

I've gone off on a tangent, anyhow…

Straight club nights are generally mixed crowds, but the proportions are usually NOT in my favor. You've got a smattering/handful of "boys." Unfortunately, most gay men won't go out of their comfort zones to check out parties, just based on the fact that they're NOT exclusive gay. Sheesh. narrow much?

However, most gay parties end up being big, circuit parties and while there's nothing wrong with circuit parties, the music ends up being an afterthought.

Thankfully, there's Victor Calderone's Evolve.



He'd cut his chops spinning for the boys at Roxy, very gay sound and plenty of vocals. After his stint, his sound changed, meting his repertoire with good, dirty, tribal and progressive house beats He manages to keep the "boys,"and me, happy and coming back for more. Victor's created a loyal and resilient following.

His party was just what I needed this past weekend and I was anxious for it to come.

More over, Tom Stephan aka SuperChumbo was spinning the early part of the night, opening for Victor. Familiar with his DJ sets and his productions, I was excited to hear him for the first time live.

Let's face it, I try to disco nap. It never works. I headed out at 1:30AM into the city, arriving at Crobar around 2:00. It's been ages since I'd been on 28th Street. The NYPD had set up huge spotlights in their nuisance abatement campaign. Obtrusive much? I do understand NY wants to cut down on underage drinking, especially since some parents don't want to be parents anymore. Still, I think I got a sunburn heading to the club.

Once inside, I beelined to the main room. Sigh. It's been too long since I'd been in that room. In the days leading up the party, I was nostalgic. It's big and sterile and it'll never be home like Vinyl/Arc but man, can that room shape sound.

It was fairly early and crowded, but i knew the "boys" wouldn't get there till about 6-7AM. Call me the lead scout. Friend Frank had called earlier in the day, saying he'd be popping in around 7AM.

I weaved into the dance floor and found myself some space. I saw some brethren in and around the areas, that was comforting. But I was content to dance around, moving freely in and out of the crowd, alone. Freelance dancer.

Tom Stephan was throwing down some nasty, dirty beats. Fun. Beside some of his own productions like, Revolution, I couldn't train spot any of his tracks. I've been out of the loop on newer tracks. Some of them were sick and incredible, but he'd build up and then go in to a break, totally killing the momentum. Just get on with it was my thought. This seemed to happen more and more as the morning progressed, which leads me to believe that he was getting everyone chomping at the bit for Victor, the main attraction. If that's the case, I give Tom Stephan props for being an excellent opening DJ, because by the time he was done, I was ready for Victor.

Victor opened with crashes of sound (on purpose) and bright, flashing lights as the crowd roared, cheering. And it was on. Picking up from where Superchumbo left off, he took us on a new journey filled with heavy, dirty beats. It was great ride but when he played Boost Your Metabolism, he kicked up a notch and didn't look back. No one complained as we were hammered by Victor's relentless musical assault. It was a welcome sound.

And like clockwork, the boys started appearing 2 hours into Victor's set. Lots of shirtless hotties started to pepper the dance floor. Walking through the connecting tunnel from the bathroom to the main room, I saw an exodus of people, mostly guys and girls, hand-in-hand. Guess some of the straight guys were feeling a little outclassed by the boys with their fine bodies. There was plenty of eye candy and I ogled. Oh, I was ogled back, that's part of the fun.

So with the music going well and I was dancing amongst my brethren, I was having a blast. Friend Frank showed up at about 8:00AM. Shrug. Didn't phase me none, I've become quite adept at having fun by myself. Take that, however you wish. :-P

Hot Track
Terceira - Carlos Fauvrelle

The music never let up, but the crowd eventually did. Crobar was at about one third capacity around 2PM, when I'd called quits. I was tired and I was satisfied.

I hadn't even looked for Friend Frank, figuring he'd be in it for a later haul. I was surprised to find out today that he'd called it quits at 1:30PM. He complained he was "so tired." That amused me.

Now, what to do for Halloween? :-)