AJ Dance Legacy

RUBEN TORO

The candy man was back at it at again, but this time at a new home called the Shelter and not to be associated with the NYC club with the same moniker.

Fred Everything’s featuring Wayne Tennant “Mercyless” (Atjazz Mix) greeted guests at the front door.  Traveling up a flight of wooden stairs that landed safely on the second floor where door fees were paid in full and the left hand was stamped, one viewed the sounds of razor sharp synths mercilessly slice and dice fellow dancers on the dance floor.  Immediately thereafter appeared, neon blue and red glow sticks dancing to a beating cowbell.  Cough, as a couple of lit cigarettes traveled by spewing their poisonous venom into the air.    

Having thought this was a real night club and not a Corner Tavern- minus the wooden jumbo dining booths-carbon copy of the restaurant chain scattered throughout the city, the displayed tableau reeked disappointment.  The décor seemed a bit confused, stuck between Midwest Saloon and slutty art show with two shiny disco balls hanging from the ceiling.   The rear of the former restaurant housed two pool tables, adjacent the dance space sat a mechanical horse kiddy ride (found at the K-marts of old) as paintings of three-fourths naked anime girls totting guns hung on walls.  Alongside the room’s right wall sat the only bar that served a pretty tastful “Sex On The Beach.”  However, no sex or beach would be found near or far.  Only a wooden floor would quench such appetites that safely allowed dancing feet to sway softly and smoothly without sending knees to the operating room.  The venue’s frontal feature, a platform stage, with a birthday party in progress, sat underneath two ceiling speakers that banged out a not so clear and crisp auditory effect. Four monitors dispersed throughout the establishment played the Box Office flop, “Suckerpunch” that proved much more entertaining and eye appealing than the environment’s aesthetics and the cacophony fugging up the party.

Opposite the bar, in the DJ booth, veteran DJs sounded more like amateurs.  A frustrated looking DJ Yusef having much difficulty mixing in and out of songs played three no-no’s; Jill Scott’s, Crown Royale”(Timmy Regisford Mix), Distant People’s featuring Nicole Mitchell “Make Me Over” and the latest interpretation of Gregory Porter’s “1960 What?.”  Even Atlanta’s starling Miranda Nicole’s “Kissing You” (Rune Mix) proved fatal and couldn’t save this train wreck.

Next up, Sweat Zone’s DJ Ant B preferred classics over contemporaries.  Frankie Knuckles’ Presents Satoshi Tomiie featuring Robert Owens “Tears” and Lil Louis “Club Lonely” could have stayed bolted and locked in the vaults of yesteryear’s record crates.  However, the packed dance floor disagreed.

Bar none, this was the largest crowd Sugar Groove had hosted.  From the dance space, bodies overflowed.  Don’t get it twisted.  Most of these cats were age forty, heck they were older than age forty-five.  So there was not much in the form of eye-candy, unless over-the-hills rock your boat.

Damn the mixer that continued to wreak havoc as songs were cued in and out of with nauseated annoyance.  Songs transitioned from mere off-count to overtly mismatch.  The people  “hooted” and “hollered” and rollicked with no care.  Only the city’s plentiful of DJs and a few spoiled house heads kept note. On a side note, why was Marlon D’s “Jesus Creates Sound” played twice within the same hour by two different DJs?  The song is a classic but c’mon, twice in one night.  Really?

DJ Ant B brilliantly added into the pot Stardust’s 1998 epic, “Music Sounds Better With You” before transitioning into the gazillion interpretation of Goyte’s mammoth “Somebody That I Used To Know.”

As the candy man DJ Swift mumbled a few shout-outs into the microphone, the bowls filled with gooey Laffy Taffy and crunchy Dum Dum Pops proved more satisfying to the palette than the music.

Afterwards, NYC’s Ruben Toro who sported the shimmering initials rt on a black tee came on board and took the crowd circa 1995 with The Bucketheads’, “The Bomb (These Sounds Fall Into My Mind).”  Miraculously, ALL mixing and sound technicalities disappeared.  Uhmm?!?  As the speaker’s sound output increased, Ruben transitioned from song to song without a trace of trouble.  Sadly, too much went on in the Temple Movement ambassador’s musical concoction.  Everything But The Girl’s “Missing” surfing over house music’s mellifluous waves  to Rufus & Chaka Khan’s “Any Love” jockeying over a Quentin Harris’ “My Joy” galloping drum loop to the newly minted, “Sometimes” (Timmy Regisford Mix) scared hard-core dancers off the floor and away to the bar, bathrooms and even outdoors.   The former Shelter DJ mixed the music with the vigor of NYC’s Shelter lead Timmy Regisford and his former protégé Quentin Harris that proved at times welcomed and at others times a big fail.  By 1:30 am tired bodies aimlessly disappeared as another round of soul searchers entered the establishment.  The night that took off to a dizzying start of disastrous sound difficulties ended with a many of happy feet dancing.

Of course, Sugar Groove will find its footing after a few tweaks and adjustments (and a new mixer) at its new home.  In the meantime, whispers can only hope that it will not take long.

Words & Photography by AJ Dance