{"id":2139,"date":"2013-02-12T15:30:20","date_gmt":"2013-02-12T15:30:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ajdancelegacy.com\/~ajdance\/?p=2139"},"modified":"2013-02-27T22:26:50","modified_gmt":"2013-02-27T22:26:50","slug":"master-kev-02-02-13","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ajdancelegacy.com\/~ajdance\/master-kev-02-02-13\/","title":{"rendered":"MASTER KEV 02.02.13"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

MASTER KEV<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0There are a lot of people here! (pause) Not dancing.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Seven years earlier a gift enriched this magnificent metropolis.\u00a0 At a time when many soulful\/deep house music gatherings danced on the edge of extinction one man stepped out from the ashes to heed the call.\u00a0 His name Ramon, his moniker Rawsoul, his vision The Gathering, hit the city\u2019s underground soulful house community with a much-needed punch.\u00a0 Naysayers and haters were wary; the dedication to helm a party, in the city too busy partying to even care, was no small feat.\u00a0 The Gathering weathered storms.\u00a0 Gone its former abodes; the warehouse, a studio, a coffee shop, and a restaurant\u2019s basement all traded for the cozy confides of a restaurant\u2019s Space2.\u00a0 Successfully, since conception the party has hosted a wide spectrum of DJs plus cultivated a family atmosphere of house music lovers.\u00a0 Over the course of time, one essential element remains intact, The Gathering is love.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Nestled within the walls of Space2, at The Gathering\u2019s seven year bash, the love in the air spells w-e-l-c-o-m-e.\u00a0\u00a0 Warmth radiates from family faces collecting dollars at the door.\u00a0 However, out of concern, a word of encouragement is uttered.\u00a0 A further walk into the venue unfolds a curious manifest.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Their accents speak louder than words.\u00a0 His southern drawl from Music City USA and hers the thick throat finesse from France. Furry vests paired with ties dot the room.\u00a0 A bare mid-drift walks by.\u00a0 Despite the outdoor\u2019s temperature reading thirty-six degrees, indoors the temperature hovers at seventy-five degrees.\u00a0 Heat blasts on those gathered.\u00a0 One kid dances in between and out of the dense throngs of hot flesh.\u00a0 His drunken behavior is such that he bursts several party balloons-that decorate the premises-for what must be some form of amusement.\u00a0 Bartender, no more PBR\u2019s for this fella.\u00a0 Despite the shenanigans the party is at a standstill-much like bumper-to-bumper traffic on 285.\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

However, there is no stalled hooptie or no twenty car pile-up.\u00a0 Just a bunch of bodies parked on the dance floor.\u00a0\u00a0 In semi-circle fashion, like at a drive-in theater except \u201cEveryone\u2019s Favorite Photographer\u201d John Croom\u2019s visuals from the Gathering\u2019s past seven years provides the entertainment.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Piano keys play staccato style that run amuck, orchestrated strings twirl to climatic heights, as a warm melody approaches.\u00a0 Anyone for Lil\u2019 Louis,\u2019 \u201cFable<\/a>?\u201d (Denise).\u00a0 No one answers.\u00a0 No one moves.\u00a0 Hometown hero Kai Alce<\/a> tirelessly works the musical dashboard to deaf ears.\u00a0 Eyes of every shade of hue stare expressionless, as if hypnotized, at the slideshow splattered on the unfinished plastered wall.\u00a0 Folks this ain\u2019t no Peven Everett concert.\u00a0 Next,\u00a0the NDATL headphone wearer\u00a0tries to make the audience feel \u201cspecial.\u201d\u00a0 Fail.\u00a0 All eyes continue their obsessive loyalty to the wall of holes.\u00a0 Must be the crowd is stuck in neutral.\u00a0 Kai slams the brakes, jams the musical gear shift into reverse, and heads into classic house territory.\u00a0 No one cares.\u00a0 The dumbfounded stares continue.\u00a0 The slideshow repeats for the umpteenth time.\u00a0 C\u2019mon.\u00a0 Really?.?\u00a0 Can the Scottish duo the Nightcrawlers\u2019 \u201cPush The Feeling On\u201d (MK Club Mix) save the party?\u00a0 Perhaps.\u00a0 Slowly, a handful of feet shuffle.\u00a0 The zombie like trance might wear off.\u00a0 Maybe signs of life on the floor will show.\u00a0 Season soul sensation Donnie\u2019s \u201cOlmec Save Us<\/a>\u201d (Yoruba Soul) into the mix and bam!!!\u00a0 The party is off to a late start.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

After midnight, DJ turned Chef Sir Thomas honors The Gathering with a vanilla icing chocolate cake.\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHappy Anniversary To You, Happy Anniversary To You, Happy Anniversary To The Gathering, Happy Anniversary To You.\u201d \u00a0The crowd should sing.\u00a0 But they don\u2019t.\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Suddenly a figure wearing a checkered cap, dressed in a blue tee, and blue denim appears onstage.\u00a0 The crowd grows silent and rushes to the front of the DJ stage.\u00a0 The figure alongside Ramon Rawsoul and Kai Alce inspects the DJ equipment.\u00a0 Two Pioneer CD players.\u00a0 Check.\u00a0 One Technics 1200 turntable.\u00a0 Check.\u00a0 A state-of-the-art mixer.\u00a0 Check.\u00a0 The figure\u2019s hand steadily plugs a USB into the left Pioneer\u2019s port.\u00a0 This action confirms all systems ago.\u00a0 The dashboard\u2019s control panel comes to life.\u00a0 The time is nigh.\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

The figure needs no introduction.\u00a0 He\u2019s the DJ\u2019s DJ.\u00a0 West Coast house music pioneer, Marques Wyatt dubbed him \u201cthe brutha from another mutha.\u201d\u00a0 The DJ\/producer\/remixer is constantly name checked on linear notes.\u00a0 He is a NYC night-life legend.\u00a0 He is Master Kev.\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The speed limit reads 125 BPMs.\u00a0 Pistons hum. The party\u2019s throttle kicks into high gear.\u00a0 Monotonous chords that wallop against 808s come to a screeching halt. An understated drum kick starts. \u00a0Vocals whisper \u201cPiano In The Dark<\/a>.\u201d\u00a0 This is Nick Curly\u2019s haunting groove remixed by the Yoruba Soul purists.\u00a0 Oddly, DJ Master Kev plays the opening number at safe speeds of 120 BPMs.\u00a0 Shifting into 3rd<\/sup> gear, Jill Scott\u2019s \u201cCrown Royal\u201d (Timmy Regisford & Quentin Harris) heavy bass line blasts onto the soundscape.\u00a0 Surprise! Don\u2019t expect to sing \u201cCrown Royal on Ice.\u201d\u00a0 This is the instrumental.\u00a0 One dancer yells, \u201cMore vocals.\u00a0 More vocals.\u201d\u00a0 Her wish is Master Kev\u2019s command.\u00a0 Instead of Jilly from Philly singing, her contemporary, the late Luther Vandross sings one of his classics over the T&Q treatment.\u00a0 It\u2019s a two-for-one creation, the mashups, that DJ Master Kev is widely known to unleash and wreck havoc on crowds.\u00a0 Vocals courtesy of Honeycomb\u2019s Josh Milan produced by Japanese house head Namy\u2019s \u201cFrom Now On<\/a>\u201d rides over a dirty house beat that pumps at higher speeds.\u00a0 The premier of hometown wunderkind Salah Ananse with newcomer Paul Vincent on vocals \u201cToxic<\/a>\u201d (Salah Ananse Afrique Electrique Dub) shifts the room into a feverish fit not registered prior that night.\u00a0 The dancers summon the ancestors as they writhe on the floor.\u00a0 Homage to producers in the house continues with DJ Roland Clark\u2019s spoken words on DJ Le Roi\u2019s \u201cI Get Deep<\/a>,\u201d that stutters with tremolos and splits the room in two like a diced atom.\u00a0 Music from South Africa\u2019s Ralf Gum and Monique Bingham\u2019s \u201cTake Me to My Love<\/a>\u201d drops and explodes. Ms. Biggah Bingham\u2019s vocals are whipped into a dizzying swirl that has the dancers dance on and on and on and on but they never catch up.\u00a0 Perhaps, Master Kev tries too hard with Fleetwood Mac\u2019s \u201cDreams.\u201d\u00a0 The DJ drops the music to let Stevie Nicks and the crowd sing: \u201cThunder Happens Only When It\u2019s Raining.\u201d\u00a0 Only, no one sings along.\u00a0 The classic plays way too long and never catches on.\u00a0 Oh well, maybe next time. \u00a0\u00a0Rufus and Chaka Kahn show up in the mix with \u201cAny Love\u201d over techie vrooms.\u00a0 Master Kev saves the best for last with folk guitars strumming underneath African vocals sung in native tongue.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Already the digital clock reads 2:30 pm.\u00a0 The Gathering\u2019s founder, Ramon Rawsoul, appears onstage ready to control the vessel\u2019s music.\u00a0 Master Kev appears relentless to surrender.\u00a0 Indeed MK does slay the room with some vocal\/folk funk that is rare in these parts.\u00a0 Appropriately, Ramon Rawsoul is the man of honor who best serves to close out his party.\u00a0 So, the sweater & tie DJ takes the rein, adds a 4\/4 count, and increases the BPMs.\u00a0 He drives the music to Africa where handclaps and afro-chants dance with subtle tech.\u00a0 South Africa\u2019s Zakes Bantwini\u2019s \u201cWasting My Time<\/a>\u201d (Rocco Dance Floor Mix) wastes no time slaying the dancers left on the floor.\u00a0 The song\u2019s razor-sharp synths crescendo to spill blood on the dance floor.\u00a0 Music worlds collide on Usher\u2019s \u201cClimax\u201d remixed by Jo\u2019burg\u2019s G\u2019Sparks Spilulu.\u00a0The late Nkemdilin \u201cKemdi\u201d Amadiume sings on Handcrafted Soul\u2019s \u201cI\u2019m Still A Dancer<\/a>\u201d to the handful of dancers left on the dance floor.\u00a0 Sadly, the show must end before Byron Moore completes \u201cLife Starts Today<\/a>.\u201d\u00a0 Three am arrives; its closing time.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Great times were had with Master Kev as camera\u2019s flashed and gratitude was exchanged.\u00a0 The Gathering was a phenomenal success.\u00a0 Well attended and well executed.\u00a0 The experience ranked up there on the party\u2019s top five.\u00a0 Hopefully, next time, there is more dance space and less obstructions.\u00a0 DJ K Mixx\u2019s (welcome back) subwoofers sat in a funky space, right front and center the DJ booth, not allowing those that prefer to worship at the alter to do so.\u00a0 Also, here is to smoother concrete with no craters.\u00a0 The dance floor had more potholes than a downtown street after a harsh winter. \u00a0Attorney Ken Nugent would say, “One fall, that\u2019s all.” \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

In the words of Ramon Rawsoul, \u201cOther parties are like mega churches everyone goes there.\u00a0 But The Gathering is like the small church you grew up in.\u00a0 It\u2019s family.\u201d\u00a0<\/strong><\/span>The Gathering is that and more.\u00a0 The place you call home.\u00a0 The place you go back to when you need the real deal.\u00a0 The place you go to feel the love. \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Cheers to The Gathering\u2019s next seven years.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n\n\t\t