{"id":952,"date":"2012-09-23T14:41:20","date_gmt":"2012-09-23T14:41:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ajdancelegacy.com\/~ajdance\/?p=952"},"modified":"2013-02-28T17:38:45","modified_gmt":"2013-02-28T17:38:45","slug":"ruben-toro-22-09-12","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ajdancelegacy.com\/~ajdance\/ruben-toro-22-09-12\/","title":{"rendered":"RUBEN TORO 22.09.12"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

RUBEN TORO<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

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.<\/em><\/p>\n

Fred Everything\u2019s featuring Wayne Tennant \u201cMercyless<\/a>\u201d (Atjazz Mix) greeted guests at the front door.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 Immediately thereafter appeared, neon blue and red glow sticks dancing to a beating cowbell.\u00a0 Cough<\/em>, as a couple of lit cigarettes traveled by spewing their poisonous venom into the air.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

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\u00a0tableau reeked disappointment.\u00a0 The d\u00e9cor seemed a bit confused, stuck between Midwest Saloon and slutty art show with two shiny disco balls hanging from the ceiling.\u00a0\u00a0 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.\u00a0 Alongside the room\u2019s right wall sat the only bar that served a pretty tastful \u201cSex On The Beach.\u201d\u00a0 However, no sex or beach would be found near or far.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 The venue\u2019s 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, \u201cSuckerpunch\u201d that proved much more entertaining and eye appealing than the environment\u2019s aesthetics and the cacophony fugging up the party.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Opposite the bar, in the DJ booth, veteran DJs sounded more like amateurs.\u00a0 A frustrated looking DJ Yusef having much difficulty mixing in and out of songs played three no-no\u2019s; Jill Scott\u2019s, Crown Royale\u201d(Timmy Regisford Mix), Distant People\u2019s featuring Nicole Mitchell \u201cMake Me Over<\/a>\u201d and the latest interpretation of Gregory Porter\u2019s \u201c1960 What?.\u201d\u00a0 Even Atlanta\u2019s starling Miranda Nicole\u2019s \u201cKissing You<\/a>\u201d (Rune Mix) proved fatal and couldn\u2019t save this train wreck.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Next up, Sweat Zone\u2019s DJ Ant B preferred classics over contemporaries.\u00a0 Frankie Knuckles\u2019 Presents Satoshi Tomiie featuring Robert Owens \u201cTears\u201d and Lil Louis \u201cClub Lonely\u201d could have stayed bolted and locked in the vaults of yesteryear\u2019s record crates.\u00a0 However, the packed dance floor disagreed.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Bar none, this was the largest crowd Sugar Groove had hosted.\u00a0 From the dance space, bodies overflowed.\u00a0 Don\u2019t get it twisted.\u00a0 Most of these cats were age forty, heck they were older than age forty-five.\u00a0 So there was not much in the form of eye-candy, unless over-the-hills rock your boat.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Damn the mixer that continued to wreak havoc as songs were cued in and out of with nauseated annoyance.\u00a0 Songs transitioned from mere off-count to overtly mismatch.\u00a0 The\u00a0people\u00a0\u00a0\u201chooted\u201d and \u201chollered\u201d and rollicked with no care.\u00a0 Only the city\u2019s plentiful of DJs and a few spoiled house heads kept note. On a side note, why was Marlon D\u2019s \u201cJesus Creates Sound<\/a>\u201d played twice within the same hour by two different DJs?\u00a0 The song is a classic but c\u2019mon, twice in one night.\u00a0 Really?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

DJ Ant B brilliantly added into the pot Stardust\u2019s 1998 epic, \u201cMusic Sounds Better With You\u201d before transitioning into the gazillion interpretation of Goyte\u2019s mammoth \u201cSomebody That I Used To Know.\u201d<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

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.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Afterwards, NYC\u2019s Ruben Toro who sported the shimmering initials rt on a black tee came on board and took the crowd circa 1995 with The Bucketheads\u2019, \u201cThe Bomb (These Sounds Fall Into My Mind).\u201d\u00a0 Miraculously, ALL mixing and sound technicalities disappeared. \u00a0Uhmm?!?<\/em>\u00a0 As the speaker\u2019s sound output increased, Ruben transitioned from song to song without a trace of trouble.\u00a0 Sadly, too much went on in the Temple Movement ambassador\u2019s musical concoction.\u00a0 Everything But The Girl\u2019s \u201cMissing\u201d surfing over house music\u2019s mellifluous waves \u00a0to Rufus & Chaka Khan\u2019s \u201cAny Love\u201d jockeying over a Quentin Harris\u2019 \u201cMy Joy<\/a>\u201d galloping drum loop to the newly minted, \u201cSometimes\u201d (Timmy Regisford Mix) scared hard-core dancers off the floor and away to the bar, bathrooms and even outdoors.\u00a0\u00a0 The former Shelter DJ mixed the music with the vigor of NYC\u2019s Shelter lead Timmy Regisford and his former prot\u00e9g\u00e9 Quentin Harris that proved at times welcomed and at others times a big fail.\u00a0 By 1:30 am tired bodies aimlessly disappeared as another round of soul searchers entered the establishment.\u00a0 The night that took off to a dizzying start of disastrous sound difficulties ended with a many of happy feet dancing.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Of course, Sugar Groove will find its footing after a few tweaks and adjustments (and a new mixer) at its new home.\u00a0 In the meantime, whispers can only hope that it will not take long.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\t\t