Chris Liebing live at "Smartbar" Chicago. 12-16-2003.

     This post comes to us by the am/pm boss himself, Mr. Chris Liebing. Chris has always stood for solid Techno. A bit deeper on the spectrum side though. While his DJ sets are full tilt, they are sonic journeys between darkness and light. And, as always, far from the beaten tracks of the musical mainstream. From humble beginnings in Giessen Germany, Chris has gone to spread his sound and smile to adoring fans around the world many times over. Chris started out playing a mix of genres but the underground beckoned. He opened up his first venue in 1994 called "SpinClub" to express those feelings and also played at the legendary Omen club in Frankfurt in the mid to late 90's. He ran a few notable record labels, "Audio" and "CLR" and pure remix label "CLRetry". Chris produced weekly Internet radio shows that were heard across Europe and also produced music along side Andre Walter as "Stigmata", Speedy J as Collabs 3000 and a few others along the way. His current podcast "am/pm" is a re-brand of his previous CLR series which purely focus's on him rather then spotlighting other artists but still puts forward great music and live sets weekly.

     This night, SHURE Needles had Bill and I come out to record Chris's set and mic the crowd using some of SHURES equipment as it was going to be aired on XM Satellite radio. This was also a night that Shure was hosting a "Toys 4 Tots" event along side Smartbar where Bag End Sound had brought out some speakers to set up for the show that night. Chicago's own CZR and Alex Peace opened up the night and really brought the vibe. Part of their set is up on our Mixcloud page if you want to check it out HERE. I think this might have also been the first time Chris played Smartbar as well. I know that he had played at raves in Chicago before because I remember seeing his name on flyers around this time. 

     Chris was using Final Scratch at this time which later became Traktor Scratch and was only the third DJ we knew of up until then that was using or even had it. The only other two were of course Richie Hawtin and John Acquaviva. They had a big part in the ongoing development and spreading the word as it went public. I think I remember hearing that Hawtin asked Chris to be a Beta tester or something to that effect and that's how he got involved with using it. You can see an early version of that set up in the first picture up above. He also had a Red Sounds FM Cyloops sampler, the white device next to the turntable, that he used to loop samples and have a bit more freedom when mixing tracks both in and out of each other and create some cool effects.

                                                        

     As the set starts, you hear Alex Peace get on the mic and get the crowd going as Chris's first record begins to play. This set was recorded during Chris's Hi-Octane "Schranz" phase, a phrase and style he has long since left behind. It basically was the name he gave to the type of music he was playing around this time. Hard hitting, dirty, gritty Techno. Not to different from what he's doing now, Chris has admitted, but a bit slowed downed. Chris went on to play about an hour and 45 minutes of unrelenting music to close the night out. Looping in and out of tracks, letting them flow freely throughout the mix. With the crowd not knowing when one started or the other ended. Chris definitely had the crowd eating out of his hand by time the night was over and enjoyed every minute of it!

     We decided to only post an hour of the direct mix as to keep it special. I've done some searches online and haven't seen anything on this set so we're glad we can share it, the story behind it and some pictures from the night with you all here now. This was also another show that I have never seen the flyer for so if anyone has it, please feel free to hit us up so we could add it to the post.

 Hope you enjoy it as much as we all did that night!

      

     If you haven't already, click on "Live Sets Chicago" or like our Facebook page at the top right corner of the blog to keep up to date. Get links to other DJ mixes, view classic and current party flyers and event links for shows we're supporting or recording. And of course, be sure to check out Chris Liebing for more info on what he has coming up, tour dates and support what he does. After all, if it were not for the artists, none of these posts would have been possible.

Hope this finds you all well.

Cheers!

Gus "Audio"

Bill "The Datman"

John Acquaviva live at "Smart Bar" Chicago. 05-05-2000.

     It's been awhile but after a few delays we're back with a bang to start a new year! Over the break I had time to reflect on what Bill and I have posted and realized that this year marks our tenth anniversary of our blog. So with that we'd like to thank everyone who's supported us over the years. The venues we've recorded at. The people we've worked with and finally the DJs that have let us capture these moments. Because like I've said, if it wasn't for them, none of these posts would have been possible.

     When I started to look at which material to work on I thought I would go with a classic by a person who's not only helped in making some of what we've recorded over the years possible. But also one of the coolest persons you'll ever met. The "Definitive" man himself, Mr. John Acquaviva. 

     We've had the opportunity to record John almost every time he's played in Chicago (I've posted three so far minus this one if you're new to the blog) And with so many great sets to pick from I thought I'd pick one of my all time favorites from a club that we've recorded at dozens of times. John Acquaviva Live at SmartBar Chicago, 05-05-2000. This set has been on rotation one way or another going on 19 years now! It really speaks to the great track selection, build up and flow that John has truly mastered over his lengthy career as a DJ but the story doesn't end there.

     This was during a period when John was headlining at various clubs and playing at underground events in and around the city at the same time. If I'm not mistaken, John held a residency at Smartbar a short time after this for a few years. This was also a time when artists where getting booked both at major venues and underground events in general. Speaking of that, the "Vibeonauts" logo on the lower left hand side of the flyer was the talent buyer for Smartbar at the time and was also hosting underground events around Chicago where John would be booked to play at. To me this was a special time in the city as you would experience artists in different atmospheres or venues play to different crowds so their sets would represent that and you'd really get to hear their range as an artist.

     This was also another one of those shows that until recently that we had either recorded or attended over the years that I had never seen a flyer for until recently. Frequently the way it worked was Bill or promoters would call up and say "want to tag along or "so and so is in town and we want or they want to get recorded" so a lot of the time we wouldn't see what the full line up for the night was or even what show it is till we got there so I'm glad I was able to add it to this post.

      

     The night started off with us meeting over at Bills studio for dinner and to catch up on things for a bit before the show. Afterwards, I left to get ready while Bill and John went on to record, and the Datman went on to later master, Johns highly successful "From Saturday To Sunday" double CD series using my Technics 1200's and Johns Vestex mixer that he brought with him. Since Bill was recording Johns set at the club, I didn't need to arrive as early I usually did, when the club was still closed to set up my recording equipment. When I walked in, the room was full of grooving people as Chicago local Darrell Woodson was opening up the night. He was really building up a great set and was just about to hand over the decks to John for the night. 

     As you can hear, when John took over, he starts off with some funky drum tracks then moves on to a few vocal cuts before he peaks this set with some really driving tunes and a mash up of the The Polices "The world is running down". This set is originally around three hours long but I decided to only post the first hour and a half as it really sums up the vibe of the night. Funky, soulful house with some dark, noisy techno. Some of the tracks that John played here were also featured on his "Saturday to Sunday" mix and were staples in his sets for a while around this time.

     As far as I can tell, this will be the first time that this set has ever been released and I'm glad we can share it, the flyer, the track list and the story behind with you all now. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have all these years.

Track list.

  1.  Bada Bing - Mash.

  2.  DJ Camacho - Renegade (Shelter anthem).

  3.  Problem Kids meet The Black Science Orchestra - Feel Alright.

  4.  House of Glass - Feat. Giorgio Giordano - Disco Down. (Club mix).

  5.  Giorgio Moroder - Flash Dance (What a feeling) Ralf Gum "Dubbed with feeling" mix).

  6.  The Hydraulic Dogs - Shake it for me.

  7.  Full Intention Presents "Hustle Espanol" - Do the Spanish Hustle (Gray & Pearn Dub)

  8.  Bitter Fruits - Rithmoo (Exotic Fruits mix).

  9.  Different Gears vs The Police - The world is running down.

10.  DJ Spen - Funk at midnight.

11.  DJ Spen - Craze at midnight.

12.  Green Velvet - Flash (Danny Tenaglia "Nitrous Oxide" mix).

13.  Egoexpress - Here comes the night (Revisted by Thomas P. Heckmann).

14.  Jess & Crabbe - Council.

15.  Unknown.

16.  Unknown.

17. The Silence - Music Control.

     If you haven't already, click on "Live Sets Chicago" or like Facebook page at the top right corner of the blog to keep up to date. Get links to other DJ mixes, view classic and current party flyers and event links for shows we're supporting or recording. And of course, be sure to check out John Acquaviva.com for more info on what he's got coming up, tour dates and support what he does. After all, If it were not for the artists, none of these posts would have been possible. 

Special thanks to John Acquaviva, RADO and Luis Baro.

Hope this finds you all well.

Cheers!

Gus "Audio"

Bill "The Datman"