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.
Special thanks to John Acquaviva, RADO and Luis Baro.
Hope this finds you all well.
Cheers!
Gus "Audio"
Bill "The Datman"
