Pryda @ Beekman (Pacha NYC) Review/Rant

Before I go on any rant about how the event was organized and whatnot, I will say (and later review) that I went to Pacha afterwards to catch Prydz and had a great time because you simply cannot go wrong with Prydz. However, the Pacha venue proved to be disappointing for many, as usual.  Luckily, it seems that they have issued full refunds through their ticket provider, clubtickets.com, for this event or free tickets for Thomas Gold at Pacha on August 11th.  All you have to do is email helpdesk@clubtickets.com.  I only recently did this and have not heard back yet (UPDATE: You can get tickets or a full refund, either one works and clubtickets is VERY quick and professional about it all) and I would recommend including your confirmation number and event name in your email to expedite the process.  Anyway, on to the rant/review.

To start, I got to Beekman at around 11:30PM and was greeted by a massive line to get inside.  I imagine this was largely due to Identity ending but I still had never seen the line there stretch so far back.  For Maya Jane Coles and Maceo Plex at Beekman, the line was practically nonexistent and there was a very solid crowd there.  Granted, the Maya Jane Coles crowd was not oversold like this was.

Eventually, everyone made it into the venue despite the crowd and got to enjoy the legend that is Prydz.  Only problem was that this fun lasted for about 30 minutes tops.  The question everyone is wondering is how on earth does something like this happen?  Well, in all honestly, I am about as baffled as everyone else out there.  If they had bothered to look into ANY of the past events at Beekman (Maya Jane Coles/Maceo Plex, Art Department, Knife Party) they would have known that the sound had to be reduced at all of these events and some even shut down for a little while.  This was with the venue being much less packed too.  Oh, and I almost didn't touch on the bathroom situation which was the worst I've seen anywhere but whatever, all I know is that entire boardwalk was covered in piss (including the mall).

After being completely shut down, they decided to try and salvage what was left of the night by moving the party to Pacha, where Madeon was already playing.  I'm fairly certain every single person at Beekman groaned in unison upon hearing this announcement as everyone thought it would be much more packed than Beekman was.  Some went, some did not, my friends and I went to the nearest Duane Reade to regain our buzz (great decision might I add) and then proceeded to Sullivan Room for Justin Martin.  Some of us actually went in but the majority of us ended up sucking it up and moving on to Pacha rather than coughing up more cash.

Eric Prydz + Beekman Beach Club 7/28

Yes, you read that correctly. The man, the myth, the legend, Eric Prydz will be gracing NYC not only at Identity Festival but also at Beekman Beach Club at the South Street Seaport. This is by far one of the best (if not THE best) venues in the city and most definitely the best summer venue in the city for house music. If you hadn't heard from my Prydz Epic Radio post, he hardly ever comes to the States. This coupled with the venue makes this more than likely a once in a lifetime show which we HIGHLY recommend.

Prydz will be visiting Beekman Beach Club on Saturday, July 28th and tickets will go on sale on Friday at Noon, although it is not known what website they will be available on exactly (UPDATE: Eric Prydz Beekman tickets can be found HERE) at Noon. Watch the trailer below for this momentous occasion and get yourself pumped up for what could possibly be the show of the year in NYC.

Verboten / Art Department @ Beekman Beach Club

[Photo from the Verboten website]

Alright. With Art Department at Beekman Beach Club / SRB looming large, I have to take a moment to give some props to Verboten New York.  As one who attends an unnecessarily large quantity of electronic music events, I feel like I have enough authority these days to bash promotion companies when they suck and praise them when they're awesome.  Lately I've been doing much more bashing than praising, but that's not the case today.  When Verboten throws a party, you can pretty much count on not only fantastic deep house and techno, but also smooth sailing logistically (entrance / bathrooms / bars).

These guys threw a show a few weeks ago featuring Maceo Plex (Crosstown Rebels), Maya Jane Coles (2020 Vision), Audiofly (Get Physical), and Maher Daniel on the decks.  The night kicked off at Beekman Beach Club down at the South Street Seaport and then moved to SRB in Brooklyn, and the party didn't stop until well into the next day.

This Friday, the format is the same, and only the cast of characters has changed (buy tickets here!). Most notably, Beekman will feature Art Department (No. 19), Ryan Crosson and Shaun Reeves (Visionquest), and No Reg Play (Wolf+Lamb) and Tone of Arc (No. 19). The afterparty at SRB is simply touted as showcasing "Art Department and friends," so we'll probably see some other No. 19 artists in the mix. Verboten will follow up this one with Oliver Huntemann Saturday, but thats another story...

Toronto-based Art Department consists of Canadians Kenny Glasgow and Johnny White. Kenny is a techno hero and Johnny is quickly rising to fame. Johnny also owns the No. 19 label, which has been on fire with a series of stellar releases this year. The duo only began collaborating around 2009 when Damian Lazarus (Crosstown Rebels owner / the tits) asked them to do a remix, which ended up leading to several releases on the prestigious label. Art Department has a unique style, but I would suggest that their signature sound usually includes deep, driving synth and somewhat haunting vocals.

This one was released on Monday and is done in collaboration with Konrad Black, another Canadian (Vancouver-based) techno veteran.  It pumps out serious deep house vibes and is bound to be dropped at afterhours clubs all summer long.  I definitely expect to hear it at SRB on friday. Hit the jump below for more of what to expect this Friday.