Big Strick, Teflon Dons, Jay Simon, Generation Next, Pipecock, James Duncan, and Jwan Allen at the end of The Summit
Festival weekend in Detroit is always a good time, but for whatever reason over the last few years I wasn’t getting the same satisfaction from it that I had in the past. This was at least partially due to my general malaise regarding all the bullshit around dance music, even though everything I saw musically was great. This year, however, was really excellent for me in all ways and I left town feeling refreshed, reenergized, and motivated.
The main thing I will remember when I think back on the 2018 festival weekend is the feeling of family. From the people working at the record shops to the friends we saw inside them, from the djs and producers to all the people who went to the events, it was wall to wall love. There were new additions to the crew and they were all excellent people who are deeply involved with the music but also just entertaining individuals that it was really nice to kick it with.
I’m not sure I’ve ever talked so much in one day as I did when we hosted our Saturday party The Summit. Many people I knew already in real life came through, as well as many I only knew online, so there was a number of first meetings which is always fun. Many general grievances were aired by everybody, and it felt good to know that I am not alone with the issues I have been having with all the scene related bullshit. Sometimes it feels like everybody is on board with the nonsense, but thankfully that isn’t the case. And I guess it shouldn’t be surprising that our party and the other parties I attended that are all MUSIC FIRST AND FOREMOST would attract these people. It’s good that we are on the same page though.
I’ve mostly fallen into the habit of going to the same parties every year, but this is because for me they represent the best vibes and the best music. There is really little reason to even take a chance on some other shit when most of it just looks like a bunch of random “big” names. I’ve been to those parties in the past, and they’re not for me.
All of the parties I attended this year were on point. Theo’s Music Gallery (which I guess I’ve been to the last four of them now, including one last September) was really the perfect kick-off for the weekend (after some record shopping and bomb Thai food, of course). The motto for Music Gallery is taken from the classic Dinosaur L lyric… “I want to see all my friends at once” and that was essentially what happened. It was like a reunion with my fam from all over but especially the Detroit and Chicago squad. What’s really crazy is that despite feeling like I saw everybody, at least ten more people hit me up later to say that we somehow missed each other there! The music was excellent as you would imagine with Theo manning the selections the entire time we were there. We cut out around 3:30 to get some sleep for the long Saturday we had in store.
Saturday’s party slate began at 2pm with The Summit, the second time in a row I’ve hosted this party at MotorCity Wine with Jay Simon, James Duncan, and Jwan Allen. Our guests this year were Rick Wilhite, Big Strick, and Teflon Dons aka Aaron Paar. Every set was on point and I believe every dj had a dancefloor which is impressive over a twelve hour party that starts in the afternoon. The vibes were thick, in no small part due to the lovely venue and it’s owners David and Melissa who are some of the best people. The taco truck on the premises was very serious too, which made for a nice dinner. We may have some recordings (hold tight on that) which is awesome because every set was good. My own highlight from djing was playing a CeCe Peniston joint that is a big time Pittsburgh classic.
After we wrapped up, Jwan, Aaron, and I still had energy so we had to go hit up Kai Alcè’s Deep Detroit party. We caught the last 45 minutes of Derrick May’s set of deep techno and then caught Kai rocking some disco and 90s house jams for a crowd that was in ecstasy. I got my enthusiastic dance on for an hour and a half or so on the dancefloor under a crazy branch thing and then we rolled out at 5am with the special edition records in hand.
Recovering from that long day meant Sunday was pretty low key with some light digging and our annual stop at Buddy’s Pizza as the highlights. We needed the rest and the energy for Excursions which was insanely hot once again, both literally and metaphorically. I met a handful of people for the first time that were really an interesting group of people and did some chilling before getting loose on the floor for Heiroglyphic Being’s live set and then Marcellus Pittman on the decks. Both were excellent and the vibe and crowd were perfect. By this time our energy was sagging and we had to dip out a little before 5am.
Monday was very chill. We hit the Nu Bang Clan’s monday afternoon thing at M!x and chilled out with Vincent Intrieri and his crew as well as Rick Wilhite and squad. I also had a nice conversation with Cordell Johnson about throwing parties and the history of house itself. Then it was time to hit Dearborn for middle eastern food and bakery and the homies Noleian and Jamal rolled with us. Was lovely to kick it with those guys somewhere a little more quiet than all the loud parties. We had a couple ideas about where to go Monday night but the hotel beds won out.
Overall I chilled with awesome people, heard amazing music, and got a grip of sick records. That’s what I call a weekend.
One last thing that will stick with me…
After Deep Detroit, Jwan and I dropped Aaron off and instead of taking the freeway we decided to do the long drive down Woodward into the city. It was a hot night and after sweating our asses off at the party and being generally exhausted we rolled the windows down and it felt amazing. We were talking about how we took advantage of two opportunities to bounce out of conversations on our way out, and I said “I don’t believe in god but I know how to take a sign when it slaps me in the face.” Moments after I said that, we rolled by MOCAD which was illuminated with a huge sign that said “EVERYTHING IS GOING TO BE ALRIGHT.” I think I agree.
Not my photo, thx interwebs!