Redeye November 27 2003

Hard-driving duo: “When you’re alone and life is making you lonely/You can always go — downtown,” sang Petula Clark in 1964. On Friday, Nov. 21, the words rang true. At Level 3 on Peachtree, one of the night’s two events headlined by U.K. DJs was presided over by Ministry of Sound/Bedrock’s John Creamer and Stephane K. It was a balanced night of dark ‘n’ drrrty hurdy-gurdy prog-house, though the general consensus was that local opening DJ Gene Carbonell__ showed-up his fellow record pool members by setting a bar that was nearly equaled but couldn’t be eclipsed.

At Fairlie-Poplar’s The Mark, local label SOCO Audio celebrated its latest release, Slippery Heights, with an appearance by the track’s producer, DJ Asad Rizvi. A refined selector of digital disco meets deep house, Rizvi embodies the insistent rhythm married to intimate melody that marks the subterranean seduction of London’s club scene. In iTunes, the genre for Rivzi’s latest tech-house standout is automatically generated as “Booty Bass.” Fucking brilliant. Search it out.

Oh, and speaking of nouveau disco, Fri., Nov. 28, The Mark hosts Dimitri From Paris. That should be fucking boss, as well.

Groove on: It’s a couple weeks past, but congratulations to Buckhead’s Tongue & Groove for its nine-year anniversary. That’s quite a feat in the nightclub business — especially in the heart of the city’s most fickle 10-block radius of lounge culture. Perhaps a good way for Atlanta to show its appreciation would be to — oh, I don’t know — not mess with laws regulating bar-closing hours, which would cut into the club’s profits (see News & Views, p. 23). OK, so it’s a sneaky way to get political, but it needs to be emphasized again. For further developments on the closing-hours issue, go to www.umix.net/2am and www.dancesafe.org/atlanta/forum/.

Ten soldiers: We’re heading into the home stretch of 2003. But before we get too obsessed with the O.J. ... sorry, M.J. trial, let’s reflect a little on the year that was. Got a Top 10 list you want to share? Send us your opinions on best local DJ, best venue, best production, best mix tape, etc.

Keep one RedEye open, and send all comments, questions, observations and invitations to redeye@creativeloafing.com.__