Sadly, for reasons that escape us Nick Warren rarely comes out to New York. So when the rare opportunity presents itself you have to jump at the chance. That's exactly what we did after hearing about his stop on the 'Global Underground 30: Paris' tour at Cielo. We had to make the show, despite it being on a Sunday night and at a venue we've had problems with the past. Arriving a bit before midnight, we found no line or attitude at the door. The club already had a small, attractive crowd that was mostly waiting for Nick Warren to start, which he did to much applause shortly after midnight.

As he got behind the decks, the tempo picked up and the recessed dance floor filled up quickly. Warren bought with him an inspired track selection that is no doubt related to his upcoming album. Most everything heard was new to us. The people who came to see the show knew what they were going to get and enjoyed every minute of it. There is no build-up with this man, it's great track after great track all night long, adding up to a set with deep, progressive undertones, and vocal highlights. We can't wait to get our hands on the new GU CD, which should be out in North America on February 27th. One mildly disappointing thing were the lights - limited by the basic setup with several disco balls at the center and multi-color strobes along the perimeter of the dance floor. Later in the night however, we discovered that some of the wall panels that line the room light up to illuminate the whole space in sync with the music.

All in all we can see how Cielo snags numerous 'Club of the Year' awards. The space is clean, well-designed, with a crisp sound system that doesn't distort. Needless to say they bring excellent talent.