The guys from Alterimage invited us to a party with them, Second Sun and Cosimic Gate at Webster Hall, we were happy do go. For one thing we've never been to Webster Hall, due to their bad-crowd reputation, but we like the sound of Alterimage and we haven't seen Second Sun live since Bang festival in Miami 2006.
Arriving just before midnight we found Alterimage at the decks crafting a progressive house set. Their sound is great, this time it was reminiscent of a Seaman set. Solid track selection, Dousk 'Nails' and Glenn Morrison 'No sudden Moves' stood out from the mix. By the way, we have the recording of their set which will appear here soon. Their track selection got lighter, moved away from heavy Progressive as Second Sun was closer to starting.
Tag-teaming duos are great, two heads are better than one when operating on the same wavelength and that's what we heard all night. Next up were Second Sun and though the crowd was chanting "Cosmic Gate," once the set started everyone got into the groove. The Webster Hall stage gives it more of a concert feel, not as good for a straight dj show though but it worked well with Second Sun performing. Their live trance show has a rock feel, but it is not all vocal. The energy they put into the music flows through them strongly - they are a lot of fun to photograph. Altogehter is was a fun and active performance - the clubbers who were recluctant in the beginning now wanted an encore.
Towards the end of the Second Sun set the club filled with smoke and we noticed Cosmic Gate milling about the cdjs in the back. When the air cleared, the fans were yelling for Cosmic Gate who came with a Trace and Progressive sound tonight in full force. The star curtain behind the club complemented the act if just in name. The Cosmic Gate guys banged out an excellent show fusing trance and progressive sounds. Everybody was into it, Antoine of Second Sun was bobbing his head to their music while dismantling the setup. Sometime during the set, Cosmic gate put on 'Back to San Francisco' by Nic Chagall with classical strings and a driving bassline, what's not to love about Trance?.
That night Webster Hall was home to three distinct shows that tied together by the energy unleashed on the crowd. As for club, the reality is it's no better or worse than any other venue we've been to. It all depends on the night and the promoters, there's no reason to miss great talent that often performs in this building. Where they are clearly better is the space. The main room has a victorian grand ballroom feel. The club has spectacular visual effects, the dance floors are completely isolated from each other, the position of the bar on the main floor is convenient, the coat check is out of the way. This venue was clearly designed to partying (the place has a long history), rather than fitting a club into the available layout.
