So, I'd been looking forward to last night all week. It seems as though this town has made a 180? turnaround as far as the music scene goes. Now, we're nowhere on par with the likes of NYC, Miami, or LA but I'd say that we're not far behind. I don't think we'll ever rise to their level but we're definitely better (of late) than most.
The weekend really started off for me on Thursday. [color=red]WARNING! Shameless pat on my own back ahead.[/color] I took my Derivatives mid-term and thought it was one of the toughest tests I've taken. Once my brain was through being turned into a gelatinous mass I pressed submit to get my score.....95. Yep, you read right - a 95! Needless to say I was floating on air. That means that my score in the class right now is a 99. I'm pretty amped because it looks as though my 3 classes this short summer semester will land me on the Dean's List once again. [b]<End ego stroking>[/b]
Got everything lined up to head downtown to grab a bite to eat and knock back a couple of La Fin du Monde's before heading over to Cleo's for the boys. About 915pm rolls around so Kabir (Localizer) and I pay our tabs and stroll around the corner. Get in and we're the first ones there. Sat up at the bar for a few minutes before Villo decided to stroll in. He immediately started banging out tunes. I've seen Villo a few times now but last night he was on the top of his game. It was the [u]PERFECT[/u] warm-up set and he quickly filled the floor.
After Villo threw down Tim Skinner jumped on. This is the second time I've seen him and both times he has been amazing. He laid down nice dark tunes with some really groovy basslines. He played for a good hour and a half at least and I barely moved from standing in the front shaking like an epileptic at a revival. Then the moment came, and the torch was passed to Mr. Fortier who put together a beautiful set. Save for some technical difficulties it was perfect. He ran the gamut as far as sound goes which really showed me that he was playing what he enjoys, not catering to one sound in particular.
Everything said and done, it was a brilliant evening. I can't thank Villo enough for being such a nice guy and always making sure that we're kept up to date with the goings on here in Orlando. You are truely a world-class guy bapi (or whatever the hell you were trying to tell me last night!) And boy can the guy speak Spanish! Lo siento, mi espanol es muy puquito. The highlight of the evening came at the afterparty at Bill Hamel's house. Just sitting in his studio shooting while he, Chris, and Tim talked tunes, production, and touring. It was like a townhall meeting at times with all three of them fielding questions from us, the audience. Thanks to Bill for his hospitality (and having PacMan), to all three guys (Villo, Tim, and Chris) for putting together an amazing evening, and to everyone from [ms] that came out, it was fun. Let's do it again sometime.
-Joe