I know he is pretty unpopular these days but I wanted to share an email I just sent him. Pretty much explains my gripe. Is it unreasonable to expect a headliner to drop the first record before 3.45am? Regretting making the trip to NYC to hear him live. The night plain sucked. Enjoy if you have time:
Dear Mr. Tenaglia,
I attended your appearance at Pacha last night, and being a huge fan of yours for many years I wanted to send you an email. Your influence upon my taste in music has been very formative for so long that I have always been excited for any appearance I could see you at and I always jumped at the opportunity to buy one of your cds. I have also been priviledged to hear you in other countries than the US, with a particular fondness for one killer night out in Ibiza with you on the decks.
Maybe because I have aged a bit and I am now twenty-nine with the career and my first house, but unfortunately I am not able to go out as much anymore. Living in Boston, there isn't a huge EM scene here (with the very notable exception of Club Rise and the recent emphasis on The Estate). I still follow the scene pretty closely, I still buy a lot of music and hit the decks in my basement as much as possible. On occasion, about six times a year, I drag the wife to NYC for a night out to hear someone quality play for a long evening. I am sure many people from Boston and beyond due this much more often, but for me this is a bit of big deal and something that requires some monetary and time sacrifice. This is usually a very happy sacrifice to make, but last night's effort will really make me think before travelling any distance to hear you play again.
NYC clubbing is still alive. The mix of the ability to stay open late, fashion, youth and the stream of cultural consumerism allows quite a good night in NYC. There is nothing better than getting out of a club exhausted at 10am to the bright lights of the morning, struggling to get home with a cup of coffee and a bagel or a savory, greasy street meat smothered in peppers and onions. I totally understand setting the pace for a crowd to keep it going that long. And I totally understand a headliner not hitting the decks until late.
What I am a little unsure of is the headliner waiting to do so until 3.45am. That is just too late. My wife and I had enjoyed an excellent dinner, left the restaurant specifically to get to Pacha last night at 1am, and were really excited to hear you play again. What we got for a long, long time were two opening djs who surely did their best to keep the night going but really struggled. There was an awesome crowd at Pacha last night, people of all ages and backgrounds, it just looked like a prime night. But really, by 2-2.30am, the place starting to lose steam. All credit given to the openers, but they could not keep the place going in anticipation for a performance of a legendary headliner. By that time, I noted a lot of people leaving the club, and people were really buzzing about it looking like you cancelled your appearance. The place was far from dead, but clearly many of the people who left are not the "leaving-at-2am-types". I was close to giving up myself, I was a bit deflated to say the least and the ten dollars I was spending on each drink wasn't helping.
So when you arrived on the "stage" around 3am, it was more of a sense of relief than a sense of excitement. And yeah, you were funny with your hat and the crowd was amped. And so was I after you did your vocals for a bit over the openers' continued music. So we were expecting you to hit the decks to take the night to the next level. But for some reason it took you another 45 minutes to do so. I totally understand the build up of expectations, the excitement of it all, but it was lost again by the time you finally came on at 3.45am. A lot of people, including my wife and I, were just flat out tired. I decided to leave during your first song because I was so bummed and so tired of waiting to hear you play. The openers couldn't, and shouldn't be expected to, keep a good crowd hanging on until this long.
So basically, I made the trip to hear two decent openers play for about three hours. Nevermind the cost of transport, bad drinks, and lodging, what really sucked was losing a weekend, losing what could have been an excellent night out. You were pretty much, as I said, a legend to me for quite a while and your sense of professionalism really hurt that last night. For someone who does not get to come to NYC for a good night too often, this was a bit of a waste. I hope that you can consider this feedback for your future performances and your remaining fans.
And for someone who really admires you, who still supports the scene to the best that I can, I am just really disappointed that I spent a weekend in NYC to have such a short and deflating night.
I really wish you the best and hope you can see this feedback as coming from someone who wants to see you succeed because of all of the good you have done for those of us who still seek a night to forget about humanity's unnecessary contingencies and seek something real in a night of good music and fun.
Take care,
Chad Boston, MA