Nearly missed Kenny Dope at his stint at Deep with Terry Hunter last Sunday – due to the fact that I couldn't tear myself away from my Latin dive, where I may or may not be in lust with two of the bartenders. I've seen Louie several times (twice via DJ sets, and twice with the full live Elements of Life band with Anane, Raul Midon, Josh from Blaze, and Luisito Quintero on congas), and I was at the second Nuyorican Soul live show in Central Park with the goddess Jocelyn Brown (who did "Somebody Else's Guy" to teenage-girl-seeing-the-Beatles screams from me and a horde of black queens up front), the man like Roy Ayers, Jody Watley (before she got great again via Midnight Lounge and Saturday Night Experience), and Jazzy Jeff, but I'd never seen Kenny spin. I knew that Kenny was scheduled from 12-2, but at 2:30 I wasn't tired, was a tad drunk and had the Dope Wax remixes of Sabrina Malheiro's "Estacao Verao," Jill's "Golden" and Roni Size and Jocelyn B.'s "Sing" alternating in my head. Also I just wanted to go dancing (or what I like to refer to as trying to break a hip: anyone who's ever seen me on the floor knows that (while I'm not quite ready for the Hi-Hat) I'm rather a bomb-ass dancer). So after closing my local and making a brief check of the neighborhood cruising spot, I cabbed it over to the Vanguard, hoping for good things from Terry and that Kenny would jump back on the decks (which he did). I hadn't been to Deep since it moved to the Vanguard, and I have to say that the vibe is leagues better than at 1650, not just because there's so much more room on the dancefloor (although that is brilliant). Just a warmer atmosphere (which makes no sense in this cavernous space, but it's still quite welcome). On this night Ron Trent was in the house – along with Justin Timberlake, who I danced next to for most of the night (surreal). The set was heavy on colossal real-drum-breaks (in the mode of "It's Alright I Feel It") just like I'd been pining for, and I have to say that Kenny is adorable behind the decks in an odd way, grinning like a (giant) kid.
The loveliest aspect of the night, however, was that working the door was the radiantly sublime/miraculously beautiful (see above) Luis Tamblay, lead singer of Volumen Cero. This isn't as odd as it sounds – the Vanguard's booking agent is his fiancee, and I'd encountered him at that same post once before (when I'd been there to see Lila Downs several months ago). Still, it was LOVELY to see his beautiful self again, and he is astonishingly sweet – even giving me a hug (fucking NICE). Besides that, not only is he godly beautiful, but VC are great on the roc en Espanol tip, and I'll get to see them perform at long last when they return to the Knitting Factory on March 18.
As for Deep, I'm contemplating going back on February 19 for Louie (Vega) and Joe Claussell, or March 19 for Dimitri from Paris – both of which I strongly recommend. xo, B.
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