The Record Breaker With Niko & Anetta

September 26, 2008

My first thought was that it was really crowded. It took a sneak here and there to make it to the DJ booth to leave my CDs there as well as change shoes – given that there really was no space anywhere. Vish said it was a record crowd for classes. I believe it. The only people missing were Joe and Danie, who were apparently in Sweden.

Vish’s work on refinishing the floor was more or less done; it looked pretty good. I didn’t exactly get a great look at it given there being so many people. In fact because of the swarm of people, I did not spot Anetta for another 30 minutes or so after my arrival; I saw and shook hands with Niko on my way to the DJ booth. Likewise it was only at the end of my first DJ session when I finally got to check out the pair of small speakers Vish installed on the columns near the rearranged seating area. People coming back from their summer vacation will see a different looking Club Salsa on their arrival – not radically different but noticeable cosmetic changes.

On pretext of Joe not being there and Vish being short-staffed, I was asked to start off the evening as the DJ. I hadn’t counted on it, but I rather like starting off.

Playlist

Huracan – Bobby Valentin
La Muy Muy – Roberto Torres
Que Quiere La Nina – Kako Y Totico
La Esencia Del Guaguanco – Johnny Pacheco
Volver Volver – Grupo Gale (1)

long break

Se Me Fue – Conjunto Yumuri*
Son Diez Lagrimas – Lebron Brothers
Barranquiello Arrebatao – Fruko Y Sus Tesos*
Vampira – Rey Reyes
Yay Boy – Africando *
Mirandote – Franke Ruiz
Ven Morena – Orquesta Aragon (-3%) (2)
Perdios – Monchy & Alexandra*
Cualquiera – Oscar D’Leon
Los Salseros Se Van – Willie Rosario
Mambo For Vibes – Hilton Ruiz (3)
Dejate Querer – Jose Alberto “El Canario”
Pueblo Latino – Spanish Harlem Orchestra (-2%)
Dos Locos – Monchy & Alexandra
La Realidad – Angel Canales*
Mentirosa – Louie Ramirez & Ray De La Paz
Gotas De Lluvia – El Gran Combo
A Corazon Abierto – Hector Tricoche
Loco De Amor – Evolucion A R
Camina Prende Y El Fogon – Conjunto Yumuri*
Quiero Llenarte – Frankie Ruiz*
Otra Oportunidad – Jimmy Bosch
Los Caminos De La Vida – Ismael Rivera & Junior Gonzalez

(1) Vish relieved me here. I think the biggest reason might have been to raise the tempo of the songs. Vish played for a while followed by a guest DJ from Norwich. Vish played one or two songs afterwards before I took over for the rest of the evening.
(2) The Norwich DJ was very impressed that I got the crowd to accept such an old song.
(3) Unexpected fan for this song – same person who was awfully unimpressed with my Fruko Y Sus Tesos selection earlier (and wanting exciting Colombian songs).

Total = 28 songs. 3 Bachata including 2 new. 25 Salsa including 6 new.

Interesting fact for the night. I don’t think there was a single Merengue played tonight. Zero Reggaeton as well. It was all Salsa and maybe 5-6 Bachata. That is unusual. The Norwich DJ was alright – some might describe his style as something like On1 version of DJ Sylvester.

Present tonight included Jane, Rajiv, Ivan, Clara, Sally, Andrea and Polly. I think there was a sizeable contingent from Norwich. The Royston trio were there as well. As it has been the case often this summer, the two most in-tune dances were with Jane and Andrea. The one with Jane was especially interesting because of Vishal’s song choice – Saraguay Santoja by Angel Canales, a song I never expected to hear any DJ play – let alone in Cambridge. Of course, it’s possible that people dancing tonight might have been more puzzled by La Realidad than Saraguay Santoja.

It was quite warm tonight. Too many people probably caused the AC to work overtime. I wonder if turning it on earlier would have helped. I was dripping so much so that I was distracted from paying attention to the showcase. The floor was still quite sticky at that time.

The party ended around 2:30. I hurried home to catch the debate.