If Detroit's hedonistic young gods could pose any real questions about the state of their beloved underground, what would they be? Does dance music keep any dignity when it's been built-to-order, spit-shined and pumped to within an inch of its life, only to be thrown away? Can it flex some real musical muscle? Such concerns loom large for local DJ's Mike Trombleyand Scott Zacharias with their new disco monthly MACHO CITY at Detroit's leather haven, the R&R Saloon.
As party throwers and vinyl purveyors living in a jaded hypermedia age, Mike and Scott have long built an arsenal of (un)classics gleaned from dusty bins and dingy basements, creating sets that move asses, loins and ears in true rearguard anti-fashion. Strengthening their city's own underground legacy against its current nu-rave/blog-house blandishments, the two have built a cadre of support for overlooked and forgotten dance music, fusing Detroit's own well-hung disco endowment with arpeggiated Italo odysseys and Cosmic slow-burners, minted in supple steel colors.
Make your way to the R&R Saloon on March 21st where you can tap the aural traditions and tough love of Detroit's own seedy back alleys.
The R&R Saloon is kind of nasty, but what a brilliant way to use its nastiness to a good effect. Al Pacino's late 70's gay leather murder flick Cruising seems to be a point of inspiration for the evening, and what a perfect setting to meet someone who will take you home and kill you.
[Ed note: Not to be flip, but 30 years later and it's the same psycho shit. Don't go home with strangers.]
Regular readers will already know that I love my Fierce Hot Mess and my Sass and my Guerrilla Gay Bar and Latitude Wednesdays at Atlas and Tuesday Night Doggy Style and all nature of grassroots gay barring. These nights tend to work harder to get you in, get a more diverse crowd and, although when bad they can be very bad, when they are good they are GREAT.
And by now you also know about my love of obscure disco, old school gay culture, and hipsters. I am hoping that the content and context of this event brings out a slightly, shall we say, more seasoned crowd to complement the hipster element.
All the pieces are there, let's see if it all comes together!
Macho City is every 3rd Saturday from 10PM-2AM
The R&R Saloon, 7730 Michigan Ave., Detroit
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2 comments:
Intriguing. The typical gay event is typically too bright and shiny for my taste. I'm glad to see someone is finally tapping into the seedy atmosphere Detroit has plenty of.
What I love about this is that it's a new spin (or an old spin, really) on the seedy thing. Detroit's current spin on seedy is pretty lame.
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