Friday night in Jersey I was privy to a set spun by Dirk Ivens, considered to be a pioneer 'round these parts. While I enjoyed my first time hearin' him I thought it'd be a while before we would cross paths again. I had no idea that it would be this soon.

I gets in and head towards the VIG Room (very important Guilders) where a host of peoples are just congregatin', among those The Dyzz, Lady 'Spawn and Dirk Ivens himself. After thankin' him for his Jersey set and gettin' a specially made CD from The PATHers (insert grrly squeals of delight here) I heads upstairs to warm up a bit before delvin' into the harder stuff. Treated myself to some Samantha Fox and "Safety Dance" (doesn't anybody know how to do that right? Lot of sad lookin' folks just totally destroyin' it) while lookin' out for The Pyramidic One, who seemed to be a no-show. So much for my peacock struttin'. Once I felt a little loose it was back downstairs.

Jumped on the BlackReds halfway thru Stalag's set alongside Bianca, Lady 'Spawn, Sol and Lady 'Llyn and a few newbies (I think one of them was a lady friend of Dirk's). After his successful run at The first Veterans' Night in Jersey I've been consciously payin' attention to his sets (not that I wasn't before but it wasn't as intently as I did before that)...a lot of tunes creep up on ya before you know it and I'd rather be ready when they do (and I already missed about four of 'em, from his previous sets, easily). Thru the set Bianca was hittin' me with quick nods of apporval of some of the songs, which turned out to be our inside joke: talkin' about me in the third person ("Rob would like this one!" "What does Rob think about this one?").

Next up: Dirk Ivens. He did exactly what I hoped he did, and that was play the same songs he did the night before. Quite a few really caught my ears but good includin' one that had no real beat to it but a kick ass snare substitute. I heard this in Jersey and was hooked on it hard! Imagine my surprise when Bianca said, "That's his song." "Oh, you mean it's his favorite?" "No, I mean he made it!" Oh to the dayam! I was really likin' this cut now! I just gotta get a copy of that ASAP! He also played the song that was intro'd to me courtesy of The Ghost: "No Devotion"! Third time around and really, really startn' to dig this track!

During my floor run I happened to see the more important second reason I came to town: DJ Wintermute and Lady Heather. These two have made a serious impact in the earlier years of my club life and their influence still resonates to this day. Daps and hugs were given as well as...apologies?? (I had sent them a couple of e-mails and they were explainin' the reasons why they weren't answered right away.) I was seriously taken aback...those two owe me nothin', least of all an apology. It just made me respect them all the more that they took that time to do so. I got back on the floor but decided to sit out a half hour to let the legs rest. (I made the mistake of drinkin' a sweet energy drink and sugar in the system makes my legs cramp up quick like)...I didn't wanna miss a moment of what was comin' next!

Sure enough, Lenny takes to the stage and it just went nuts from there! The second cut alone he drops "Psyched Out"...holy sh-! I haven't heard that since Annabel Evil played it in Jersey months ago and now here it is, with my fave Guilders on the floor, newbies joinin' in (includin' that crew of Pretties that always roll together with names I can't even begin to pronounce, like Kurukshetra and Musikpyaar...I only know of them thru Mz DS, who was also quietly there), a surprise guest appearance from Monica, plus those infamous kicks from Heather?? I was pretty much gone from there! Lenny didn't disappoint (as if he ever did) and he tore thru the SureFires, includin' one of my current faves (somethin' along the lines of "one by one, side by side") and I was screamin' obscenities to the crowd around me...I wanted no slackers ...just total unquestionable loyalty to the music! Get in, get down, or get off the damn floor!

Smart man that he is, The 5witch kept the pressure on our collective throats and dropped even more SureFires on us...I was drenched in sweat and in so much pain at this point but I was damned if I was gonna stop now, both with the dancin' and the shoutin'! I mentally reached that point where everything's gone...it's just me and the music...and that's what I strive for every chance I get. Eventually I came back down to Earth and my body was just a protoplasm of gook and water with nary a bone to hold me up. John hit me with some water but it was good for only two more cuts...I went to the side and simply dropped with the biggest smile on my face. Just a killer KickStomp session!

From there I simply gave the body enough time to recuperate til I found the strength to change shirts and make my leave (apologies to John and Advct for not hangin' around for their sets). I passed off the daps and hugs and made my way towards the station.

I swear it's nights like these where I feel so blessed to be alive and passionate about the music. Big ups to The Guilders for havin' me for Dirk's second run (I still want that cut of yours, sir). Much love to The PATHers for the CD ("...embrace my hate.....embrace my hate....") and my dance potna Lady 'Spawn (and to her moms for lettin' her hang out with us). Lenny and Jai...just ridiculously abusive sick sets from the both of youse! And Heather, with all due respect to Lenny, I love you!

Welp, let me rest up this old bod for tonight's work and I'll see you guys and grrls next month!

Happy New Year, people! May The Nine bring success and prosperity to you all!

Vynil, out!