Of course, it's not easy for four dudes to stay independent and execute a legendary new throwdown. From PCU to House Party, every major rager has an uphill struggle — without jocks, who would nerds seek revenge on? In this case, the underdogs were the DOTC boys, and the Phi Beta Bureaucrats were the brass monkeys inside City Hall. After an article and a pictorial about last year's DOTC appeared in the Cambridge Chronicle, licensing officials took notice and threatened to put the kibosh on the series. And though Charlie and Eli eventually did secure permits for six soirees this summer, they once again had to navigate labyrinthine municipal hurdles. "Now, finally, we met all the conditions and sorted everything out," says Charlie, "so we're just extremely grateful that this is going to happen."
Caps off to Cambridge for allowing DOTC to continue. Had it been in Boston, party animals would likely be deprived of the cheap drinks, barbecue buffets, riverside milieu, and intense rhythm that we've come to expect from Marz and Soul Clap. These guys are in the midst of a storied revival; to stop them now would have been nothing short of uncivilized.
Charlie: "A few years ago you should have seen what it was like to push dance music in Boston. You would be like, 'Here's a flyer — we have dance music,' and people would be like, 'Oh — it's not fucking hip-hop. Fuck that.' Now it's like, 'Yeah — we like techno.' Likewise, when we started these parties, just talking about 'house music' was off limits, so everything became 'techno.' Then that burnt out, and now 'techno' is fucking lame. Basically it's the same music — we just call it whatever people want to hear us call it. So long as they keep coming out, it makes no difference to us."
DANCING ON THE CHARLES | American Legion Marsh Post 442, 4 Gerry's Landing, Cambridge | June 20, July 4 + 25, August 8 + 22, September 5 | 7 pm | $10 before 9 pm | www.dancingonthecharles.com
