GASSED UP Petrol brought out the big guns for its third-anniversary party. |
The appearance of DFA Records heavyweights the Juan Maclean and Justin Miller at the third anniversary of Petrol, the monthly Tuesday-night party at Middlesex, was going off — popping off. Nailing it. Killing it. A total thing. The two DJs rotated through an all-vinyl selection of vintage DFA cuts, for which, speaking of popping off, the music boners among the DJ-heavy crowd were considerable. "It was a great moment for analogue," Matt Rohr, a/k/a Fens, the Boston producer and DJ, said to me after.
I had my photo taken with him, I seem to recall. It's on the Internet so I guess it happened. The Lone Stars were coming fast and loose across the bar. Flashbacks to SXSW. Deep-house cut. Big build-up. Girls dancing. Dudes sort of dude-dancing. "It was good, but sort of lightly attended considering the lineup," Fens said. "It sounded great in there, though, with the analogue gear."
I could go for some analogue gear right now, I thought, contemplating the ever-present stall lines across the room. Speaking of SXSW, another DJ in the crowd, Alfredo Rico-Dimas, creative director of Fort Point Recordings, whom I hadn't seen since Austin, concurred with me that it was much better to be on our home turf. "Petrol is one of those nights that is almost an anomaly in club culture," he said. "It's always been about having a good time amongst friends, and bringing in DJs that DJs want to hear."
Seeing Juan and Justin play was special, he said, but so was simply seeing another DFA vet, Walter Jones, chilling in the crowd. "No exaggeration, half of the people in the room were DJs," he said. "In many ways, Petrol is our industry night. While everyone else is working for the weekend, we are just glad we have a night to kick it with most of our friends. Our talented DJ friends."
