Armand Van Helden Spirit 9/10 Review

[jokernj1]

Was just wondering what everyone else thought of spirit on sat. I thought it was going to be a great night but i left disappointed. How a club takes a phenominal DJ in Armand Van Helden and manages to screw it up is pretty sad. Let me start by saying that ive read alot of people say bad things about spirit and I havent been back there since about a year ago when I had a good time, so the chance to see Armand Van Helden I figured I couldnt go wrong.

First off, what the hell happend to the dress code? It looked like the knicks were having a game that night in the club. Jerseys, sneakers, baseball hats... It was also a very different crowd from what i thought it would be. Found out it was 18 for girls to get in which is fine, more girls the better, im going for the music but the scenery is always nice. But, this meant that everytime you go to buy a drink you can only buy one at a time. So in order to get a round of drinks you have to gather up everyone you came with and make your way over to the bar. In addition the club still couldnt manage to get enough people to come to the event which really suprised me. With 18 for girls and the regular crowd the place was maybe 3/4 full. Then I expected that they would set the dj booth up on the stage to make it more of a crowd with dj experience like they had done in the past, but they didnt. Instead it was the regular dj booth that you cant see with all the stuff they have hanging off the ceiling and its position, and it was watch any ass clown in the club dance on the stage night. Not the most eye pleasing or talented people either, I was praying for a bouncer to step in. With all these things going on the place felt like a bad frat party.

Armand Van Helden came on at around 2am spun for about 3 hours. The set was short but pretty good. One of the last tracks he dropped was a girl moaning over a hard back beat never heard it before if anyone knows what the track name is if it has one i would appreciate it. Danced, drank, heard some good music, had a good time but the place was all wrong. If it would have been another club that handled it right it could have been a great time. Just my opinion, what did everyone else think?

[camafuzz]

wow. night sounded like a dud to me.

last time i was a spirit was for DT. and i gotta say i don't like the layout

of that place.. but i must admit when the crowd is right, spirit can be a fun experience.. what's wit these dj's coming to nyc and playing 3-4 hour sets.. WTF!!!!

[deefex]

i was gonna go to this, but got side tracked and ended up at love. i loved it, i had THE most fun i've had in a long time there.

[bigpoppanils]

First off, what the hell happend to the dress code? It looked like the knicks were having a game that night in the club. Jerseys, sneakers, baseball hats... It was also a very different crowd from what i thought it would be. Found out it was 18 for girls to get in which is fine, more girls the better, im going for the music but the scenery is always nice. But, this meant that everytime you go to buy a drink you can only buy one at a time. So in order to get a round of drinks you have to gather up everyone you came with and make your way over to the bar. In addition the club still couldnt manage to get enough people to come to the event which really suprised me. With 18 for girls and the regular crowd the place was maybe 3/4 full. Then I expected that they would set the dj booth up on the stage to make it more of a crowd with dj experience like they had done in the past, but they didnt. Instead it was the regular dj booth that you cant see with all the stuff they have hanging off the ceiling and its position, and it was watch any ass clown in the club dance on the stage night. Not the most eye pleasing or talented people either, I was praying for a bouncer to step in. With all these things going on the place felt like a bad frat party.

so wait a minute: you didnt have a good time because of the way other people dressed and how they were dancing?

[bigpoppanils]

what's wit these dj's coming to nyc and playing 3-4 hour sets.. WTF!!!!

thats how it usually is, especially outside of NYC. besides say Calderone, Junior, DT, Howells, Boris, and a couple of others, most djs that come here do not spin for more than 4 hours.

[moe03]

Isn't Van Helden a pretty ghetto guy? So, if the people there are actually his fans, they were probably trying to emulate their hero which is how Armand dresses. I never heard him live but I do like some of his releases.

That is funny though, basing your good time or lack of on how people dressed and danced. Last I checked, there was never a class offered on proper club etiquette. Maybe someone could start one up.

BTW, since we're on crowds, what's the best crowd you ever liked-past or present? Mine would have to be JV's crowd when he was at the Palladium (Arena). The reason why was because it was mixed but more on the gay side. However, the women that were allowed in were absolute knockouts. And, they were a lot easier to approach because nobody in there groped them. God damn I miss that era!

[stompy]

i was there on sat, and i agree with your description of the crowd, and did not have the same problem with drinks

i'm not sure why you expected a dress code, spirit is not like the place a block north, they bring in very good dj's and people go there to dance, not to look good

as to the place not being packed, that is fine with me, i'm sick of going to places and not being able to move around or being pushed by the people that have to walk through the middle of the dance floor, just for the fuck of it

so i guess it's a matter of expectations, and now you know what the place is like

[oldtimer]

i was there on sat, and i agree with your description of the crowd, and did not have the same problem with drinks

i'm not sure why you expected a dress code, spirit is not like the place a block north, they bring in very good dj's and people go there to dance, not to look good

as to the place not being packed, that is fine with me, i'm sick of going to places and not being able to move around or being pushed by the people that have to walk through the middle of the dance floor, just for the fuck of it

so i guess it's a matter of expectations, and now you know what the place is like

i just asked because the avalon crowd was terrible... and spirit was kinda classy when it first opened... i remember going the first time wearing jeans and dressy sneakers and feeling very out of place... now it's a free for all.. i wish i could have went but it was either go there for 30 bucks or go chill in crobar for free and im on the verge of being broke so crobar was the better option.. ahh next time...

what tracks did he play btw??

[choptrop]

Isn't Van Helden a pretty ghetto guy? So, if the people there are actually his fans, they were probably trying to emulate their hero which is how Armand dresses. I never heard him live but I do like some of his releases.

That is funny though, basing your good time or lack of on how people dressed and danced. Last I checked, there was never a class offered on proper club etiquette. Maybe someone could start one up.

BTW, since we're on crowds, what's the best crowd you ever liked-past or present? Mine would have to be JV's crowd when he was at the Palladium (Arena). The reason why was because it was mixed but more on the gay side. However, the women that were allowed in were absolute knockouts. And, they were a lot easier to approach because nobody in there groped them. God damn I miss that era!

Great point, let's not forget Armand has spun many a hip hop record in his days and has a lot of vested interest in the hip hop scene... Who cares about the other people anyway, I don't go to the clubs for them I go for the music.....Just my 2 cents

[backupqueen]

BTW, since we're on crowds, what's the best crowd you ever liked-past or present? Mine would have to be JV's crowd when he was at the Palladium (Arena).

Past: Arena, Body&Soul, Jackie 60.

Present: Motherfucker.

[ibrandon]

Past: Arena, Body&Soul, Jackie 60.

Present: Motherfucker.

Motherfucker is seriously the best party in ny, i reeeeally hope they dont have it in a tiny place like gypsy tea again. disaster.

Ive never had as much fun/laughed/(all around good time even if the music sucked) at any party, MF is bananas!

[binarycool]

i didnt go to the one at gypsy tea, but i dont understand how a succesful party can go from somewhere as ginormous as roxy to GT. not that i like roxy, but thats another post

[shaggief]

I had a good time.

As I was entering Spirit I noticed alot of commotion because people dont know which club is which heh heh. I got in around 11:30 and noticed right away that the crowd was very casual. I walked into the main room and a group of elderly ladies were leaving (one of them even had a walker! )

The opening DJ was alright, he played it safe and played various hits and rock remixes (including My My My) which everybody was digging and dancing. I would take this crowd over Avalon(sway dancing coke fiends) and Crobar (too packed to move) anyday. I had plenty of room to move and danced all night long.

I was dissapointed to see the stage empty because the flyer stated that Spalding Rockwell would perform. Also they had this stretched out cloth in center that blocked the view of the DJ deck. Armand went on at 1:30 and kept the same vibe for the night. His set was similiar to his stint at Avalon on Memorial Day Weekend. Tracks I can remember from the entire night:

Deep Dish - Flashdance

White Stripes - 7 Nation Army remix

Blur - Song 2? {the Woo Hoo song}

AC/DC - Highway to Hell

Nirvana - Lithium

AVH - My My My (not as special because the opening DJ played it)

AVH - Into Your Eyes (crowd really moved to this one )

Lil Louis - French Kiss <jokernj1> Girl moaning track?

The party abruptly ended sometime after 4:30. I dont know who is to blame, I was in the bathroom and I came back and the lights were on and the crowd was confused. People stood around for a bit hoping for the music to come back on but no luck. I left at 4:45.

I feel like going back to catch Derrick Carter this week, I missed him play at Cielo cause they wouldn't let me in.

[chinadoll80]

I prefer Spirit to Crobar as well but the crowd that night did look like Crobar/Boris rejects...Armand's set was good but he stopped playing abruptly at like 4:30 and everyone was confused which was good for me because I had to drive friends to LGA by 7:00 but the other people were pissed...i think if a DJ wants to blow up in NYC like Morillo, DT or Boris, then he needs to spin for at least 8 hours and not 3 hours when you are being charged $30.00.

[fastfast]

wow they ended that early...

wonder why

[jokernj1]

Well just in reply i dont care how others dress doesnt really affect me, but like i said the last time i was there was a year earlier and the difference was night and day. I think there was even a wedding party going on? It was just different than what I expected; went for the music anyway, all 3 hours of AVH . I was wondering also what happened with him just walking off at 4:30 also but forgot to mention it. By the way thanks for the track ID shaggief.