Junior Vasquez live at Pachita – Kings – Martin Luther King weekend

From Butt Magazine:

” ’96 was a funny time to arrive in New York. The nighttime was kind of really hideous then.
It was hard house, Junior Vasquez had a superbig night at Twilo, The Tunnel was happening.

And Junior was playing 25-minute percussive house remixes of Whitney Houston songs?

Right. It was starting to get all pots and pans. Tsh-tsh-tsh-tsh. All the build-ups were a constant drum roll. I never felt at home.

And all those venues looked so ugly, but not in a good way.

It’s true. It was drab.

The whole gay thing just looked like one big Chelsea.

Face-less muscle boys? Totally.

Everyone’s fucked on drugs but not in a friendly way.

For sure. Once I went to a Junior Vasquez after-hours thing. I went with a dude that I thought was cute and we were out of our heads. I can’t remember what I was doing, probably K, because I was totally K, K, K, K when I got to New York. K really freaked me out. I remember being on a dance floor and the music was so aggressive, the dudes all looked like road warriors, they all had their shirts off. I did a bump of K and I felt, like, ‘Actually, this is disgusting. This has a gnarly, ugly vibe.’ It was aggressive and sexual but terrible. I played at Panorama bar in Berlin a couple of weeks ago and that was this huge, superindustrial space with banging techno. The vibe was so sexual but at the same time there was this whole respect thing going on. It felt human.

Unlike the old New York vibe.

Right. Those New York clubs had no humanity. There was sex happening in the corner in Berlin but it was way more relaxed and cool. In New York at that time it was gross and uptight. But then I met Derrick Carter when I was 19 and we started hanging out. I actually started dating him.”

And low and behold a 4:38 minute Youtube segment from the 25 minute tribal meth-house version of Whitney—Ya, that’s real ground breaking.

Thanks for the sets!!! I miss clubbin at Junior’s partys so much…I can’t wait to listen to them. Work sux. g’nite.

Hey Circuit queens A,L.

You were hanging with the wrong crew at Twilo. you should have hung out with the club kid drag queen music producer crew. that was great. a really fun group of people with diverse talents. I always loved Twilo and had a great time. No attitude just fun.

LOL

I arrived in NYC fulltime in the fall of 1996. Junior had just started playing at Arena (Palladium) full time. Those were some of the best nights of my life. I have many friends who would disagree with you.

Are you kiddin me? 1996 was Arena and it was some of the most amazing times and vibes I have ever experienced in my life. You were definately doin too much K cause you need to get the times right. as far as Juniorverse @ Twilo…. It wasn’t what you make it out to be,but after ArenA Twilo never could compare.

Who the fuck cares.Junior is stuck in 1999,he hasnt changed his sets and style since twilo.Peter Rauhofer evolves and changes with time,thats why hes still on top.And as far as his WORK! parties go,they are the best mother fucking parties in the city period!!! Thats why he brings it around the world.Gay nightlife in new york has really been lacking.It would be better if Peter’s WORK! parties were back to being a NYC gay club night,instead of just a random event.Junior is a legend for sure,but as of now,he hasnt been living up to that standard.So instead of bashing Rauhofer,you should criticize Junior for not staying on top of his game.And I aint getting into a childish debate over it.Im making an obvious observation.Take it or leave it.

Dear traumatized CircuitQueenAreLame: beauty and ugliness are in the eye of the beholder…if you saw so much ugliness back then, perhaps it was you who was looking through the ugly prism. And remember what Grandma said: if you have nothing nice to say, just ssssssssh, be quiet!

Firstly, it was not me quoted above, but Andy Butler from “Hercules and Love Affair”, and an interviewer from Butt Magazine…I posted it as it highlights some of the problems with circuit music/fags. .Junior, Peter Rauhofer, and whatever other horrendous circuit dj’s are being promoted by the plague of chelsea gays really do not get any respect or consideration globally amongst true dance music aficionados, musicians, djs, writers, artists, or serious dancers. Moreover, the tired gay scene with it’s penchant for girly-pop tribal meth-house, along with it’s tired mall drag top 40 lifestyle has to go. This scene and it’s followers, promoters, and dj’s are not creating a community. There is no story being told with the sets—no journey. Music, and dancing is not the point for these people anyway, it is merely a background wallpaper of white noise to go along with the “look at me, I have my shirt off, and my teeth are more bleached than yours” circuit hierarchy. These people will never scratch below the surface of their one dimensional lifestyles, to find what wonders lay below.

@ circuit queens are lame

The only one who is cracked out on meth is YOU!!!

First off if you had a clue,you’d know that the gays are moving on from chelsea,in fact chelsea isnt even a gay neighborhood anymore.Many manhattan gays are spread out all over this island.I live in midtown east near central park (THATS NO WHERE NEAR CHELSEA) secondly Peter Rauhofer is NOT a circuit DJ,hes been playing for both gay/str8 crowds and has a surprising number of str8 followers.Same could be said about Boris who has played the str8 scene and is a resident at Pacha and former resident of the (no longer) Crobar.Boris has a good number of gay followers.Peter Bailey & Richie Santana (the Mind Control duo) are another 2 with gay followers.You evidently dont know the difference between a progressive/tribal DJ vs a circuit DJ.If you wanna bash “circuit DJs” you should talk about tony moran or brett henrichsen. It seems to me either you are a delusional self-loathing fag,who has way too much time on his hands and trolls around on this site.Or you are some demented heterosexual male who still has way too much time on his hands,but is finding ways to bash gay people.You need to get your life together and work on that attitude.At the end of the day,is you who is delusional and trippin on meth.You are too clueless for a discussion like this.And frankly there arent enough hours in the day for me to deal with idiots like you.In other words,I dont have the time.My agenda is full,I am booked.Good day,and good riddance.And if you keep trolling on this site,I “WILL” come back and report you to the site moderator.You are nothing more than a nuisance

@ circuit queens are lame

To your posted quote above:

I don’t remember Junior’s dance floor’s to be anything like the circuit events. That is why I loved his music and the crowd he brought in… gay, str8t, bi, tranny, white, black, yellow, green… blue… Junior had a wide range of people that, together, were”LIVING” on his dance floor … no other DJ compare’s, Junior did it first. Some people get it, some don’t.. guess you missed out on what was one of the highlights (and history) of NYC nightlife. And as different as Twilo was from Arena… Twilo was just as amazing.

Did you ever hear Marilyn Manson’s “The Beautiful People” or, at peak hour Pink Floyd’s “The Wall” at a circuit party????? … LOL You better werk Junior! That’s why we love him. “Aint No Other Man”…….

I am so sorry that hateful people are still trying the same old shit regarding Junior/Peter/Victor/Mickey Fukkin Mouse. What-the-fuck-ever. Those of us that were there (SF, Arena, Twilo) and followed Junior did so because the LAST THING he was – was circuit. Thank God he has the tenacity to keep on keepin’ on for those of us who still truly go for the music.

In addition to the Marilyn Manson and Pink Floyd comment — don’t forget Gn’R “Sweet Child O’ Mine” at Black Party last year. Talk about Gaggable Moments! That party (BP) should stand as testament to Junior’s following and what they are or aren’t. It wasn’t a typical circuit party – from start to finish – which is why I actually went. I won’t be attending this year, for sure.

Thanks to Junior and Darren sharing all the music they have over the years. Keep it up boys! We love you.

@Anonymous says:
February 10, 2010 at 12:25 pm

• Of course we know that the Chelsea gays have been on the move for a quite a while now. ( All the cheesy gay bars for Abercrombie fags in Hells Kitchen are a testament to that). The term “Chelsea Queen”, can be seen as a metaphorical term, not merely a locational reference per se. This is pretty obvious to most.

• You listed some more bad tribal/”progressive”/circuit DJ’s. One may sound more “progressive” or tribal than the next, but they are all NAFF!! Again, you will not find any serious dancers, or true dance music aficionados, that give this any worth. They will not be appearing on DJ History.com for example.

Those who are saying that Junior is stuck in late 90′s, need to have their ears examined. In fact Junior’s live sets from 90s have tech and electro notes before anyone else even thought of it. So Junior was 15 years ahead of everyone else on that one. As far as Twilo is concerned, the place was decorated differently every single Saturday. There were live performances that blew the roof off and Junior’s sound was pristine. Twilo was a club where you either belonged or didn’t so anyone with bad memories of Twilo must have been projecting their own negative energy onto it. Twilo was a safe heaven. Yeah Victor Calderone and Peter Rauhofer have evolved alright, right into unlistenable territory. Thank God for Junior, who can still make the whole room climax as if it’s a one giant orgy.

@ circuit queens are lame (and your comment on
February 10, 2010 at 5:00 am)

Spot on! How refreshing it is to hear from a gay person (you are gay, right?) who knows good music from bad. The circuit was my introduction to dance music, but I quickly moved on. I’m from LA and trying to educate the circuit boys on the world of dance music outside the circuit is a losing battle – it’s staggering how clueless and close-minded they are. More of them need to be told that the “superstar” DJs (Manny, Tony, Abel, Brett, etc) are complete unknowns in the world of dance music. The only thing that’s “superstar” about them is their ticket prices. Every time I complain about the dated 4/4 tribal beats at the circuit parties I attend, I always get the same reply: “Oh I don’t go for the music.”

Yes, Rauhofer (whom I don’t mind, in fact) and Vasquez are known by some str8s, but not that respected. Last year’s poll of America’s Top DJs (http://americasbestdj.net/bestdj/top100.htm) featured only one “circuit-type” DJ still playing gay gigs – Junior Vasquez. All the other gay DJs nominated were proponents of House, Progressive, Deep House, Electro, etc. Most circuit DJs would get booed off the stage by house fans if they appeared at WMC or Ibiza. Don’t they know that cheesy tribal remixes of Top 40 songs AIN’T House. Never was, never will be.

The Circuit scene and its music sucks.Its just a bunch of shirtless dizzy queens trippin on drugs.Peter Rauhofer is anything but circuit and if you have a problem with his sound.Dont go to his parties,save he negative attitude for someone of cares and the same could be said on behalf of Victor Calderone.End of Discussion.And this is one of the things I hate about that new and allegedly “Hot” party Club 57 done by Tony Fornabaio and Brandon Voss at Providence on 57th street.The music at that place is very amateur.Top 40/Hiphop in the basement and cheezy circuity tribal pop on the main floor.Its no wonder Ive been hearing from people that “Club 57″ isnt drawing the same large crowds it did when it first launched.Mind you the “sound” in that place is terrible.If Fornabaio and Voss really were interested in what the New York crowd wants they’d bring in some actual House Music DJs for both rooms and do away with that cheezy bubble gum music heard on the radio and at circuit parties.Club 57 is not for Househeads and draws a pretentious crowd.Stay away!

My last comment I made so late at night I had a couple of typos…Anyway,Im sick of seeing the same usual shitty hate-filled comments about Peter Rauhofer,Junior Vasquez, and Victor Calderone made by the usual suspects.We get it you HATE them with a “passion”.We dont need to keep hearing you PMSin’ about it.Im not a big fan of Junior,but I atleast dont bash him like he never had any worth at all.Like him or not he is a House Music Legend…Get over it,Grow up,Move on!I have always been a fan of Peter Rauhofer…ever since I first heard him at ROXY years ago.Now fine,obviously there are some that dont care for his sets and his sound and thats all good.But if there is one thing I cant stand about some gay men,is there constant need to needlessly personally attack someone they dont like whenever the impulse strikes.Again if you have a problem with a certain DJ you do the simple classy mature thing and not go to his parties.We are all adults and there is no need to personally attack someone just because they like a certain DJ that you dont like and or he happens to be a DJ that you dont like.Sometimes I find that gay men act like a punch of teenage girls,going through their little lady’s day (PMS) and it gets old after awhile.As for the circuit scene,many of us will agree that it consists of clueless pansies who wil say “I dont go for the music” yet frequent these parties all the time,specifically as an excuse to pop pills and what ever other drugs that are big in the circuit scene (Crystal Meth maybe).Its one of the reasons why I havent gone to Fire Island in the last 6 years.Its just one big summer long Circuit Party that draws alot of Tourists,not the gay Househeads Im use to being around.

As of now we dont have any real gay house club nights because…there simply arent any clubs.Thanks to those fascist community board members and thuggish NYPD we no longer have the music driven nightlife we use to be known for.We must have lost 8 nightclubs within 3 years alone.And yes we can blame some of our shitty,lazy,and cheap nightlife promoters just the same.John Blair has been known for scaring off the House heads with is mediocre bookings of the likes of Brett Henrichsen,David Knapp,Manny Lehman and other circuit DJs of the sort.And remember that pathetic attempt at a new Sunday party at Amnesia,the promoters behind that one had no sense of what the New York crowd was looking for and its not surprising that the only night it got packed at all,was President’s day weekend with Junior Vasquez.Within 2 weeks that party was dropped like last night’s trick.3 if you count the cheezy “sneak peak” party they did on MLK weekend (Jan 17th).The music at this party was nothing more than mash-ups and circuity pop mixes with very little actual House Music.I honestly think they were trying to appeal to the “college twink” crowd (as if that demographic knows anything about House Music,let alone appreciate it).Not to mention the promoters behind it were known for their cheap parties of the past..and present.

We can go back and forth with this all day and frankly…I dont have the time nor the patience to argue about this.Its like arguing with a teenager.The point is Gay nightlife in NYC is under attack and if you wanna bitch and moan about how pathetic gay nightlife is,a guy’s website is not the place to do it.Take it up with the lazy douche-bag promoters and the shitty fascist neighborhood cretins and our corrupted city officials,go to city hall,have petitions go out and let these f*ckers know that you will not spend money in this pathetic city until they get their shit together and keep their slimy paws off our nightlife.

@ Circuit Queens are Lame

One more thing before I completely drop this subject:

You are a mentally deranged fool!

I dunno if you are gay,str8,tranny,or what ever the hell… I have never met anyone who would literally go out of their way to practically gay bash a City’s entire gay community.I dunno if you are a self-hating gay and frankly I really dont give a damn,but Ive seen you comment here before and everything you typed here was negative and full of hate.Its one thing if you were a gay New York resident who wanted to see our nightlife improve (MANY GAY NEW YORKER’S DO) its another thing,if you are one of those nobody “tourists” and you just have hateful ignorant things to say about gay new york and our nightlife.Because between you and me,your opinion has little to no value.Nobody forced you to come to New York and nobody’s forcing you to move to/live in New York.We get it,you hate our city and thats fine everyone is entitled to their “opinion” because thats ALL it is and ever will be….an opinion.Now unless you are to become the new “President of Gay Nightlife Directors” (obviously there is no such thing) and you have some new ideas that can improve our nightlife to the point of being the best in North America (if not the world),your talk is cheap Honey!It seems to be you are just a tweaking club whore who didnt like what you got and now in the anonymousness of the internet decided to attack our community and nightlife on a “stranger’s” website (mind you,a website that does NOT belong to you).Which is not only cheap and tactless,it shows low character and immaturity.Which tells the visitor’s of this website and it’s owner what kind of person you are.Go get some help and while you’re at it get a life.End of Discussion!

So, Rocky, why aren’t there any real gay House clubs in NYC? It’s the same here in LA. After all it was the gays who embrassed House in the first place. I know many boys crying out for good House music, but all we get is either top 40 or dated, circuity tribal beats (often over Top 40). More and more boys are abandoning events like the White Party for alternatives like Coachella, but it’s yet to reach the tipping point where the promoters embrace House too. Jeffrey Sanker says he listened to the community’s feedback to change things up at this year’s White Party, and he booked The Freemasons and Moto Blanco (who both play Top 40 – a cardinal sin to most Househeads). But he also booked Chus & Ceballos….a sign that things are changing? I hope so.

Of course, I meant *embraced*. D’oh.

Greetings Circuit Queens are Lame,

Don’t hate… CONGRATULATE!

I appreciate that you have a lot of personal things going on…. in fact when I have something ugly to say I compose a letter to the offending party… rather than mailing the note(or posting a sophomoric comment on an otherwise friendly board) I toss it in the trash and no harm is done. Thus free of contempt, I can go about my day with a smile. Give it a shot next time you feel compelled to spew hatred.

When we are a bit happier with ourselves… and our physiques (…everyone else had their shirts off…intimidating for you I suppose?) we are better able to be kind to others. Keep this in mind and hey, get in the gym and expend a calorie or two… you will be well on your way to a happier you. Who knows?

Growing up the “husky” gay kid must not have been easy, BUT… we accept you. I am sure you have a great personality in spite of the mud slide hidden beneath your t-shirt. Cheers!

I would love to by juniors puts and pans music, especially live recordings….can anyone tell me where to get?