sasha vs zabiela revisited

[ubiqe]

So, I'm back from my weekend in the uk... very tiring weekend as I spent the nights partying and the days walking around London - and that means almost no sleep and one pair of shoes less.
On Fri night I went to Sasha's warehouse party in Manchester and on Sat for Zabiela @ the key in London. And well - I never thought I would say that - you can even check my previous posts in all the sash vs zab polls, BUT Sasha was merely ok while James was simply amazing. He absolutely rocked. No comparison to the warehouse night, simply different levels. The funny thing is I never liked James' stuff - there's not a single set of his that I managed to listen to to the very end. Even when listening to his b2b sets with Sasha I used to skip his parts because I thought they destroyed the whole thing But since everybody says you can't judge a dj without hearing him live, I decided to prove this thesis wrong and went to the key almost sure I'd get bored to death. I couldn't be more wrong.
Thanks James for a great night. Somehow I missed all your gigs in Poland, but I'll be sure to repair that mistake when you're here again

[AndyH]

Re: sasha vs zabiela revisited

What did you think of the Key?

What did you think of the birds here?

What did Sasha play like in Manchester?

[TheMightyGreg]

Re: sasha vs zabiela revisited

Have only seen Zabiela at the outdoor SW4 parties in London, as he was pretty good but didn't exactly blow me away. Have heard a few of his sets including a quality Kiss Mix - amazing tunes individually, but as a set not particularly well constructed, as the tunes don't really fit together too well and the whole affair doesn't flow at all.

Did you like the cheesy disco light floor at the key? Only been once and it was shite. Full of shirt and shoes pikeys and the music was average at best. Have heard they pu on some quality nights though, and your's sounds like it was one of them.

[ubiqe]

Re: sasha vs zabiela revisited

They turned it on only about 5 when everybody wasn't anything close to critical anymore
I liked the venue over all... It's small but not too small and not that bad organized in terms of dance floor / chill out space etc. But of course it was packed, so you couldn't really take advantage of all that.
And I'm not interested in birds, you know...
Sasha was good, maybe even very good at times (somewhere in the middle of his rather short set - 2,3 h only). But most of the time he simply didn't let the music flow, if you know what I mean. He put breakdowns / beat changes far too often. He wouldn't really let you get into the groove but change the rythm every half a minute. And the set didn't get anywhere. Compared to what he played at Glass in Miami in March it was medicore. But maybe simply that standard he set there was simply too high for anybody, including himself. I expected more from him but in fact the venue was of different type and maybe for a normal night out it was quite good. And in fact the perfect gig Zabiela put on the following night doesn't help, it makes it pale in comparison...
The sad thing (for Sasha at least ) is that the highlight of the night was the very last track - xpander. A track he produced years ago. The crowd simply went mad. Makes you wonder if there's nothing newer that he could use or maybe he simply doesn't bother anymore to find it? Anyway, it was really cool to hear - I remember that somewhat earlier i thought to myself I would have enjoyed it far more if he played liked in the xp-er era, even if it would sound a bit outdated, instead of what he was playing. And well, he did.
The so called warehouse was not really a big one and they definietely shouldn't have sold that many ticks. It was so rammed it felt like a death metal gig. You could only nod you head to the rythm It didn't get much better with time, but at least at the end you could move a bit. It made me notice that most of the Brits can't really dance. Still they're far better than the Americans

[AndyH]

Re: sasha vs zabiela revisited

Its seems like every Sasha gig I have ever been to has been over capacity. One of the reasons I wont even bother anymore... Hopefully Diggers at Fabric in Feb is not too packed.

[floridaorange]

Re: sasha vs zabiela revisited

I'll be the guy who asks for pictures

and thanks for the review and comparison, very interesting to hear, especially with the setting.

[ubiqe]

Re: sasha vs zabiela revisited

I'm not the type sutanding in clubs taking pics but here's a little snippet I recorded on my mobile (at sasha gig). you can't see anything there but at least the sound is ok

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YignCD2vt0M

[Morgan]

Re: sasha vs zabiela revisited

I'm off to Sasha Warehouse in London on Sat. It's in a underground car park!! I expect to hear some garage.

Zabelia either rocks or sucks, usually rocks. i've seem him so many times in small intimate clubs /boats and he does really put one a good show.

Brits cannot dance as they are either drunk or very munted

Expect Diggers@fabric to be rammed untill around 2/3am till the drunk brigade buggers off for a kebab!

[mnbvcxz]

Re: sasha vs zabiela revisited

.....But since everybody says you can't judge a dj without hearing him live, I decided to prove this thesis wrong and went to the key almost sure I'd get bored to death. I couldn't be more wrong. .....

Yer, he's so much better live he puts on a cracker of a show.

I used to like him more a couple of years back, kind of lost interest of the late. But, always keen to see him jump up and down behind the decks in person. Go JZ

[rubyraks]

Re: sasha vs zabiela revisited

But most of the time he simply didn't let the music flow, if you know what I mean. He put breakdowns / beat changes far too often. He wouldn't really let you get into the groove but change the rythm every half a minute. And the set didn't get anywhere.

This pretty much sums up how I've felt about most of sasha's sets I've seen since he started playing with ableton. I find he's a lot better playing cds or vinyl when he has to play the tracks through without the freedom to edit tracks that ableton allows him.

[TheMightyGreg]

Re: sasha vs zabiela revisited

^^^ Which sums up 'Fundacion' as well. Good tunes early on and pretty well put together IMO, but the last four tunes when he starts REALLY going for it with Ableton are a pile of wank. I know he's trying to be experimental and develope new ways of mixing and remixing tunes but it just......sounds....shit.

[rickgoodger]

Re: sasha vs zabiela revisited

Its seems like every Sasha gig I have ever been to has been over capacity. One of the reasons I wont even bother anymore... Hopefully Diggers at Fabric in Feb is not too packed.

You got no chance. it will be packed to the rooftops. JD hasnt played there since Feb of '05 so everyone will turn out to see him

[AndyH]

Re: sasha vs zabiela revisited

It wasnt actually too ridiculous last time I saw him there. He is (wrongly) not such a draw as Sasha with the masses... Fuck it, im going whatever!

[TheMightyGreg]

Re: sasha vs zabiela revisited

I'm there, regardless of crowds. Dancing's overrated anyway...it's all about standing with your arms pinned by your sides nodding your head. YEAH!

[ubiqe]

Re: sasha vs zabiela revisited

IDancing's overrated anyway...it's all about standing with your arms pinned by your sides nodding your head. YEAH!

lol, I guess I'm a relict of some ancient ages then. I danced all night long on both occasions Pity the first one ended at 4am