WMC 09 – March 27

Friday night’s lineup at the Remix Hotel was selected by our own Michael Hammersly as the best of the week, and he was right on spot.

From the early set by the Martinez Brothers, to the final set by Laidback Luke, the crowds never stopped dancing. The final three DJs of the night topped off the evening. Louie Vega started things off at 7 p.m. with a mixed set that included his gaggle of sexy dancers in bikinis flowing through the crowd, getting everyone moving.

Then came DJ Sneak, who is a dead ringer for rapper Fat Joe (but in looks only). The rotund mix-master played an amazing set that went from deep house to latin house to old school to funky break beats. He had the crowd anticipating his next sound (no wonder they call him Sneak).

Last up was Laidback Luke, a DJ with the looks of schoolboy armed with gel-spiked hair and anything but laid back. As he mixed more house with sprinkles of techno, minimal and vocals, he played the crowd like a conductor. He would sing the lyrics with the crowd, or motion with his hands when certain bubble-popping like sounds would burst, and then as the beats would approach its crescendo he would wave his arm around in a circle, whipping the crowd into a frenzy.

Once again, Remix and Beatport had provided an opportunity to check out some DJs that normally wouldn’t have been on my radar screen and discover their sounds.

-- FRED GONZALEZ