noizemagazine - Index

noizemagazine - Spring 2008 Issue # 55 - Index

bathrooms than Madison Square
Garden. More than two thousand
guys pack the gargantuan dance
floor, and you are likely to hear both
local and international DJs.
Sao Paulo Pride, which occurs in
June, is the largest Pride in the
world, with more than three million
people attending the parade.
Size is sometimes important. Okay,
always.
NEW YEAR’S EvE iN RiO
New Year’s Eve (“Reveillon” in
Portuguese) remains a predominantly
Brazilian party, but with plenty
guys from around the world. You
will run into people you know, but
you won’t hear English on every corner
the way you do during Carnival.
A few years ago, Rio’s NYE party
scene was much smaller. Now,
Reveillon boasts four days of huge
parties, almost equaling the party
scene of Carnival.
Ric Sena kicked off the 2007 NYE
weekend on Friday, in traditional
Alegria style—with DJ Abel in the
booth, Ross Berger on lights, and
some set pieces from NYC Alegrias.
The space was one large dance
floor: crowded and sweaty in a
more industrial space than the NYC
Alegrias.
The Week Rio was filled to capacity
on Saturday night with DJ Chris
Cox anchoring the central dance
floor, while great local talent such as
Felipe Lira and Joao Neto spun the
second dance floor outside around
the pool area. Yes, I said pool area.
The brand new “Doca” area (the
Dock) featured a huge tiered wooden
dance floor open to the sky, with
a pool along one edge.
In general, Brazilian DJs tend to spin a
sound similar to our big city American
clubs, but always with a bit of Brazilian
samba beat mixed in. And yes, there
is an amazing remix of “Girl from
Ipanema.”
Promoter Dudi Cotrim’s Zero Zero
is a lounge/restaurant/nightclub that
reminds me of Hiro in New York, or Here
Lounge in LA. It is the long-running
Sunday party that everyone goes to.
The highlight of Zero Zero is the outside
patio, a beautiful and stylishly modern
lounge space that would impress even
the most jaded NY/LA style queens.
The food is contemporary, mostly trendy
plates with a focus on European flavors,
but there is also a small sushi menu. (I
don’t need sushi in Brazil when I live in
LA. It seems wrong, like eating Mexican
in NY.)
The small dance floor inside is tight,
but if you absolutely must leave the
patio to get your groove on with your
future Brazilian ex-boyfriend, residents
DJs Tzo and Rafael Calvente spin a mix
of deep and tribal house with a healthy
dose of Brazilian drums.
One note about the club experience:
On any given night, the Brazilian crowd
loves short sets from multiple DJs.
While most American DJs prefer to
take you on an extended journey (think:
marathon sets from Junior or Susan or
Manny), the Brazilian crowd is more
impressed if they get three or even four
DJs in a night, each playing a short set.
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