There is a huge amount of stress a promoter feels when he or she is bringing in an underground talent that may not be that well known by the T.O. clubbing masses. My worldwide contacts thought I was crazy; “Dude, its Neil Quigley?!” But I knew that even though Neil is supported by some of the most established brands in the business and is ultra popular in Europe, the majority of Toronto had yet to discover this incredibly talented DJ / producer.

My stress level was amplified ten-fold when Jeff Button’s car stalled on the highway in Mississauga just minutes before he was to open the room. Thanks to Manfred’s driving beats, a two track fill-in and an efficient cab driver, Jeff’s delay wasn’t an extended one and the night began with barely a hiccup.

Jeff spun his signature silky smooth and stylish opener and had the floor right into it when Neil walked on. To my very pleasant surprise there were a lot of Neil Quigley fans up front and centre when I walked him to the booth. Their excitement truly took the room’s energy to the next level and from track number one of Neil’s headline set the party was completely off the charts.

Neil’s opening track had this super sexy vocal sample. That track melted into another with a funky, funky Mediterranean vibe, highlighted by island drums and horns. Soon enough it got darker and deeper, with chuggy tribal baselines, and before you knew it, it had switched back to a driving progressive and then to a more melodic house feel.

All night Neil weaved in and out of genres, but it was always deep and the mixing was absolutely seamless. Rarely have I heard such an eclectic array of House music within one set, from one DJ. Neil is a class performer; no wonder Bedrock, Renaissance and Urbantorque have brought him on to their most prestigious stables.

In most respects this night was a success, but I have to tell you it’s still a struggle trying to get people off the name game and committed to a new fresher outlook on clubbing. Despite his vast experience within the UK club scene, Neil was and maybe still remains a relatively unknown talent within the Toronto market.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure this night turned a lot of people on to Neil and the funkier, more light hearted and fun (imo) side of house, but we still have a long way to go before the city’s clubbing faithful put their complete trust back into the promoter and the venue and not just DJ Mag’s Top 100 list.

This is the way it was back in my early Breathe days and it’s that kind of attitude and booking that still has me completely addicted to the music many, many years later. This is what we’re trying to build with EXPOSED.

Download (left-click and unzip):
Neil Quigley - EXPOSED.live pt.1 - November 2, 2007
Neil Quigley - EXPOSED.live pt.2 - November 2, 2007
Neil Quigley - EXPOSED.live pt.3 - November 2, 2007

Download the event’s promo sets (left-click and unzip):
Neil Quigley - Urbantorque Party @ Yello, Belfast – September 2007
Neil Quigley - Progressivehouse.com Podcast – August 2007
Neil Quigley - Kiss 100 - 2005-08-21
Neil Quigley - Kiss 100 - 2007-01-28

This entry was posted on Sunday, November 4th, 2007 at 2:11 pm and is filed under Reviews, What's Going Down. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.