INTIMATE & UNDERGROUND v2 review… holiday adventures w/ LUKE FAIR

If I had a dime for every time someone preached to me about progressive house not having a place in the Toronto club scene, we’d be able to host all of our parties free of charge. As crazy as it has always sounded to our crew, there are A LOT of influential figures within the T.O. underground that believe people like us don’t exist.

Boxing Day proved this assumption can not be further from the truth. Fun and funky vibes were in abundance this holiday season, as the guy who has carried the torch for our preferred style of EDM for many years, Luke Fair, delivered once again.

Even on off nights (which are blood red rare), Luke’s preparation and track selection make up for it every time. Technical mishaps by the club are always overshadowed by the incredibly warm vibe he constructs though his most precise programming.

(We have to give props to all the incredible producers out there making this possible. If weren’t for their slick progressive tunes, Luke wouldn’t have the tools to rock it like he always does. THANK YOU!!)

Boxing Day was filled with challenges for this highly professional talent. Not only did Luke have to deal the amped nerves he often feels when playing in front of his hometown fans, but he also had to deal with a somewhat “off” sound system and my many unsuccessful attempts to get it tuned.

For two hours I ran back and forth from the main to the booth trying to correct the bass which seemed way too heavy for my liking. Near the front of the room it sounded perfect, like Toika normally does. However earlier in the week they set the levels for a more jacking house sound, focusing on additional power within the lows, causing some pretty heavy duty distortion in the bass bin at the back of the room.

For many it didn’t make a difference, but after hearing how incredible it sounded for the first INTIMATE & UNDERGROUND, I felt we were short changing Luke and everyone on the dance floor, so it had to be sorted. About mid way through the night we reached a compromise and the party was on (for me at least, the rest of the place had been going off for hours).

I honestly didn’t believe that we could ever match the togetherness we achieved when Ricky kicked off the series for our anniversary, but again the vibe was incredibly tight and family-like. Many familiar faces and so many new to the crew as well; this space and most importantly, progressive house is taking off again.  The prospects for us at Toika in 2009 are extremely encouraging.

Now on to the good stuff, what we’ve all been waiting for since this most magical of holiday adventures. Thank you Luke for offering up these memories for all to share, not just the super lucky ones who were on the Toika dance floor for this most memorable party.

Download (left-click and unzip):
Luke Fair – INTIMATE & UNDERGROUND v.2 – December 26, 2008 – Part 01
Luke Fair – INTIMATE & UNDERGROUND v.2 – December 26, 2008 – Part 02
Luke Fair – INTIMATE & UNDERGROUND v.2 – December 26, 2008 – Part 03
Luke Fair – INTIMATE & UNDERGROUND v.2 – December 26, 2008 – Part 04

Huge thanks to all who used the Rogers Wireless Box Office once again. Our help beta testing has gone off really well and I’m sure we’ll have more cool promotions to offer to the btb crew in ’09 .

Finally and most importantly, THANK YOU ALL for helping to raise $2800 for the Yonge Street Mission. I know the YSM appreciates the financial support, as well as the exposure to a younger demographic.

Please, if you have a minute, check out all the incredible services this organization offers and if you have the time and / or resources to lend a hand, do so. It’s sweet karma to help amazing people help amazing people.

Don’t forget to check out the pics!  Special thanks to Jason Warth for the cool ones of Luke and for just being an overall excellent dude.