Last Saturday, I attended a fantastic party in Poughkeepsie, NY. It was a strange homecoming of sorts for me, considering how long I resided in the Dutchess County area. Wasn?t sure what to expect from the party, but I was pleasantly surprised. Surrounded by good friends and happy people, lots of young heads bouncin? around the joint. Lots of positive energy, too. Definitely rubbed off on me; I?m still all smiles from it. Also spun a set in the chill room alongside Praveen (minimal techno), Dave Mars (hypnotic breaks), and my man Tommy Church (ambient and chill-out beats). That room featured some of the best music of the evening ? fantastic vibe. Gotta give props to my man Omar a.k.a. Praying Mantis who KILLED IT in area two during his tag team jungle set with Dynasty. Our feet were bloody stumps after they were through with us. Seriously.

The party was a reminder for me of how much I enjoy the upstate NY party vibe. I find it more intimate and open than the functions in Gotham, although NYC does have its moments. It?s important to mix it up, though, see how other heads get down. It had been a while since my last upstate jam, and I was so happy to be a part of this one. I was so amped by the positive energy that I ended up spinning one of my best sets ever, in my opinion. The set wouldn?t have been the same without the energy of the kids there. Can?t say enough about the great time I had there.

Someone posted a gang of pics on a bulletin board, so for anybody that wasn?t there, a good summation of the party is within these shots. As always, opinions differ, and such can be seen in the difference of opinion between this site and this site (by the way, don?t travel past the first screen on the latter board ? talks degenerate into a rather ugly name-calling session). As for my DJ set, check the playlist below:

>Macedonia ? Live @ Squeeshee, Poughkeepsie, NY / 1.31.03<
baba sound system*petra*auri
cookie monster & the girls* c is for cookie (sweet version)*ninja tune (uk)
roy ayers*running away*polydor
metro area*dance reaction*environ
the soft pink truth*gender studies*soundslike (uk)
pepe bradock*lara*kif s.a. (france)
nina simone*see-line woman (masters at work remix)*verve
manu dibango*soul makossa*atlantic
tony allen vs. boozoo bajou*yoruba road*comet (france)
nuyorican soul feat. george benson*you can do it (baby) (bar beats)*giant step/blue thumb
akufen*jeep sex*force inc. (germany)
matthew dear*dog days (pantytec interpretation)*spectral sound
matmos*spondee*matador
esg*moody*universal sound (uk)
the rapture*killing*dfa
liquid liquid*optimo*soul jazz (uk)
dj vadim*london mindstate*ninja tune (uk)
uzo*200 elephants (remix)*codek
the beginning of the end*funky nassau (part 1)*alston
the joe cuba sextet*bang! bang!*tico
titanic*sultana (danny krivit re-edit)*ibadan
afronaught*transcend me*apollo (uk)
dj rels*eclipse (parts I and II)*stones throw/goya (uk)