Lainna FaderPeanut Butter Wolf, Gaslamp Killer, Jason Bentley, Hyasynth and others
11/11/11/ Party
Eagle Rock Center for the Arts
Since 2006, Stones Throw label head Peanut Butter Wolf has specialized in numerically-aligned calendar day parties. Last night's party, which went from 6 p.m. to 1 a.m., was an endurance test, but it was also the most impressive episode of PBW's ongoing numbers fetish. To wit:
Peanut Butter Wolf; Credit: Lainna Fader
On 6-6-6 Wolf spun a Satanic metal DJ set.
On 7-7-7 he did a 7-day event and a gospel-themed podcast.
On 8-8-8 he kicked off an 8-day video party.
On 9-9-9 there were 9 shows in nine different southern California area codes.
On 10-10-10 there 10 DJs in 10 hours spinning 45s.
The 11-11-11 party, meanwhile, had 11 DJs and 1100 records. The cost was 11 dollars. PBW pulled 1100 of his own records and asked his DJ guests to spin from them exclusively. His vinyl literally weighs a ton; he had to rent a U-Haul for the occasion, which was parked in front of the Center.
This year's performers included Cole M. Greif-Neill (Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti, The Samps, Nite Jewel), Diva (Bloody Mess), Jonti (Stones Throw Records), Vex Ruffin (Stones Throw Records), Scotty Coats (Rong Music, Stones Throw Records), Tom Chasteen (Dub Club), Rhettmatic (Beat Junkies), Cut Chemist (A Stable Sound), Dam Funk (Stones Throw Records), Jason Bentley (KCRW), The Gaslamp Killer (Low End Theory, Brainfeeder), and Hyasynth (Hey Stacey).
Most impressive were Cut Chemist and Gaslamp Killer. Though most of the selectors spent the hours before their slot digging through PBW's crates to carefully curate their sets, Cut Chemist walked through the front door and onto the stage and immediately threw some records down without a moment's hesitation. He blew all the other DJs out of the water with his all-rare all-45 set — including a tribute to pioneer Heavy D, who passed away last Tuesday — and masterful mixing.
Gaslamp Killer was a maniac on the stage, stitching together everything from “Strawberry Fields Forever”–already a staple in his Low End Theory sets–to Too Short's “Blow the Whistle.” He pulled ultra rare Stones Throw test pressings from vaults of Wolf the night before, blending J Dilla's beats with the psychedelic sounds of the Millennium. He jumped on the mic earlier in the evening, during Jason Bentley's set, to announce the arrival of 11:11 p.m. on Nov. 11, 2011 and a full moon.
Peanut Butter Wolf said he was going to have Hyasynth open the night, but decided to save her for last because everyone stuck around to the end this year. But he probably should've gone with his original plan because pretty much no one can match
the pure raw energy of the Gaslamp Killer. Her set was plagued with a host of technical problems. She introduced some of the only electro records of the night as the Center cleared out around 1 a.m.
By the end of the evening, Wolf was having a hard time keeping his hands off the turntables; he swore he wasn't going to be DJing his own event. Somehow he managed, instead playing host and hype-man all night. But no hype was needed; when all your friends are A-list DJs, it seems impossible to not have a killer party.
Personal Bias:Like everyone in L.A., I love themed parties, but
damn, what a long night.
The Crowd: Almost exclusively guys, as tends to be the case with these kind of events.
Random Notebook Dump: Would've liked to see Sun Araw or Nobody, but then again, I wouldn't want to kick anyone off PBW's stacked lineup.
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