Steve Angello at Pacha NYC: the Mescal Kid brings out all the stops, owes me $1000
While Steve Angello catered to the masses with his SHM-style set at Size in the Park, his after-hours appearance at Pacha NYC was where New Yorkers got a chance to understand why he is one of the best in the game. After finishing up his first set of the day, a damp-yet-energized Steve teased that his set at Pacha would be nothing like the one he had just played. “I’ll give you $1000 if you can ID a single track,” he said to me, before dropping a familiar yeah, you wanna mess? style smirk that embodies his signature charisma and confidence.
Well, just a few hours later I would find myself right in the thick of things: standing directly behind the man at Pacha NYC as he played one of the most memorable sets I have ever heard, with the fewest amount of songs I’ve ever known. If that isn’t the mark of a good DJ, I don’t know what is.
My musical tastes are admittedly focused; I know what I like, and I don’t mind seeing the same DJs over and over. Given that I tend towards the progressive house — or dare I say ‘mainstream’ — acts, I’m used to hearing the same songs. I’ve tried listening to the techno stuff and seeing those shows, but I always find myself waiting for something that never seems to happen. Maybe that’s why I was so floored with how comfortable I was when Steve Angello started dropping a mixture of techno and underground house gems — and not a single song from the usual SHM playlist. Just before the show, Steve tweeted that he was “putting on the Mescal Hat,” a reference to his tech-house persona that eschews all the Swedish House sensibilities and comes out very late at night. Just a few tracks into the set, I found myself bobbing along uncontrollably to selections that I never would have been exposed to otherwise.
Steve’s long-time friend Junior Sanchez was tasked with opening the night, and he did it with a glorious selection of similarly unidentifiable (to me) tracks that I was instantly able to latch on to. The standout for me was Albert Neve’s private rework of MGMT’s “Kids,” a fitting way to bridge the gap between the bleeps and bloops of the underground with a hook that is instantly recognizable to everyone.
MGMT – The Kids (Albert Neve Private Rework)
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Soon enough, Steve returned from his quick trip to New Jersey, where he played an early set at his first afterparty of the night at 4 Sixty 6 nightclub. When he took off his black leather jacket and descended into the Pacha NYC booth, Junior gave him a big hug and a handshake, and turned over the decks to Steve. It was time to get started — the Mescal Kid had arrived.
My attempts to Shazam tracks throughout the night proved to be futile, as did my attempts to turn down the shots of Jaegermeister that were being poured behind Steve the entire night. As Steve predicted, I did have a pretty difficult time identifying many of the songs he would drop in the hours-long set, but I can proudly say that I instantly picked up on the disco-day-party vibes of the Round Table Knights remix to Tensnake’s “Coma Cat.” It’s probably fitting that the first time I heard this particular track was on Pete Tong’s Essential Selection just as I was getting into music; Pete introduced me to dance music better than a frat party ever could, and Steve would do the same before the night was over.
Tensnake – Coma Cat (Round Table Knights Remix)
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It would be unfair to talk about how great the set was without dishing out a couple more of the highlights, so here are some of the other tracks that I was able to ID with the help of fellow DA editors Amanda Claudio and Gabi Musayev, both of whom were also in attendance. The set was decidedly two-tone; employing a mixture of more upbeat selections with darker offerings to change up the vibe and keep everyone from getting too comfortable with one sound in particular.
David Tort’s remix of Winx’s “Don’t Laugh” has the blaring horns of a 2012 big-room track, but with darker undertones and an evil-sounding “ha ha ha” vocal sample that reminds me of many of Steve’s personal tweets. Steve spread his arms wide open and seemed to be soaking up the incredible energy of the Pacha crowd when he dropped the early-90s track from Crystal Waters, “Gypsy Woman,” making Pacha NYC feel a lot like Pacha Ibiza for a few minutes in the middle of the set.
Crystal Waters – Gypsy Woman
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The Prok and Fitch School of Todd remix to “Bounce To the Boat” brought more of the old-school bouncey vibes, which proved to be a big success in the super-crowded nightclub. Prok and Fitch got more airplay with their and My Digital Enemy’s remix of Alter Ego’s “Rocker,” a song you have probably heard many times but have never been able to successfully ID. The last track you should know is Michael Cleis’ “Litoral,” another old-school song that got everyone into even more of a fiesta mood.
Even better than the five or six new additions to my iTunes library is my interest and excitement for something new. I’m already finding myself digging through SoundCloud and YouTube for old Steve Angello sets to gain exposure to even more new — but old — material. It’s great when a DJ can string together a laundry list of songs you already know, but it’s more impressive to play things that people have never heard before and get them hooked from the first moment the melody kicks in. It’s even more astounding when you can barely pick up on the transitions between songs, but simply find yourself entranced in a marathon of music that you cannot stop listening to.
It’s been a very long time since I went to a show and left feeling completely schooled — but that’s what Steve Angello the Mescal Kid was able to do at Pacha NYC… But he still owes me $1000.
Don’t forget to check out our review of Size In The Park for more Steve Angello coverage.
Photographs: Michael Elezovic
……. just as I was getting into music; Pete introduced me to dance music better than a frat party ever could…… dude you serious? how old are you? why are you writing about music? SMH.
During MMW Steve played the Terrace at Space also dropping a five hour set like I had never heard him play before. I still remember him starting the set off by saying “Miami are you ready for a long night? We’re gonna keep it slow and sexy.” One of the best sets I’ve ever heard and totally did not expect him to play this selection of music. People can say all they want about not mixing with headphones, but after that great set he earned all my respect. I’m glad DA got to witness the same.
Am I the only one that found this set to be dull and repetitive? I thought junior sanchez’s set was unreal tho.
dark and dirty… we NEED more events like this in NYC. I know every big time dj has this “Mescal Kid” deep down and i would love to see it come out of them. I hope ingrosso does something like this for All Mixed Up
You should share your new-old findings because this post got me all sorts of intrigued and excited for more.
I didn’t know you had to be a certain age to write about music. Do you have to be 600 years old to write about Christopher Columbus? Last I checked there was this thing called History, and if anyone spends enough time learning about something, they can be well-versed enough to express an opinion about it.
He’s still in college sooooo
most importantly – love this. great to see steve go back to his roots and play a different set. i saw him throw down at amensia in miami in june and he did the same thing for 5 hours. had a blast.
that being said – the set he played on saturday night was nothing different than a standard chus + ceballos, david tort, etc. set. i don’t mind giving steve credit for a great night, but lets not praise him as a special god because he did what other DJs are doing on weekly basis.
a regular night down at space in miami features marathon sets early into the afternoon – if you’re ever in town, it’s a must!
hope axwell/seb follow in the same suit – these guys are so talented and produce great things. the SHM stuff is just the tip of the iceberg.
if he only he played ‘alpha baguera’..
if you want dark and dirty in NYC, just check out the events section on resident advisor. plenty of amazing parties weekly that are deeper than your average. you won’t find it at pacha.
sasha is coming in october for a brooklyn warehouse party. then digweed in november. guy j is here next friday. cadenza residency and CLR residency starting at CIELO in the next month.
A LOT of amazing goodness. brace yourselves NYC!
and the rumor is – richie/dice on nov 3. wowow!
thats how music should be all the fuckin time but wen all u care about is money you act and dj like a faggot except for one time wen u decide to put on ur stupid mescal hat
never will happen again
Lmao agreed. I’m convinced that DA consists of 21 year old noobs. Hey retard, you can hear sets like these weekly in NYC if you ever stepped outside the cheeseball/mainstream/frat boy scene. The comment about techno parties going nowhere is rich.
Why do people choose to pick on some of the most trivial and irrelevant things? What? Because he said “Frat Party” instead of “Acid House Rave” you automatically jump all over the guy because of his age. And i hate the argument that you have to be a seasoned veteran of the scene in order to write about it. I mean yes sometimes being older means having experienced more and therefore having more wisdom to write with, but that’s not always the case. Instead of nitpicking at one sentence in the article, why dont you look at it as a whole, which is someone discovering something new for the first time and being completely mesmerized by it. It’s that once in a lifetime feeling of being exposed to something for the first time and absolutely loving it, that’s what the article is about not when he first got into dance music.
If we don’t write about deep house and tech, we’re not doing it right, but when we do….we’re still not doing it right.
Best set I’ve ever seen. Hands down. No single DJ has ever had me dancing for 4 hours straight… From 1:30 to 5:30. Oh yeah, and I was completely sober. Pretty sure I was the only sober person that was still there at 8 AM when An21 & Max Vangeli ended their set.
I don’t think he was praising him as much for doing anything godlike… but for Steve who plays more progressive house style with SHM and sets at big festivals, this was a change of pace. He wasn’t taking anything away from Chus & Ceballos or David Tort or any of the tech house / house / tribal guys. I personally loved both parts of the night…
I also do second checking out space for a marathon set… they are loads of fun…
Everyone loves to hate just to hate these days… they bash the blog yet they read it consistently. This smug attitude is what is “killing the scene” or “changing the scene” far more than any “mainstream” artist
I still can’t get over that sentence…… better than a frat party ever could……… LMAO. Hobbits.
As a European who really did grow up with dance music and coming from a city being famous for its dark, unique techno beats, I embrace mainstream/ progressive just as much as I love the oldschool songs…
Electronic music has never stopped evolving and if progressive is the way the main part of the US likes its EDM then let them have it, you will still find enough live sets from all the other genres.
For everyone who wrote a bitchy comment: there are thousands of people out there who know more about electronic music, have listened to it for a longer time and are more into it than you, so stop giving your “I was first I am better I know more” comments, they are creating negative energy and are totally useless!
When reading DA’s coverage of tech and deep house, I don’t expect them to have been at the acid house parties or entrenched in the Detroit techno scene–you’re just being an asshole if you criticize DA because its writers are young. People do have a point, however, when it becomes evident that they are hardly doing any research. They are journalists and should conduct themselves as such and get informed. Tech house fans are very loyal, and yes we can get a bit snobby but regardless of age, a lot of the fans I see at tech house shows are always very informed and a lot of DA’s articles are not. A lot of the criticisms leveled against DA will dry up once they start doing some actual research.
So what isn’t properly researched in this article? These are some pretty general claims.
Happy to hear Jacob got to enjoy Steve Agnello. This is what the scene is about. one thing about comments however not every critic is a hater and DA should take note. If blog is just people sharing their experience at club , that is one thing but if DA wants to be a source for information about dance music then some of the comments are warranted.
Well as one poster already pointed out, the author effectively relied on the likes of Pete Tong (a place to start) but then clearly hasn’t delved much deeper into the genre on his own, indicating not a whole lot of research was done to get some background knowledge (this becomes more apparent with other DA authors in their articles on tech house).
The article then gives a sense that this kind of scene is rare and hard to come across, which again, as another poster pointed out, is not the case in New York City.
He said that cause a lot of american kids that arent blessed to live in the major cities will get in touch with EDM for the first time through frat parties… So much about knowledge
You call it a cheeseball scene but like only the mainstream djs on facebook (and of them a lot)?
Black & White, governor’s island Oct. 6th and 7th. Jamie Jones, Derrick Carter, and others on Saturday, then Jonathan Peters’ classics on sunday.
you guys dont post enough about skrillex and dubstep. there is too much tech house on this blog. trollolololollololll bahhahahaha. who cares people its all music!! we prob love most if not all of it. lets enjoy it and stop the bickering
I don’t think Jacob is saying these scene is rare and hard to come across in general but more so in regard to Steve Angello. Angello is considered, for the most part, a mainstream dj and member of one of the most mainstream groups. This isn’t unheard of for him but it is rare.
*this
Okay, a valid point. But had he done more research and really learned about this sub-genre, he would have been able to give a lot more context.
I will not disagree with your point about Angello being mainstream.
I don’t check DA for much news about tech house but when I constantly see these 20+ commented articles on it, I felt the need to chime in.
Is this article more about Angello or simply a humble brag about how entitled you were to be behind the decks? I think the astronauts need to come back down to earth
That night was epic as fuck! Always bringing surprises during after hours.
The kid who wrote this is such a tool LOL! And you’re the head of this blog? bahaa!
STFU.
i heard his set at pacha was not commercial at all, which should be sick as fuck.
do not put him in the same breathe as chus & ceballos and david tort, i have seen chus & ceballos plenntyyy of times inside the same building that steve played in saturday night and never have they ever came close to playing a set any where near the quality his was on saturady
if you think ingrosso is going to get any where close to dark n dirty at mixed up, you truly have no idea about house music possibly even music as a whole
Do you guys actually read our articles before commenting on them?
“My musical tastes are admittedly focused; I know what I like, and I don’t mind seeing the same DJs over and over. Given that I tend towards the progressive house — or dare I say ‘mainstream’ — acts, I’m used to hearing the same songs. I’ve tried listening to the techno stuff and seeing those shows, but I always find myself waiting for something that never seems to happen.”
I think you and Gabi should handle the underground stuff and let Jacob handle the Jaeger shots with SHM.
so american kids that don’t live in major cities don’t have internet?
in that case don’t write about stuff you have no clue about. you sound like a 14 year old that started listening to music a year ago.
More articles like this please, less Beatport top 10 articles. Not that there is anything wrong with Beatport top 10, but everybody already knows about the popular tracks. When I go to a blog I want to read about new, exciting or surprising music. Cheers
My first terrace exerience was steves 6 hour underground set
ok heres the real deal
they are a bunch of younger kids
people have their own tastes
this site is blowing up (POLITICS)
so to be in the political game, yea write abt mainstream.. have writers who like mainstream
and lets be real, most people into house these days are NOT 50 .. so dont be so harsh
they got into the game max 8 years ago, and from what they know they write
you don’t like their choice of what events they review, then stfu and go to them urself
yea angello at the park was garbage, any DJ who even considers dropping atom or kick out the epic mother fucker, should just stop (especially when they played these 2 songs at their SHM concert at MSG in DECEMBER!!!!).
but in the end of the day, angello pulled together a set a pacha, that MOST PEOPLE (minus the “veterens” ) would not expect.. DJs go to pacha and play garbage.. afrojack for example who is ranked higher on DJ Mags g-d graced ranking system plays CRAP at pacha.. take over control ooooooo..
in the end of the day, these producers are big because at some pt in time they produced these redic tracks (see really high afrojack ft bobby burns [even afro has tallen yippie])
oh and jacob, usually ur editorials are great.. leave the stupid jager comments out next time.. seems like all of this is going to ur head, u even look like a tool in that pic “beeehinddthebooothh”oommggsahhhaha
anyway, DA is working on hiring staff that knows abt all genres (hayhayyy look at their listings for editorss ohhhhmagahh if u think u know so much you should doo itt!!!)
go u guys for excessively complaining abt everything
ok heres the real deal
they are a bunch of younger kids
people have their own tastes
this site is blowing up (POLITICS)
so to be in the political game, yea write abt mainstream.. have writers who like mainstream
and lets be real, most people into house these days are NOT 50 .. so dont be so harsh
they got into the game max 8 years ago, and from what they know they write
you don’t like their choice of what events they review, then stfu and go to them urself
yea angello at the park was garbage, any DJ who even considers dropping atom or kick out the epic mother fucker, should just stop (especially when they played these 2 songs at their SHM concert at MSG in DECEMBER!!!!).
but in the end of the day, angello pulled together a set a pacha, that MOST PEOPLE (minus the “veterens” ) would not expect.. DJs go to pacha and play garbage.. afrojack for example who is ranked higher on DJ Mags g-d graced ranking system plays CRAP at pacha.. take over control ooooooo..
in the end of the day, these producers are big because at some pt in time they produced these redic tracks (see really high afrojack ft bobby burns [even afro has tallen yippie])
oh and jacob, usually ur editorials are great.. leave the stupid jager comments out next time.. seems like all of this is going to ur head, u even look like a tool in that pic “beeehinddthebooothh”oommggsahhhaha
anyway, DA is working on hiring staff that knows abt all genres (hayhayyy look at their listings for editorss ohhhhmagahh if u think u know so much you should doo itt!!!)
go u guys for excessively complaining abt everything
ok heres the real deal
they are a bunch of younger kids
people have their own tastes
this site is blowing up (POLITICS)
so to be in the political game, yea write abt mainstream.. have writers who like mainstream
and lets be real, most people into house these days are NOT 50 .. so dont be so harsh
they got into the game max 8 years ago, and from what they know they write
you don’t like their choice of what events they review, then stfu and go to them urself
yea angello at the park was garbage, any DJ who even considers dropping atom or kick out the epic mother fucker, should just stop (especially when they played these 2 songs at their SHM concert at MSG in DECEMBER!!!!).
but in the end of the day, angello pulled together a set a pacha, that MOST PEOPLE (minus the “veterens” ) would not expect.. DJs go to pacha and play garbage.. afrojack for example who is ranked higher on DJ Mags g-d graced ranking system plays CRAP at pacha.. take over control ooooooo..
in the end of the day, these producers are big because at some pt in time they produced these redic tracks (see really high afrojack ft bobby burns [even afro has tallen yippie])
oh and jacob, usually ur editorials are great.. leave the stupid jager comments out next time.. seems like all of this is going to ur head, u even look like a tool in that pic “beeehinddthebooothh”oommggsahhhaha
anyway, DA is working on hiring staff that knows abt all genres (hayhayyy look at their listings for editorss ohhhhmagahh if u think u know so much you should doo itt!!!)
go u guys for excessively complaining abt everything
How do these comments sections always turn into pissing contests?
Thanks for including the tracks; good stuff.
Is there any chance this set got recorded? Dying to hear it.