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WHOA! Wait a minute! Just when you
might've thought it was time to phone it
in and hang it up: BOOM! KA-BOOM!
Birthday boy's in the room and he's
throwing down a celebration. And Black
Party weekend isn't over until Abel says
so.
As the LED display proclaimed, flashing
all around the deejay booth at Pacha,
"ALEGRIA [HEART] ABEL" - and Alegria
Xtreme 12 was nothing less than an
all-out celebration of the man most
associated with the legendary Alegria
sound.
Returning to its original New York home
on 46th Street, the 12th incarnation of
Alegria Xtreme was a return to its sexy,
dirty house roots - with a roomful of
stunning specimens of manhood, all ready
for another round of "MENergy," which
Abel remixed and rode like a porn star
in the saddle.
As Abel had mentioned earlier, 2012
marks his 34th year making music - and
as evidenced by his performance at Pacha
on Sunday night, the man remains at the
top of his game. With steely focus and
disciplined concentration, Abel lay down
a tapestry of tracks that were as
intricately woven together as a Persian
rug. He pulled out Andrea Brown's "It's
Love (Trippin')" from back in the day
and ripped it into pieces to create
something completely new. He sent out
Madonna's "Girl Gone Wild" and Fierce
Ruling Diva's "You Gotta Believe," a
track long associated with Junior
Vasquez. He threw down snippets of
tracks that sent arms pumping in the
air. He tempted and he teased the boys,
edging them closer with the finesse of a
master masseur. And all through Monday
morning, the floor at Pacha remained
packed with boys who were not calling it
in, not yet, not while Abel was serving
up good, old-fashioned Miami Beach
vacation sex.
Alegria producer Ric Sena's decor evoked
a sexy dungeon filled with libidinous
nocturnal creatures so that the
resultant atmosphere resembled a porn
shoot directed by surrealist artist H.R.
Giger. Boys of the night wandered in
various stages of undress - and one
fashion-crazy boy we know arrived with a
roller trunk and four costume changes.
This was a crowd of boys who came to
dance and celebrate the freedom to be
whoever they are. "Just gotta be myself,
don't need nobody else," as one lyric
put it.
Birthday cake was served at six a.m.,
and as Abel blew out the candles, the
boys cheered - for Abel, for Alegria,
for another year of music. And on they
danced until nearly noon. Now that's a
party. |
