Freemasons Shakedown the Island
by Mark Thompson and Robert Doyle
EDGE Contributor
Monday Sep 21, 2009
|
|
As yet another boatload of exuberant party boyz disembarked on Governors Island, two guys on bikes, waiting to return to Manhattan, watched in gawking amazement-until finally one turned to the other and said, “What? Did we not get the memo?”
And it was right then, as the sun set behind Jersey, that opening DJ Corey Craig broke into a remix of that contagious chestnut, Patrice Rushen’s “Haven’t You Heard?”
Maybe those two bike boys missed the memo about Saint at Large’s 30th season opener, Freemasons at Governors Island, but hundreds of other wayward party boyz got the word-and happy they were to romp carefree through the night.
First of all, the setting: think Pinocchio at Pleasure Island, a haven for incorrigible party boyz-with multi-colored neon palm trees, and smoke machines and concessionaires selling confections and intoxicating liquids. No school, no rules-nothing but sand in the shoes and summer fun.
And it was the summer anthem, “When Love Takes Over,” that really got the kidz going-and the flaggers on the floor, while onstage, Corey Craig got ready to cede the house to Freemasons-when suddenly someone grabbed the mike and yelled, “I’mma let you finish, but Beyonce had one of the best videos of all time.”
|
|
Bouncing all over the asphalt
~
Insane! The boyz went crazy-and stayed that way! With smoke billowing and red lights flashing, Freemasons took over-and right from the start, the boyz were whooping it up and bouncing all over the asphalt, working it out, shaking it down, so that when Freemasons really hit their stride with remixes of “Love on My Mind,” “Sexual Healing,” “Déjà Vu,” “Just Can’t Get Enough,” “Lola’s Theme,” “When Doves Cry,” “Rain Down Love,” “If I Were A Boy,” and “Ring the Alarm,” the floor was filled with boyz who were dancing, really dancing-and we’re not talking about that shuffle/shuffle/back-and-forth sometimes found on packed dance floors-and sometimes mistaken for dance. No, these boyz were truly feeling the music, absorbing the beat, screaming the words, shouting out love, as if they’d been plugged directly into an electric socket, with the current shooting out from their every extremity. To look around the floor, to see these kidz hollering out happiness while they shook down the house was to recognize anew the exultancy of music and dance.
After all, dance is as old as humanity itself, with the first dance in history born around the campfires of hunters-as an expression of joy. And last night, Freemasons had a direct link to that tradition, a high-speed connection to primeval joy that reached its apex with their remix of Whitney’s new “Million Dollar Bill,” a song so vibrant and ecstatic that both arms-and feet-were in the air, simultaneously, the whole crowd over.
|
|
A love-filled summer send-off
~
Who was there? A houseful of hotties, from Manhattan, Brooklyn, Fire Island, South Beach, Brazil, and Montreal, and loads of Saint family members, including Alan (particularly ebullient) and Joey, and Armando, and Michael South Beach, and Alex B. and James C., and Jaker and Billy (and Jackson), and Marc Berkley (w/hand puppy)-and a delighted Steve Pevner, who, with his Saint at Large crew (with help from Highline Ballroom) created both a love-filled summer send-off-and a welcome to autumn.
Thirty Septembers ago, the very first Saint invite arrived in the mail, heralding the opening on September 20, 1980 of what would become the most fabulous and unsurpassable gay club of all time, the Saint-and in the ensuing thirty years, legions of Saintheads have joined an ever-expanding family connected by music and dance. Last night’s celebratory and soulful crowd was a testament to Saint founder Bruce Mailman’s groundbreaking vision-and particularly fitting for the opening of the Saint at Large’s 30th season.
RELATED LINKS
Freemasons Governor’s Island Photo-Album
Leave Your Comment