so little sleep I almost drove myself insane

reading: What is the What by Dave Eggers

listening: 80s Japanese ambient and old Ke$ha

watching: rewatching Neon Genesis Evangelion with my roommate, Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations

t-3s all systems go for launch!

okayyyy, so this past weekend was a whirlwind chaos of shows and late nights and missed trains and anxiety but I made it through and looked amazing thee whole time and met some new friends so overall a huge success! 

here's the brief debriefing, bc every single night was a chaotic spin of unexpected gifts and spontaneous encounters until I somehow stumbled into bed at 4AM on Monday with the need to sleep for a million years (or longer, if possible). 

Thursday: Doss in Manhattan

okay day 1 of our long and strange weekend is the Doss and Juliana Huxtable show at [secret location] ((Chelsea market)) on a Thursday evening. I honestly had no intentions of going to either show that night because I had big plans to watch TV and practice mixing but the Lord works in mysterious ways and my friend Henry hit me up with an extra ticket a mere 24 hours before showtime~! And so, from one branch sprouts another tree, I cop another ticket via Instagram comments for Lane, and on Thursday evening we're off to see the races. Or rather, the ravers.

Oh, and I can't forget the outfit (I almost forgot to mention it). I am a firm believer in James St. James á la club kid culture, and therefore am always an avid supporter of thee craziest possible clothes and accessories. Of course, I am also an avid supporter of dancing as much as possible, and therefore it is a hard and fast rule that nothing you wear should ever keep you from grooving to the music! Toeing the line between the two things is difficult, but can be walked with grace if you know what to look for. I suggest covert athletic gear (including swimsuits) and lots of crops/loose layers over it... example A

Jeans crafted by my roommate from Seattle, Chela, to whom I owe my life for pushing me confidently back into the world of crazy and club-kid-esque fashion. The jacket I got at the goodwill bins and is absolutely meant for hunting birds or something in the forest.

Probably my first club show in Manhattan, and I'll gladly admit that I had one too many strong drinks en route to location from my apartment in Brooklyn. But there is no simpler pleasure than brown bagging it on thee train from Brooklyn into the city,  it is how you say thee spice of life! 

And then to add a dumb decision to a silly one, upon meeting up with Henry we decide the club is not yet packed enough, and so to pass the time we should absolutely go buy another drink at the bodega down the street. I choose (irresponsibly) a Surge, because a regular White Claw just *wouldn't* have been strong enough (/s). Here's the pictures (u can judge for yourself!):

Yes. Los borrachos, it would seem. But fun is fun and we had lots of it! Doss was an amazing DJ, I would advise anyone who loves to go dance to see them post-haste. Also, the Chelsea Market had the best bathrooms of any club I've been to yet, with floor to ceiling doors and like eight clean and big private stalls. 

Epic opportunity for the cig break arises and here we meet new friends, or rather friends we had met briefly at the beginning of the show before going in. We are all very chic and glamorous and fun and I am in no way too drunk at this point at all!! 

lovely sexy cool tramp stamp on alex

Saturday: Melting Point NYCcccc

okay so Friday I actually did get some good rest for an evening, recording a mix for some people in Lebanon in the afternoon and working on some barbarian/druid/world of warcraft chic pieces. (more on that later once I have more of a collection to share!) I watched Bad Lieutenant II: Port of New Orleans with my roommates, which is a Werner Herzog movie from 2006 starring Nicholas Cage??? I was really very unsure about it when we started watching it but it was shockingly good??? Felt like Uncut Gems in some ways but with all of the classic Herzog elements peeking through (so much less harsh reality and more of the cynical irony?? and also just flagrant/humorous insanity at times???) ANYways finished that and went to sleep. Saturday was to be my Big Debut.

Of course, I'm not fooling myself or anyone and thinking I'm Tiesto now or something. I feel really honored to be asked to play and had a lot of fun playing whatever I wanted, I was trying a more experimental assemblage of genres and BPMs/rhythms than I typically play at a show. Early slots (I played 10:15-11PM) are really good opportunities to toy with the system and push the boundaries of a typical club/dance set. I like trance and psychedelic techno, so I like to have lots of gaps of breath, of wiggly synths and spoken word samples to carry the mind downstream along the river, which sometimes can be harder to pull off later in the evening or whatever,,,,,, anyways I had fun playing!!! <---- me talking too much

(admittedly I get nervous playing trance sometimes because it can be so hit or miss. RVA, I look fondly to you, because nowhere else yet have I dropped a Tiesto or Armin van Buuren song to so much unanimous cheering and crying. Only in Richmond have I experienced someone come up to me weeping with emotion after my set, and I thank you for that!) 

me and my wings -- best photo of my outfit that exists as I wore it to the rave! I was wearing some cool mad max style wedges with knit leg warmers too, but you'll have to image that urself

best photo to exist of me in thee makeshift booth and yes my wings did get stuck!

After I played I made a fatal error -- I left my controller in the booth. Yes, I doomed it to a nighttime of imprisonment, to be released at 4am the next morning or whenever the last DJ played... I dipped out around 2am to grab food and pass the time until the very end of the rave, because I felt like if I didn't get coffee and eat eggs right then in a nice diner I would die.... so Alex and I hopped on a bus that happened to be stopping by just then and ended up in Williamsburg at the Sunset Diner. Cannot praise this place highly enough for a genuine 24-hour experience, the servers are kind, the coffee is fresh and amazing, and while a patty melt seems steep at first at $12, I will say it was HUGE and fresh and tasty. 

2013 Tumblr famous type glamor shot!!!

of course, of all thee things to forget, turns out Melting Point was the first day of Mercury RETROGRADE, so of course, my efforts to ride a train or bus back to the venue to grab my stuff before 4:30AM were doomed by the stars to be futile... shout out to quetzal for lugging my controller and laptop back to their home and savingggg my ass in the end,,, <3 much love!!

N E ways on Sunday I rescued my gear from Quetzal's loving care, ended up loafing at the grove by accident for hours, and then was airlifted back 2 the sweet embrace of my apartment by friend (who has a car)! did not get to go to sleep until 5am again that night (another circumstance out of my control, I swear!) but rest assured that as I write this post, I did receive at least one full night of sleep. 

xoxo until next time!

sasha akafae